Promise Boys is a decent debut from Nick Brooks.

I enjoyed the structure of the book with the snippets and interviews from different people. I enjoyed the overall message and the spotlight on how discipline can be abuse especially for Black and Brown boys. I really enjoyed our three main characters, they were easy to root for and I was hooked from the beginning.

I rated this book 3 stars, because despite enjoying it there were some issues.

I wish it were paced better. We spend a lot of time establishing the mystery with multiple POVs but not enough time solving the mystery— the ending felt strung together.
I wish a lot of character dynamics were better explored instead of just outright telling us. I found it hard to believe some of the relationship developments mentioned.
Despite loving the formatting, there were times I wish we spent more moments with the main trio instead of switching POVs. The multiple switches also made it hard to follow in some moments.
There were also somethings mentioned that seemed of high importance that never came up again, which had me slightly confused.

The Urban Promise Prep School is Washington, D.C., is supposed to turn boys into men. Principal Kenneth Moore runs the place with strict rules and brutal discipline. J.B., Ramon, and Trey are all students there. Each has a different background and different aspirations for their lives. When Principal Moore is shot while the three are in detention, they become the immediate suspects in his death.

In order to save their own reputations and futures, these young men need to band together with their various allies to put all the clues together to find out who killed the principal. Each knows that he didn't do it, but at first, they aren't too sure of the others. As they explore suspects, we also learn a lot about each of the three main characters from their own words and the words of those around them.

This is a story told in multiple viewpoints. Each viewpoint gives clues to the solution to this crime. It is also told over the course of a few days. Luckily, chapter and section headings orient the reader. Once I got into the style, I enjoyed this story and was glad to get to know these three very different, but equally remarkable, young men.

Do you ever wish you could give an author a round of applause after finishing a book? That's what I wanted to do after finishing "Promise Boys."

Three boys of color at a prep school are accused of murdering their principal, and the boys now have to conduct their own investigation to figure out who the real killer is.

The story is tense and filled with intrigue. Each of the boys could be guilty based on the evidence and timing, but they quickly uncover that several other people could be guilty as well. I really wasn't sure who the murderer would be right up until the reveal because the red herrings are just so well placed. I didn't think it would be who the boys finally decided on because I figured another twist was coming.

In addition to the excellent mystery, this story also focuses on how boys of color are viewed by society, especially if they come from the "wrong" neighborhoods. One boy is a suspect because his cousin is a gang member. One is a suspect essentially because he's big and black. One is a suspect because he's a class clown who doesn't follow overly strict protocols at the school. They all struggle with how people see them, and Brooks described it so well. I was genuinely attached to each of these characters.

I am impressed.

Thanks for the gifted e-ARC! @fiercereads @whoisnickbrooks @officialnickbrooks and @coloredpagesblogtours

I can tell the author not only has experience working in education, especially charter sector. Promise Boys is a mystery that focuses on three students suspected of the murder of their school's founder and top administrator. Trey, JB, and Ramon are students who are determined to prove their innocence and be see as whole people.

This was a great read!

Fave quote:

Teachers should be allowed to no like kids.

#coloredpagestours #promiseboys #partner

Whip-smart, fast-paced, and thrilling as hell, I'm absolutely convinced this will be HUGE. And it's well deserved. This book was an amazing read I got this arc at YALLFEST this past year and it has not disappointed. This is my first 5 star read of the year and it is an amazing book.

I’ve seen a lot of descriptions calling this book a cross between The Hate U Give and One of Us is Lying and I couldn’t agree more! Promise Boys by Nick Brooks tells the story of three young men from an all boys school in DC that are under suspicion when their principal is found dead. While all the boys have reasons to be suspected, they realize they must trust each other enough to work together to find the real killer…but can they really trust each other?

Brooks weaves social commentary in seamlessly with the mystery of who wanted Principal Moore dead. I loved how the story was written from each boy’s perspective, as well as giving us outside ideas as well—from friends, family, and community. The story was fast paced and I couldn’t put it down! If you’re a fan of Angie Thomas and/or Karen McManus, pick this one up as soon as you can!

***Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. and Macmillan for the advanced copy of Promise Boys***

I have heard a lot about #PromiseBoys before its release, so I was excited to read this ARC. This book is definitely a page turner. It follows the investigation of a murder of a principal of an all-boys charter school. Immediately three boys are identified as potential suspects--all three are boys of color. The story is fast-paced with each chapter only being a few pages, each from the perspective of a different character. This format allows the reader to see a more complete picture of each of the three boys, which is key to the story: what other people think of someone is not who they may be AND what they are led to believe about themselves is not who they are. This underlying message is clear throughout the book. While adult readers may not like the "ease" with which the story wraps up, teen readers will be engaged throughout. The book is a good murder mystery but also highlights some of the ways that schools try to control students and the problematic nature of that control, which will resonate with teen readers. This is a must-purchase for school libraries. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

"All these boys talk tough. Give them a little love and watch them melt. They're children. Everyone seems to always forget that. No matter their size. No matter their skin color. No matter their attitude."*

This novel was so good y'all. I won an earc from yallfest and I'm so glad because Promise Boys was one of my must anticipated reads if 2023.

I loved the promise boys : Trey, Ramón and JB. They were all unique characters and before I was a quarter into the book I was fiercely devoted to them. These boys represent the absolutely real Black and brown boys that are shoved into tight boxes all over America. What can you be when everyone expects you to fail in the end, regardless of who you are or how you live? The pressure on American boys of color is astronomical.

"As a Black man, you get no benefit of the doubt. You have to be on the right side of everything... This place is too hard for a Black man."*
"That's the sad part. Too many kids with too much potential fall to the pressure of the system."*
"In this world, everyone already thinks I'm guilty. But what's new? In this world it feels like I always have guilty painted on my back. This time it's just written in blood."*

*will check with finished work to confirm quotations

Promise Boys is a great whodunnit as well as a unvarnished look at the world of charter schools in urban communities that serve mostly black and brown students.

On the day of the murder, JB, Trey and Ramon are in detention. Trey is missing the basketball game he should be playing in, showing the scouts what he can do. JB is missing his first date with Keyana, his dream girl. Ramon is still mourning the loss of his pupusas and the income that they would have brought to help pay his cousin's bail. Try goes to the bathroom, and when he doesn't come back, the School Resource Officer, Reggie, who is running detention, goes to find him. Then they all hear the shot.

The principal, Mr. Moore, is dead, and everyone thinks it's one of the boys - JB, Trey or Ramon. All had their reasons to hate Principal Moore. But are there others who have a reason to kill him?

The picture of the charter school is not a positive one. Evidently, the school started strong and the students were happy. But when results weren't happening fast enough, the administration started enacting more strict rules, until the present day, when students can't speak or smile or even go to the bathroom without permission. They have to walk on a blue line between classes, and earn demerits for minor infractions, like not having your hands locked behind your back while walking down the hall.

This is a wonderfully written book, a great mystery, and an insightful commentary on urban charter schools. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

The Urban Promise Prep School is an institution that aims to turn boys into men through strict rules and discipline. J.B., Ramón, and Trey are students at the school and are taught that this strict regimen is necessary to be successful in college and avoid the same fate as many of the men in their neighborhoods. However, when the school's principal, Moore, is murdered, J.B., Ramón, and Trey become the main suspects in the investigation. Despite maintaining their innocence, they must work together to find the real killer before they are arrested. As they try to solve the mystery, they must consider the possibility that the killer could be one of their own.

This story is told through multiple points of view and includes commentary from other characters, which made it difficult to keep everyone straight at times. Additionally, the voices of J.B., Ramon, and Trey seemed too similar, making it hard to distinguish between them as individual characters.

That being said, the mystery of the murdered principal was intriguing and exciting, with every new development throwing suspicion onto someone else. Additionally, examining the inner workings of the Urban Promise Prep School, an institution operating under a seemingly innocent facade that inordinately seeks to control and suppress BIPOC boys, was both heartbreaking and rage-inducing. While the story had its flaws, I still found it to be a compelling read and would recommend it.

I absolutely adored the mixed media that showed the multitude of ways that we fail black and brown boys, even ways in which we often fail them when we have good intentions. And to keep me on the edge of my seat and have a sweet romance all at once? Brilliant work

Karen McManus + the hate u give/ Jason Reynolds. Yes please. I love a good prep school murder and this did not disappoint. Ya murder mysteries can be a bit cliche, and this was no different, but I loved it none the less. It's a niche of ya that I adore. Most ya prep school mysteries are northeast white school privilege schools, so this did offer a different perspective in that regard, downtown DC, Racial diversity. Etc.

Urban Promise Prep was supposed to be a stellar educational institution, instead it turned into an institute of oppression, where the principal wounded all he came in contact with, until he was murdered. Brooks lays out the plot in such a way that the stringent rules build and has those who were once asking if they were criminals or crazy realize that they were, in fact, simply human. Told in multiple perspectives from the students, their friends, family, school personnel and police, Brooks gives a well rounded picture of the situation and literally had me cheering the Promise Boys on by the climax and shouting “YEAH!” . A well done YA mystery with plenty of details, suspects and an underlying message of uniting for justice, don’t miss Promise Boys in the new year.

Promise Boys was a great read. The story moves quickly, keeps the reader guessing, includes diversity issues (which public and school libraries are prioritizing in their purchases this year), I read it in a day, and wanted to pass it along to another reader. It will be an easy book talk success. The cover put me off, but I am glad the description of the book sold it to me. A winner!

Promise Boys is the kind of thriller that goes beyond a "whodunit" and truly explores the socioeconomic and racial inequities in education. While the main story revolves around three boys (Ramon, Trey, and J.B.) who have been accused of murdering the principal of their urban prep school, voices from a number of other people contribute to making this story particularly impactful. Urban Promise Prep is a school that demands absolute perfection from its students, who are primarily boys of color. Any infraction can get them kicked out of school or humiliated in front of their peers. It is a school that seems to model itself after a prison-- a breaker, not a maker, of men. However, that seems to be exactly what the community wants it to be.

With this novel, Nick Brooks shines a light on the way that implicit and explicit biases play a role in some of our most important institutions. This is a well-written, fast paced, and eye opening read.

3.5 stars: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘁:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱:
-the use of charter schools as sometimes problematic, topical, provocative,
-kids of different racial backgrounds, highlighting their connections
-building is tension and mystery surrounding the murder of the principal

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗜 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲:
-simplistic ending - wrapped up far too neatly
-fast pov changes - I would’ve liked to dive deeper into characters before switching
-writing style a bit simplistic for me, tho it is YA, but teens can handle complexity

This new author shows great promise and I look forward to what he writes next:)

A solid thriller that also gives you a glimpse at what it's like in America for young men who aren't white. The mystery is fairly easy to solve, but it's still intriguing. And if schools like this really exist - and I fear they do - we should shut them all down immediately.

Promise Boys is a dark academia mystery/thriller. Three boys at a private school determined to lift students of color up each have beef with their overbearing principal. When he gets shot at school, they are the prime suspect. Working together for the first time ever, they try to prove their innocence.

Excellent recommendation for high school library. 3.5/5

Promise Boys is a mystery that gives a socially relevant message about stereotyping, the value of cooperation, and false perceptions. It gives lessons about those themes to the reader without being obvious. It also doesn’t follow the usual formula for murder mysteries. The story is told through interviews of classmates, friends, and teachers, along with police reports and suspect interrogations as well as personal reflections of the three boys at the center of the story. I have not read any mysteries that use this format. Promise Boys is truly unique and engrossing.
A charismatic principal of Promise Academy is murdered. Each of three teenagers-J.B, Trey, and, Ramón- are students at the school and each is accused of the murder based on the stereotypical views of others. The boys form an unlikely partnership in order to solve the mystery and exonerate themselves. They enlist the help of fellow classmates. Others at the school become possible suspects , but the teens eventually find out they were not involved. At the end of the book the mystery is solved and the principal turns out to not be the kind of upstanding person he was thought to be and the murderer turns out to be someone others would not have suspected.
I think this novel would appeal to even those who usually do not want to read mysteries . It truly can appeal to almost any reader. Also, it can be enjoyed by adults, even though it is considered a book for young adults. I highly recommend reading it.

Yes! Excellent book from cover to cover. Fast paced with an air of mystery and a hint of rebellion/awakening!

This book would be perfect for students to read.