ARC Review: Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Promise Boys
Author: Nick Brooks
Publication: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (January 31, 2023)

Description: The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying in Nick Brooks's Promise Boys, a trailblazing, blockbuster YA mystery about three teen boys of color who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names―for fans of Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Karen McManus.

The Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. As students, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are forced to follow the prestigious "program's" strict rules. Extreme discipline, they’ve been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the fates of many men in their neighborhoods. This, the Principal Moore Method, supposedly saves lives.

But when Moore ends up murdered and the cops come sniffing around, the trio emerges as the case's prime suspects. With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. But is the true culprit hiding among them?

My Thoughts: 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. 

Favorite Quote:

Every day we send our children out into the world, they are inflicted with a thousand tiny cuts. And all the limpias in the world can't clean it, because the wound is open.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.