The Sweet Life of Bobby Boyle

By Jacob Wenzel

In 1906, in Limerick, Ireland, The Boyles own a sweets shop and are known for making the finest chocolate in the area. When a rival store owner spreads rumors about the during the Limerick Boycott, business drops off. Fortuitously, the father, Michael, a former farmer is offered a job on a sugar cane plantation in Hawaii by a relative. Abandoning their life in Ireland, the family relocates, and adapts to a life far different than they had known. While on the ship, heading to America, Bobby's mother, Sarah, realizes she's pregnant with their third child, Hana. Bobby, the youngest son, meets Molly, the only child of the plantation owner, Hiram. Molly is an unusual girl who lives in California with her mother, but spends every summer in Hawaii. Their friendship grows over the years. Bobby starts making chocolate using the family's secret recipes to pass the time when Molly isn't there. Hiram takes a liking to young Bobby, and drives him to watch a flight of the airplane in Hawaii. On seeing the plane land, Hiram, who has a fondness for expensive toys, vows that he will someday own one. A couple of years later, Hiram offers Michael a promotion to manage his farms in Oxnard. Bobby's older brother Patrick remains in Hawaii where he has married and had family. In Oxnard, Bobby starts a business making chocolate. The love between Bobby and Molly blooms, and they get engaged, but before they get married, Bobby crashes Hiram's Curtiss JN-4 while experimenting with aerial seeding for Hiram. Bobby survives, but with a badly injured leg that leaves him with a lifelong limp. With the outbreak of WWI, Bobby is unable to serve, but gets a job training pilots. Patrick serves in Europe, but is injured, and while recovering, meets an old friend from Hawaii. The Spanish Flu hits the family quite hard, killing Michael, Patrick's wife and two of their children, and causes Molly to have a miscarriage. With the death of her husband, Sarah is distraught and returns to Hawaii with Hana and attempts to live out a childhood fantasy, an endeavor that will end in tragedy. Somewhat later, Hiram passes away, and Bobby and Molly move to Northern California, where they have fallen in love with the Redwoods. In Ferndale, they weather the depression, WWII, and personal and family tragedies with steadfastness and resilience.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DZTSY6MT
• ISBN13: 9798313377568
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"