FREE ESSAY ON CRITICAL REVIEW - KILLER ANGELS

CRITICAL REVIEW - KILLER ANGELS

CRITICAL REVIEW:
"April Morning, Howard Fast"
April Morning was an interesting book concerning a young man, Adam Cooper, and the trials
and tribulations of his part in the Battle of Lexington. The story takes place mostly in
Adam's hometown of Lexington, Massachusetts, but also partially on the surrounding roads
and countryside. The novel opens with a glimpse into the daily life of the Cooper family.
As Adam comments on the harsh perfectionist opprobrium of his father, I find myself drawn
to his side of the issue. Adam confuses his father's constant animadversion with the
feeling that his father hates him. These feelings of hate are somewhat annulled by
Granny, Adam's grandmother and confidant. She tells him that, since she has known Moses
Cooper longer than anyone, she knows that he really loves Adam. This is further exerted
when Adam overhears a conversation between his parents. All this was happening with the
rumblings of war nearby. The British taxes and tariffs were intensifying and by then most
New England towns had their own local governments called Committees. Local community
leaders who also organized a town militia supported these Committees. When word reached
Lexington that a British army landed, the local militia was mustered and a battle was
inevitable.
This is quite a powerful and emotional beginning to a book. Fast does a superb job of
keeping the readers attention with his personal attention to detail and to feelings. He
knows how to enact emotion in a reader with his wonderful use of descriptions and
character commentary; Combined to produce a feeling that you are actually there in the
thick of it.
As I found myself reading this book I could not help but think about what I would have
done if I was the same age as Adam and in his shoes. The author presents this book in a
way that makes the reader think about this boy Adam and how he is turned into a man if
not forced to become a man in the heat of battle. And as I began to think about being a
young boy in battle I soon found myself thinking about my father and what he must of went
through when he volunteered for Vietnam directly after High School. Howard Fast presents
the issues of transition of boy-to-man in such an effective way that I put the book down
and personally became involved in thought. Something that I have never done after reading
a novel. 
I highly recommend that anyone of the "pre manhood" age read this novel when they are at
a point in which they feel like life is being unfair, because they have too much homework
do. I can guarantee that the reading is not to hard for even the high school reading
level and with the easy to follow format that Fast presents, it is no wonder that this
book was an instant hit.