When Principal Moore of the Urban Promise charter school is shot dead, three boys who were meant to be in detention immediately become the prime suspects. JB, Trey, and Ramon each know that they are innocent but circumstances and their position as Black and Brown boys from impoverished backgrounds makes it hard for them to prove it.

This short novel (6.5 hour audiobook) does a great job of peeling back the layers on the three boys’ lives and on the quasi-military operation of the school. None of the three like the school and chafe under its oppressive and often pointless restrictions but they all see it as a means to an end. We get to see their aspirations: to get to college, own a store front, play sports, and, ultimately, break the cycle of their family’s poverty. There is also some very pointed commentary on the way (some) charter schools use their position to enhance individuals both financially and in terms of their status.

The boys finally team up to investigate the mystery (because nobody else is going to) and once they are able to challenge the assumptions they made about each and about other people they begin to make progress. It’s all wrapped up rather hurriedly and there’s really no surprises.

The audiobook was a full cast performance with music and sound effects and, while I generally prefer a straightforward reading, the format of the book lent itself very well to this production style and, I think, enhanced a fairly straightforward story.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the audiobook review copy.

Note: the audiobook review copy finished at around the 41/2 hours mark. I read the remainder of the book but felt I'd got enough of the flavor of the audiobook to be able to review it.

If you have the opportunity to listen to this on audiobook, please take it! This was a whole production, and I absolutely loved it. It was so well done, and I believe the audio version enhanced the storytelling. This is a really great mystery! That being said, I think the audio file I got wasn't complete. It just seemed to stop near the end of the book without completing the story. I read enough that I feel I'm able to still rate it, but I would be interested in reading the rest. I might have to pick up the physical copy of the book later on to see how it ends.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

4.5 stars rounded up

Promise Boys is a fantastic YA debut. It's a murder mystery set in a boys prep school for struggling and low income kids. Lauded for making a difference in these kids futures, the reality of Promise Prep is very different. It is tense, highly-controlled with abusive behavior from faculty and staff. When the principle is killed, three teen boys are the top suspects. They are Black and Latinx, and people make assumptions. They seem to be the obvious culprits. But they each know they are innocent and need to uncover the truth before this setup ruins lives.

This is a fast-paced, engaging narrative with a little bit of a mixed media element with news articles etc. The audiobook is EXCELLENT, complete with a full cast and sound effects. It does a great job of tackling the reality of how the school to prison pipeline can function, the way people assume the worst about Black and brown boys, and how harsh and abusive discipline often isn't what these kids actually need. But of course, it's for a teen audience and told from the perspective of the teenagers themselves. Very good and I hope we see more from this author. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to @Macmillan.Audio for my complimentary audio of PROMISE BOYS!

Do you love true crime?
Are you a podcast fan?
Did you devour A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER?
If yes, then you definitely need to try this audiobook!

PROMISE BOYS (out now) starts off with a bang, the principal of an elite charter school is murdered, and three students of color are the lead suspects. It turns out that all is not well at Urban Promise Prep School - although the school claims to prepare BIPOC men for success; in reality, the administration's iron fist beats all the joy out of them. I loved hearing JB, Trey, and Ramón's experiences directly from them in this full cast narration - and the big reveal of the culprit was SO well done. This audio is under 7 hours - so it's perfect if you want a quick thriller that packs a punch!

I don't feel comfortable writing publishing reviews for this one as I did not have access to the end of the novel. What I did have the ability to listen to was solid, diverse YA Lit. I think many of my students will enjoy this one on multiple levels.

J.B., Ramón, and Trey are students at the Urban Promise Prep School in Washington, DC. They do their best to follow the ultra-strict rules established by their principal as part of his “Moore Method.” But when Principal Moore is murdered, each of the three boys (who were all in detention and adjacent to the crime scene that day) become suspects. Although they do not trust each other at first, they soon realize that their best chance at clearing their names is to work together to expose the real killer. Debut author Nick Brooks does a great job of developing each character's unique voice and personality, which is pivotal because the story is told from numerous points of view. Each teen has his own struggles, triumphs, and secrets that play into how they approach the world and each other. In addition to being a propulsive murder mystery, Promise Boys poses some serious questions about the prep school's toxic culture of "excellence." The audiobook production is equally strong, with different voice actors portraying the various characters and ambient background sounds contributing to the atmosphere. Readers who enjoy books by Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Karen M. McManus will gravitate to this novel, which is both entertaining and rich with opportunities for deep discussion.

4.5/5 When the odds seem against you, who can you trust? This is the case with JB, Trey, and Ramon as they are viewed as suspects in the case of their murdered principal. If you are looking for a quick read that is well-written and mysterious, Promise Boys is the book you are looking for. I chose to listen to the story which was filled with a number of narrators. I love these types of audiobooks because not only does it help me keep track of who is speaking, the integration of the media and news reports made it more entertaining. This is my first time reading Nick Brooks and I plan to check out other books by him. Brooks provided each characters' perspective about what happened before, during, and after the murder at once before jumping to the next character. I appreciated that because it allowed me to learn about the character and determine if they were guilty. I did give it 4.5 stars because the ending seemed really rushed. I wish more information was given about Ms. Hall and why her pregnancy was constantly mentioned.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for providing me a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review of Promise Boys!

Any review of this book needs to start by acknowledging this cover. I can't remember the last time I saw a book cover that made me so excited to read a book. It's a little scary, very evocative -- it really gets the people going.

I listened to this audiobook which is narrated by a full cast. For me, full cast audiobooks can be hit or miss. Sometimes a full cast just distracts from the one or two weak narrators who are part of the bunch. Sometimes it can pull me out of a story trying to figure out which voice is who. I didn't have that problem with this book at all, and it reminded me a lot of the audio for Sadie which is also done with a full cast and full sound mixing. Interviewing students with lots of muffled, murmuring voices in the background felt so realistic. I also think that every audio reader was strong and kept the intensity of the story alive.

Lastly, this story. As a murder mystery, I think the end reveal isn't the most surprising. But I don't really think that this is supposed to be a murder mystery. As a thriller, this books hurtles towards a seemingly inevitable end and keeps the reader on their toes the entire time.

I’m not sure that I got the entire audiobook. That is disappointing. It just stoped at chapter 21. Usually at the end there is an announcement of who the book was read by and so on. It is a very good story and this audiobook would have gotten 5 stars if I had got the entire thing. This is unlike any other that I listened to. Each character has its on narrator. Each scene also has background noise. Like the tv news report sounded as if you were watching it live on tv. When the students talked in the hall you could hear others walking and talking in the background. You are truly immersed in the story. That was unique and different. By far the best audiobook I’ve gotten to experience. I feel like I’m stuck now because I don’t know what happened and just reading it out of a book isn’t going to give me the same experience and that part sucks! But I will find out what happened because I’m so hooked to these characters that I just have to! Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me access to this book.

Promise Boys is a YA murder mystery that follows three high school students, all accused of the murder of their domineering principal. The Urban Promise Prep School prides itself on its reputation of "turning boys into men." Urban Promise Prep takes "disadvantaged" (read: POC) boys in and sets them up for a positive future full of opportunity and growth. On paper, helping boys find easier access to colleges, jobs, or training programs sounds great, if Urban Promise Prep wasn't a militant institution set on breaking the student body's spirit. At this all boys' school (I'm using the term "school" loosely here as it's more like a prison), boys attend classes from 7am to 5pm every weekday, where the boys are all but expected to be drones: there's no talking in the hallway (keep your eyes ahead, your feet on the blue tile line, and your hands clasped behind your back always), no socializing at lunch, and demerits and detention are handed out like Halloween candy. Much of the administrative staff have white savior complexes, and feel that it is their duty to metaphorically beat these boys into submission so that they might have a bright future, which they will naturally owe to Urban Promise Prep and not their own hard work (/sarcasm).

Everything at Urban Promise Prep comes to a screeching halt when their principal, Kenneth Moore, is shot to death in his office during a basketball game. Of course, J.B., Trey, and Ramón, the three boys who'd had run-ins with Principal Moore that day, are instantly suspects. They're carted in by the police, interrogated, and banned from school property pending the investigation.

What follows is a gripping display of how young men of color are guilty until proven innocent, how those in positions of power actively work against these boys while maintaining a facade of "helping," and the terror that young Black and Latinx men and their families deal with daily, especially when dealing with law enforcement and accusations made against them. For example, Trey is always deemed "trouble--destined for gang life and prison" by those in power because he, a star athlete, has the personality of a class clown. What in the world? One teacher, one teacher, has the spine to stand up for the boys, but only does so in the quiet, behind closed doors. Not out in the open. Why? How could people who spend 10+ hours a day with boys like J.B., Trey, and Ramón not see J.B.'s poetic nature and drive to provide for himself and his mom, Trey's athletic abilities and his struggles with absent parents while trying to keep his head above water, and Ramón's entrepreneurial spirit and tenacity? How do these adults not see all of these things, want to protect them at all costs? Then you have the donors--more white saviors with deep pockets who think that their donations to Urban Promise Prep suddenly make their rampant racism disappear.

I was quite literally on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened at each turn, and was so enamored by J.B., Trey, and Ramón's personalities and experiences, and the loyalty they ultimately show to one another and to justice for ALL. Even the side characters like Keyana, Luis, and Magda show the kind of loyalty that you would want in your closest friends, and that can be so rare. I truly loved feeling like a part of this group's story.

My only complaint about Promise Boys is that there was such a long and compelling buildup that the ending felt a bit abrupt. I kept looking at my Kindle's "x minutes left in book" and couldn't figure out how there could possibly be enough time to wrap everything. Nick Brooks does actually close up the story well, I just wish it wasn't so fast.

In terms of the audiobook, it featured a full cast of characters which was new and unique for me, as well as musical accompaniment and sound design. While this was definitely cool, I did find it very distracting as I tend to listen to audiobooks at 1.75-2x speed, which made the background sounds a bit chaotic. For those that listen at 1x speed, though, I think these were probably fun to experience. Unfortunately, my audiobook file ended abruptly at the end of chapter 22, so I wasn't able to finish the full audiobook as planned.

I thought the comparison between The Hate U Give and One of Us is Lying was so on point. I love a book whose theme is “who done it” . This book involves an all boys high school and the murder of their principal. There are three students who are being told that one, or all, are involved in it. All of them had reasons to want to want to kill Principal Moore. He bullied them all. Was it one of them? Was it someone else they knew? Or was Principal Moore the one who did it?

I want to mention that this review is of the audiobook. This has an entire cast and production value to it and it works beautifully. The principal of an all boys prep school is murdered and the police have three suspects. All three young men are students at the Promise Prep School where the principal was murdered. J.B., Ramon, and Trey. The three boys don’t know each other but they have to work together to solve the murder to clear all of their names.

I love how the book jumped right into the action. There really is no lead up to the murder it just happens right away. The first half of the book lets us get to know the three boys and see how they got themselves into their situations. You get to know them from the day before the murder to the day of the murder. I both loved this and got frustrated by this. I loved it because it was a lot of exposition and character building. It was great to get to know them and their lives one by one. I was frustrated by it because it just went on for far too long. It took a long time before they finally started to work together to solve the murder. These parts were so strong that I was hoping for more.

This really is an example of how audiobooks can be more than just someone reading to you. Everyone does a great job and this was a true experience. I highly recommend this audiobook.

This book started off so strong but then it lost some momentum for me. I loved the writing style how it had different texts such as news reports, police transcripts, narrative fiction, dialogue, etc. I immediately thought of my high school students and how much they would enjoy this book! I would be really curious to what their thoughts.
The audiobook particularly stands out because it is read by a full cast and is so unique. It would be really fun to use during a lesson in the classroom.
I was quite surprised when the book ended so abruptly. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my audiobook because it just cut off. I was expecting more.
Overall it was a really interesting book!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook!

I loved listening to this book. The writing style and switching of POVs was done so well. I think the audiobook made this story even better.

I loved getting to know these boys individually but also through their friends and family. Hearing their stories and coming together to help each other has you hoping everything works out for each one of them and that the true killer is caught!

And I say this still truly hoping! I had some sort of issue and am missing the last hour of the audiobook so I’m left wondering how this story ends am immediately running to get this book once icy road conditions have cleared!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙐 𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙨 𝙄𝙨 𝙇𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙡’𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨.

📍 Read if you like:
• Powerful Reads
• Impactful Stories
• Diverse Characters
• Murder Mysteries

After seeing the incredible authors this book was being compared to I was quite nervous going into it. Somehow Nick Brooks manages to write a story as good as theirs.

I wasn’t expecting to be so emotional over this book, but it’s such an impactful and moving story that had some serious issues talked about. I hope I see many readers pick this one up, it deserves so much recognition and praise.

I highly recommend picking the audiobook for this one. It has a full cast and some special effects that bring the story to life. It was so beautiful to read this way and made such an incredible and realistic book!

I flew through this book, it was a quick book that I finished in one sitting. I was so hooked and entertained the whole time. I was so touched by the story of these three boys being treated and accused of murdering their principal. However, I loved how all three of them came together to figure out the truth and clear their names.

First, we have JB Williamson - a tall, intimidating student who is accused because “it’s always the quiet ones” (they say) and was seen threatening the principal the day he was murdered. Others also say he has anger issues… I felt bad for him, I loved his character.

Next, we have Trey Jackson - the star basketball player who moved from NY and now lives with his alcoholic uncle. He ends up accidentally bringing his uncle’s gun to school… and is also suspended from “the game” where recruiters are supposed to be… and it’s all the principal’s fault.

Finally, we have Ramon Zambrano - a Latin American student who sells his grandmother’s pupusas at school trying to help her out… even though he’s not supposed to sell them at school. The principal ends up getting his cousin arrested, humiliates him, and throws away his grandmother’s hard work… poor kid! I felt and connected the most with Ramon.

This book was so impactful and beautifully told! The only reason I bumped down a star was that the ending felt a bit meh. I’m glad they all figured out the truth, but the killer was a bit of a letdown personally… it made sense, there are not many motives.

Overall, this book was phenomenal and moving. The audiobook is the way to go with that full cast and sound effects! I can see this being the next talk of the town! Highly recommend this book!

J.B., Ramón, and Trey are students at the ultra strict The Urban Promise Prep School. These boys have nothing to do with each other until the three of them become suspects in the murder of their principal, Mr. Moore. Known as someone who was hard on the boys, Mr. Moore wasn't well-liked, so when the boys, who know they're innocent, set out to uncover the truth, anyone could be a guilty of the crime.

I enjoyed this YA mystery and the unique way in which the story was told. In addition to the POV chapters of the boys, minor characters have POV chapters as well, and there are interviews, news reports, text messages, and interviews trying to help all of us get to the bottom of this crime. The characters J.B., Ramón, and Trey are realistic and relatable. I liked Ramón the best with his dreams of one day owning his own restaurant.

This was a fantastic ALC with a full cast. The narration by Alfred Vines; Anthony Lopez; Brad Sanders; Christopher Hampton; Eliana Marianes; Hannah Church; Henriette Zoutomou; Jaime Lincoln Smith; Maria Liatis; Renier Cortes; Suehyla El-Attar, and Xenia Willacey really brought the book to life. This is a quick read that I recommend if you like YA mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars but DNF

Very frustrating that only 80% of the audiobook was put on the website. I contacted NetGalley and the author several weeks ago but it hasn't been fixed. I liked the book but no closure since I don't know who killed the principal!

Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. Principal Moore has very strict rules. Three students, J.B., Ramon, and Trey have all had issues with Moore and become suspects in the principal's death. They end up working together to solve the murder and uncover more than they expected. Nick Brooks did an excellent job with the three MC of what motivates them and who they are.

Promise Boys is fast paced and impossible to put down. Told in mixed media style - in terms of testimonials and character POVs - this mystery is captivating. Revolving around three teens who are accused of murder and who have to team up to clear their names, Brooks knows how to deliver tension. I loved that at the very beginning, at first, we only hear from the perspectives of bystanders. We see their biases, racism, and judgements. And then afterwards, we hear from the teens themselves.

Part of what made Promise Boys so utterly readable as the audio book which was phenomenal. Not only was it full cast, but it also included sound effects which gave everything a cinematic and tense feeling. If audio books are your thing, I highly recommend it! I listened to half the book on audio alone!

Three boys are accused of their principal’s murder. Was it one of them? Or was it someone else? I guess I won’t know until the book comes out next week because the arc of the audiobook I received abruptly ended.

I will say that I enjoyed this book, and I definitely want to know the ending. I loved the interview-style of the storytelling, with getting the story not just from the MCs but the side characters as well. The author had me emotionally-invested not just in the mystery of who killed the principal but also the three boys being accused and their lives. Although, I haven’t finished yet, I would recommend.

Ramon, Trey, and J.B. are accused of murdering their school principal at Urban Promise Prep. The principal was strict and seemingly unfair to the boys, but they swear they didn’t kill him. When no one believes them though, they decide to band together to prove their own innocence. The mixed media (the news reports, police interrogations, interviews, and Ramon, Trey, and J.B.’s first person perspectives) truly makes this story special. And the entire cast of narrators reading the different scene types take this audiobook to the next level. Some scenes have music and crowd sounds behind the voiceovers as well which add to emotional environment. Ultimately, the writing and the characterization are top notch. I highly recommend listening to the audio of this one. It’s more than a book; it’s an immersive experience.