Captain Horace

What happens when a boy's greatest dream collides with its terrible cost? Captain Horace opens in late 19th century Indiana, where young Horace Clifford and his sister Grace spend their evenings on the balcony, stargazing and dreaming of their father as the heroic captain he is. Horace yearns to be a soldier himself, imagining glory and adventure. But war is coming, and it will not be the grand adventure he has pictured. Sophie May writes with quiet depth about that pivotal moment when childhood fantasies meet adult realities. As Mr. Clifford goes off to battle, Horace must reckon with what it truly means to be brave when the game of soldiers becomes something far more serious. The novel balances the warmth of small-town American childhood, making candy, camping out, sibling banter, with genuine emotional weight. It is a touching portrait of growing up, of learning that courage sometimes means simply holding on while waiting for someone to come home.