The Road to Picolata - by Tracy Upchurch

Book Synopsis

During a sweltering day in 1863, 14-year-old Henry Whitlock stumbles upon a wounded Confederate soldier in the dense brush of a north Florida forest. This discovery hurls Henry into a hero's journey to save the soldier's life, risking his own, and leaving his boyhood behind.

Henry, the only child of Union sympathizers, enlists the help of a reclusive couple, mourning the death of their own son, to help him save the wounded Confederate. After tending to the soldier and assisting with his surgery, Henry remains devoted to his patient, but also finds himself seduced by the soldiering life.

Meanwhile, Henry's deeply religious parents scramble to find their only child, setting out with a detachment of Union troops through the inhospitable and dangerous backcountry. After days of searching, the parents stumble upon a Confederate camp, only to find their son. While overjoyed to see him, tensions rise as Henry remains resolute in his decision to stay and become a Confederate soldier.

Amid the chaos and confusion of the Civil War, these intriguing characters face difficult decisions between family and friends, love and duty, life and death.

The Road to Picolata, with its vividly painted and engaging characters, will captivate readers drawn to tales of the Civil War and frontier Florida. Readers will relish this coming-of-age story, unfolding against the backdrop of war in the non-traditional setting of north Florida.