”My head is a mess though. Thoughts on a loop about what I could've done differently. I tried so hard to change him, to turn him around, and he still found himself caught up in this messed-up system.”

Promise Boys is the story of JB, Ramón, and Trey, all suspects in the murder of their principal at Urban Promise Prep School. Comparing this to <i>One of Us is Lying</i> is doing this book a disservice. It has a much more compelling mystery seamlessly weaved into three teens’ stories about battling the ills of the world.

The format of this book was my favorite part. It’s set up with shifts in perspective that are all equally compelling, making readers eager to root for the three protagonists. Promise Boys, to me, read as a character study with a murder mystery on the side, which isn’t a complaint. My biggest “issue” with the book was the writing, but that’s simply because I’m normally not a fan of contemporary writing and am normally there for the plot and character development.

That being said, I would still recommend this book to anyone, regardless of if you’re a fan of contemporary or not, because the murder mystery element added more layers to the story.

Scheduled to post 1/31/23.

PROMISE BOYS had me guessing who did it the entire time. Pretty much until the killer was revealed, I was guessing. I literally had no idea who it was other than I figured it wasn't one of the three boys. Other than that, Brooks did an excellent job of setting up a school of red herrings for people to follow trying to figure out who killed Principal Moore.

It's interesting because reading this, I couldn't help but think of Ron Brown College Prep the entire time. No relation to Promise, that I'm aware of, other than it's a school for predominantly Black boys to help them get the leg up in the world they need. Where Promise, at its end, did it through militaristic discipline, Ron Brown does it through love and giving these boys the attention and care they need that they wouldn't otherwise get in a public school setting. At least according to NPR's CodeSwitch. But having this understanding that there are schools like this, with this exact mission, helped root the story in reality even more for me.

I could feel the frustration of each of these characters. Ramón couldn't dodge gang life association despite the fact that he wasn't in one. But having a cousin who is was enough. And Trey and JB are basically angry Black boys who had a grudge against the principal (along with a number of people). Circumstances set them up nicely to be suspects in Moore's murder.

I liked the asides interspersed in the story from teachers, other students, neighborhood people about what could have gone down, what Moore was like, and what the boys were like to help paint a picture that I'll fall short of calling well-rounded. Hearsay doesn't really paint a well-rounded picture. But it added more context to the situation.

My favorite was JB and Keyana. I don't normally get googly-eyed over YA relationships, but ugh. These two just had my heart. I loved when Keyana was like I need to know you have my back too if the tables were reversed (understanding how often black women get forgotten in situations like these), and JB replies:

…I would hoist the whole planet up on my back and carry it around the sun, if you so much as whispered for me to do it.

Misty-eyed punch to my gut. But I got misty-eyed for Trey and his uncle, especially when his uncle realized the error of his own way. I won't spoil it, but that realization in that relationship had my eyes watery. And I can't forget Ramón and his abuela and her pupusas. The absolute love and community around these little stuffed tortilla pancakes and how they drove community and Ramón's desire to do right by his abuela by opening his own restaurant just had me floating.

I feel like the love and drive in PROMISE BOYS overshadows the horrible situation these boys are in. It's a circumstance we don't often get to see because we only see the police side of things. We don't see the human side of it. We don't see how accusations like this can be ruinous and the effect they have on boys like this and the lives they've built. PROMISE BOYS is riveting and will keep you turning the pages until you hit the back wall of the book. By then you'll be completely satisfied.

4.5

I received this review because I wrote the teaching guide for this book for Cake Kitchen. I cannot wait for this book to be in the hands of students!

This was an interesting read. The description - The Hate U Give meets One of Us are Lying - was very accurate. I was able to guess the murderer before the novel was over but I did appreciate the multi perspective narration. That helped keeping me guessing for longer. I did think the organization of the novel was a little jumbled. I didn't care for the testimonials of other random characters prior to the start of rhe chapters. I thought it got a little wordy. But all in all it was a great read. I think my students will really like it!

I would like to thank Henry Holt and Co for providing me with an ARC.

I loved this book. Brooks has a fantastic writing style. The way this story was told was very interesting with how it changed between interviews and the main characters. I loved how Brooks developed the characters and the mystery. This book has some great commentary and shows how the main characters are heavily impacted by the expectations placed on them, based on race and where they are from. I enjoyed how they came to get know each other and learn to depend on each other to solve the mystery and clear their names. While it does wrap up very cleanly, I do think it ended in a very satisfying way. This was an excellent book that I highly recommend.

Urban Promise Prep may be a prestigious school that practically guarantees student success and "saves lives" within its troubled neighborhood, but Principal Moore is dead. His patented "Moore Method" didn't stop a bullet to the head. The police have narrowed it down to three suspects: J.B., Ramon, and Trey.

They were the only students in that very secure area of the building that evening. They all had reasons to want Moore dead. But who pulled the trigger?

Told through the rotating perspectives of the three boys as they try to clear their own names, Promise Boys peels back the layers of their lives, their motivations, and how things really worked in a school with too many secrets of its own.

The characters really drive this story. All three of the main characters have such detailed and different lives and personalities, making it easy to root for them, sympathize with them, and fear for them. I still can't decide which narrator I liked best because they all have some major peaks. It's fascinating to see them all try to prove *each other's* guilt in a desperate attempt to exonerate themselves, knowing that the police aren't particularly interested in clearing ANY of their names. Fold in secondary characters in each narrator's corner who shine in different ways, and it makes for an engrossing lineup.

The mystery isn't completely unpredictable, but that really didn't matter to me. In the same vein as Karen M. McManus, Nick Brooks does a great job casting doubt on pretty much every character. There are as many hints as there are dead ends. Anyone could have done it, which means you have reason to suspect the involved party before the reveal. But does that ruin anything when you've also suspected everyone else at one point? Not for me!

Promise Boys progresses at a steady clip throwing in little cliffhangers at the end of each chapter to keep you wanting just. one. more. I could've read it all in one sitting, if my life allowed it. Brooks' first YA outing is.. yes.. PROMISING, and I'm looking forward to reading more from him!

This book definitely puts me in the mind of one of is lying. I saw alot of people saying that this book was similar to that and I couldn’t agree more… The first half of the book isn’t much of the thriller aspect as it kind of puts us in the main “suspects” shoes and their home dynamic. Once you get past that is when the mystery comes in and it’s time to put on those detective hats. The story is most certainly fast-paced as each chapter is a different perspective of a different character. Reading this I would say that the author definitely has some sort of background in education and it was very enjoyable to see from a different aspect if you will. Thank you #coloredpagestours #Macmillianpublishing for the ARC

Who killed the principal of Promise Academy? And why? Told through multiple viewpoints - mostly of the three boys who were in detention the afternoon that he was killed - this is a fast-paced book. More than just a thriller, Brooks also looks at the pros and cons of charter schools as well as the personal lives of students who end up there. Although the book centers around a murder and there is mention of a prominent gang, the book is fairly clean and would be appropriate for mature 7th graders and above.

This story takes place at a Charter school for boys in an urban city. I was really interested in this story too because in my education background I have heard a lot of discussion on charter schools popping up all over urban areas. I have heard teachers and parents talking about these character schools and character schools who have moved into urban schools and share there facilities with them. The good charter schools in a community are known for only allowing certain students in, and if a student looks like they are failing they will dump that student from the school, and send them to a regular public school. In an urban city of failing schools and limited resources charter schools are viewed as a way of allowing students in lower income to have a chance to succeed academically.
The setting of this book is The Promise Charter School that is set up by a hard nose visionary Mr. Moore. Mr. Moore has set up this Charter School to be deliberate in the way they go about helping to transform young urban males into success stories. Not everyone at the Promise School agrees with Principal Moore's strategy of how he develops these young men and his methods are very disciplined. Principal Moore is in your face and has a lot of rules and regulations in regard to dress, behavior, curriculum and how students are to act while in the building of the school. In this story there are three young men who had run ins with Principal Moore in recent weeks: J.B, Ramon; and Trey. Then one day Principal Moore is found dead with a bullet in his school office. The police look at the three young men as prime suspects, and as each characters narrative is shared through the book you soon discover that a lot is going on in the lives of these young me and Principal Moore.
I couldn't put this book down, and I really, really enjoyed this book. I loved how each character shared their own narrative of events leading to the murder of Principal Moore, and who did it. I highly recommend this book. Great writing and a great story!
I want to thank Netgalley and Macmillian Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

DNF @ 40% - I loved the concept and the storyline a lot! however, the writing style I just couldn’t get into and it was irritating me the longer I read. if it was in plain text, I probably would have enjoyed the story a lot more - but I give the author major credit and props for the creativity!!! it just wasn’t for me, but definitely will be for many others out there! thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I know it’s early in the year, but this may be my favorite book of the year. I don’t typically do a “favorite of the year, ” but this could easily be at the top of that list for me. I can’t say that I’ve ever read this style of book/writing before, and it was absolutely refreshing. The way this story was told kept me engaged until the very last page. I had two guesses about who the killer was, but if I had to choose, my initial guess was wrong.

I wasn’t… ummm… thrilled (?) that the main suspects were young men of color, but given the neighborhood, it makes sense. One thing that I loved about the way this story was told was you got J.B’s, Trey’s and Ramón’s points-of-view, but you also got the day before the murder, the day of, and after. BUT… you didn’t just get their points of view; you got others, which really gave you (as the reader) a fuller picture, but it also showed you how you, as the witness, can misinterpret what you heard or saw.

This was absolutely stunning, and I enjoyed every step of this mystery!

Promise Boys follows 3 teens, J.B., Trey, and Ramón as they become suspects in the murder of their high school principal. The boys all attend Urban Promise Prep School, a strict school that pledges to turn disadvantaged boys into successful men. Each of the boys vows that they are innocent. Can they work together to find the real murderer or is the killer among them? The story is told from multiple viewpoints and leaves the reader turning the pages at rapid-fire speed. It reminded me a bit of Ace of Spades, which I also loved. I couldn't put this book down! It was a 5-star read for me.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this amazing book.

Promise Boys is a cleverly written murder mystery that follows three boys who are all suspects in their principal’s murder.

I flew through this book. Each chapter left me with tons of possible theories to who the murderer was and I constantly needed to know what happened next.

I loved the way that this book was written. Nick Brooks has a really fun writing style that’s easy to get sucked into. The mixed media format was also really well done. It helped this story flow really well and the newspaper stories in particular brought an interesting twist to this murder mystery.

J.B., Ramon, and Trey were all really solid characters to center this story around. They all came from different backgrounds yet I liked them all the same and I found myself rooting for their sucess from the very start of the story.

The setting in this story was excellent. The idea of an elite, well-known school that is way too harsh on students hits close to home for me. I went to a school that reminded me of Promise in some aspects. My school definitely wasn’t as bad, but there was enough in common with Promise that it made me picture my old school while I was reading this story and it made the story feel more real to me because I could see how someone at an intense school like Promise could snap and do something terrible.

I did have a couple issues with this book. The first being that about 45% of this story is exposition. It’s just setting up the evidence and who each character is. It’s only the last 55% were the characters truly become detectives like what’s hinted at in the synopsis. I feel like the balancing between exposition and actual story could’ve been better.

I also felt like despite the cover and the book’s marketing, this book doesn’t feel very much like a thriller. I didn’t personally mind this since I prefer murder mysteries over thrillers, but if you’re considering reading this one, don’t go into this expecting to be scared or to have your heart racing or any of those other feelings that people typically associate with thrillers.

I don’t think this book is for everyone, but it was fairly enjoyable for me. I could easily picture this book being made into a HBO limited series some day.

Firstly thanks to #Netgalley for my gifted ARC e-version of this book. This book comes out on January 31st.

I seen this one floating around in late 2022 and was hooked when I seen that this book is mixture of Angie Thomas and Karen McManus (sign me up! Duh!). YA and thrillers have a special place in my heart

This book does not disappoint, it jumps off from the first page. Instantaneously, it gives a who-dun-it feel. I love how the book gave an account of the days leading up to the murder for each suspect and then the events the day off and afterwards. It lead to some good character and plot development. This book has multiple POVs, and sometimes this can be a little chaotic, it works for this book, because literally EVERYONE is a suspect.

I guessed who the killer was from the very beginning, but I feel like it’s because I read way too many thrillers lol. Overall this was a good read that teenager me and adult me loves.

I would rate it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#bookstagram #blackbookstagram #bookstagramer #blackbookstagramer #tbr #tbrpile #ilovebooks #boodnerd #booksofinstagram #blackgirlsread #thisgirlreads #blackgirlsreadtoo #books #goodreads #storygraph #thriller #YA #PromiseBoys #20bookbyblackmen #20booksbyblackfolx

When the principal of Urban Promise Prep School is found murdered in his office, three students are high on the list of suspects. J.B., Trey, and Ramon attend Urban Promise Prep School. One is from the projects, one is a jock, and one has ties to the local gang. All three had run-ins with Principal Moore which resulted in detentions on the day of his murder. They form an unlikely alliance to find out who really killed Principal Moore and clear their names. Which one is guilty?
While you could look at this book as another boys of color being wrongly(?) accused of a crime, for me it went deeper than that. It was more about the assumptions we make about others based not just on skin-color, but on where you live, who your family is, what your school-rep is. These boys don't trust each other, but finally come together to solve the murder.
One thing that really bothered me, but wasn't dealt with beyond one or two lines, was the boys' interrogations. None of the boys had a lawyer or even a parent present. I felt like that somehow should have been addressed so young people would know that that should not be seen as normal. That they have the right to an attorney and shouldn't answer any questions without one, even if they didn't do anything wrong.

I just reviewed Promise Boys by Nick Brooks. #PromiseBoys #NetGalley

This was a great book. I loved all the promise boys (and their friends). The mystery ended up being a bit predictable.

Promise Boys is the story of three young men who find themselves at the intersection of an oppressive charter school, a tough neighborhood, and a murdered principal. I really liked the multiple POVs and how the mystery unfolded. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers--those who enjoy a social justice angle, those who enjoy mysteries, and those who simply enjoy an engaging and fast-paced story. I will be purchasing a copy for my classroom library!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me an e-arc of Promise Boys for review. The opinions in this review are solely my own. My actual rating is a 4.5

While I have yet to read The Hate You Give, any reference or connection to Karen McManus instantly piques my interest. So with that said, I was very interested in Promise Boys.

Set in a charter high school, three boys of color are the suspects in their principal's murder. Hmm...it must be more complicated than that...and so it is.

Set in multi POV of not only the three boys/suspects, but that select family members and friends, Nick Brooks basically wrote a masterclass in multi pov. Each voice was unique and wholly believable. I felt like any one of the characters were talking to me at any time. He encapsulated the thoughts, feelings and expressions of teenagers, and teenage boys for that matter, effortlessly.

I gobbled this book up in two days despite the very heavy themes and tones in the book. The whodunit was multilayered and my thoughts about who the killer really was changed multiple times throughout the book and I never saw the actual killer coming until the reveal.

While the ending was wrapped up too quickly for me, I thoroughly appreciated the epilogue ( I will keep this spoiler free).

Gangs, what it means to be a student of color, neighborhood, community and abuse are all themes woven throughout this novel.

I loved that characters that normally would not mesh together came together to solve the murder.

This book needs to be incorporated into classrooms and also studied in MFA programs for dialogue and multi pov.

I am honored to have been able to review Promise Boys and Nick Brooks is officially on my radar and I cannot wait to read more from him.

JB, Ramon, and Trey all attend the Urban Promise Prep School and it is strict, the older boys remember when it wasn’t quite as strict and they liked it but now there is no talking at all not between classes, not at lunch never, and if they mess up it is detention. But how does an afternoon detention turn into being suspected of murder, and how will the three prove their innocents, and who is the real killer?
This was a book that makes you think, a lot, about what ifs. They went to this school because it was supposed to save their lives, unlike so many in their neighborhoods, but with its over strictness could it push a kid to far. This was a good book with great characters. This book will enrage you and give you hope at the same time.

This book is advertised as THE HATE U GIVE meets ONE OF US IS LYING, and both of those books are two of my favorites. So naturally, PROMISE BOYS became a highly anticipated read for me, and I LOVED it. I will say the book's formatting style is a bit unorthodox at first, but by the end, it made sense as to why the story is told the way it is. I was confused for a tad, but once I understood the storytelling, I couldn't put it down.

J.B., Trey, and Ramon have nothing in common except that they are teen boys of color who all go to Urban Promise Prep and were in detention at the same time when Principal Moore was found dead on school grounds. All three of them are the main suspects because no one can confirm their exact whereabouts. The story unfolds of how each of them got detention, where they were when it happened, and everything afterwards. We meet other side characters, who fuel the story, but also add to the mystery of the elusive Principal Moore. From the community aspect, Principal Moore was a hero for troubled youth. He was the founder of the Urban Promise Prep, which has a high reputation as being the best school in DC due to high test scores and all students going to college on scholarship. However, behind closed doors, he was rude, aggressive, hostile, and selfish. The majority of students hated Urban Promise Prep, because it felt more like prison than it did school. J.B., Trey, and Ramon all had their own plans for the future, but being a murder suspect put everything on the line.

The secrets and the mystery kept me turning the page. I wanted needed to know what happened next and who really did it. If you love books with a school as the setting, add murder mystery in the mix, then this book is for you! I promise. I'm excited to see what Nick Brooks has in store for us next.