Brilliantly told from multiple points of view, including secondary sources and media reports as well as narrative voices, this is an intensely gripping and powerful story that really highlights how young people of colour are failed by the education and law enforcement systems that should be protecting them.
Trey, J.B and Ramón are three very different characters with different aspirations attending Urban Promise Prep School, which was set up to give disadvantaged kids a second chance. Principal Kenneth Moore runs the place with strict rules and brutal discipline and when he is shot dead while the three are in detention, they become the immediate suspects in his death and they have to join forces to prove their innocence.
These characters are extremely well drawn and all the additional sources really build a picture of their community and the challenges they face. Needless to say media reports are biased against the boys from the start, because of their colour and where they are from and it is fascinating to see how the boys are perceived by others and how they see themselves.
This is a nuanced and wholly authentic look at societal injustice but wrapped up in a page turning and nail biting mystery which will keep readers gripped and engaged. The author’s screen writing background really shows in the vivid scene setting and economy of language. This is an absolute must have for school libraries and a richly rewarding text for classroom study.
Nick Brooks's Promise Boys is a trailblazing, blockbuster YA mystery about three teen boys of colour who must investigate their principal's murder to clear their own names. For fans of Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds, 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?
This gripping thriller shines a glaring light on how the system too often condemns Black and Latinx teen boys to failure before they've even had a chance at success.
'Thrilling . . . Promise Boys will stay with you long after the last page' - Karen M. McManus, author of One of Us Is Lying
Author
About Nick Brooks
Nick Brooks is an author and award-winning filmmaker from Washington, DC, Promise Boys is his first YA debut. He is a 2020 graduate of USC's TV and Film Production program. His short film, Hoop Dreamin', earned him the George Lucas Scholar Award and was a finalist in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Film Fest. He is currently in development for his first feature film, We Were Born Kings, with Mandalay Pictures. Before becoming a filmmaker, Nick was an educator working with at-risk youth and many of his stories are coloured by his experiences with the children and families of his community.
