I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks Published by Henry Holt and Co. on 1/31/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 279
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students—J.B., Ramón, and Trey—emerge as the prime suspects. They had the means, they had the motive—and they may have had the murder weapon. But with all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. Or is the true culprit hiding among them?
Short and Sweet Review
Ramón, Trey, and J.B., all go to the Urban Promise Prep School, which may look nice on the outside but has a lot of problems on the inside. It’s almost like these boys are in boot camp or prison. When the Principal gets murdered, the three boys become the prime suspects. All three of them claim their innocence but one of them may have had the murder weapon. Now the three boys have to find who actually murdered Principal Moore, or risk getting locked up for life.
Promise Prep school is one of those places where it sounds great and you would probably want your child to go so that they have a chance at succeeding, but that’s not what actually goes on in this school. They have to abide by the Moore Method which is basically extreme discipline and if they don’t they face the consequences. On the day of Moores murder Ramón, Trey, and J.B. are all in detention and the main reason they’re suspects is because they all have reasons for wanting him dead. Moore stops Ramón from selling pupusas which helps with his family’s income, Trey tells Moore he’s going to kill him, and J.B. is mad that he’s in detention and now it looks like he stood up his girlfriend.
I liked the format of the book we learn about each character by having the other people in their lives basically give character witness statements and we also see the transcript from the police interviews. The best part for me was that the boys don’t really know each other, so when they team up to try to prove their innocence they’re still weary of one another. There’s nothing wrong with any of the boys I think they’ve just been subjected to bad circumstances and a lot of scrutiny because of the color of their skin. Trey is a basketball star, Ramón is just trying to help his family, and J.B. is just a quiet kid. It was nice seeing all the boys team up and they each had a support system behind them. The mystery was well written and the format added a lot to the book.
This was a good read and it was short so I was able to finish it in one sitting. The characters were great and I’m glad they didn’t let their circumstances make them a statistic.
