THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY MALONE

Molly, 16, is a true original: she sells collages fashioned from pieces of junk that she's juxtaposed to convey a liberal social message; she also goes regularly to a welfare hotel, where she gives the kids art materials and teaches their use with easy camaraderie. The money she makes at her stall in front of New York's Metropolitan Museum comes in handy, but—unlike her mother, a cocktail singer turned piano teacher—Molly's principles make her averse to the idea of a rich boyfriend. Ron, whom she believes to be the son of the housekeeper to the wealthy Spratts, is more her style; in an idyllic getting-acquainted period, the two share likes and opinions on art, politics, the environment, etc., at a rate that may daunt some readers but that isn't unrealistic from intelligent Molly and a Harvard junior. When Molly discovers that Ron is really a Spratt, she's predictably furious; sensibly, Anderson concludes with a partial reconciliation combined with enforced separation: Ron's off to study architecture at the Sorbonne. Along with some suspense about Ron's identity, the story is kept moving through a series of lively scenes, especially with the kids; a classy museum party is also wittily evoked. Some details, like the fearlessness of Molly's midnight search for an orphaned boy in Times Square, are less than plausible, and minor characters are lightly sketched; but Molly herself is vibrant and determined, her story a better-than-average anti-romance. (Fiction. 12-16)