Promise Boys
Nick Brooks
Macmillan, February 2023
Paperback, £8.99
ISBN 9781035003150
Promise Boys is a gritty mystery with memorable characters, a detailed setting and most importantly, murder. The book follows suspects J.B, Ramón and Trey, three high school students who attend the prestigious Promise Academy. While it may seem like the “perfect” school, any breach of the code of conduct can result in severe consequences. Despite this tense environment, no one expected that somebody in the school would do anything akin to murder, particularly not to the beloved Principal Moore, founder of Promise. And the three main suspects? They all had motive, means and, most importantly, all had altercations with Moore earlier that day and were in detention the day of the murder. So the questions arise – who is truly guilty and who was the victim of harsh coincidence?
While the characters have excellent voices and their own distinct personalities, the writing can occasionally feel clunky when it comes to exposition and dialogue. I would recommend reading this book slowly, as the information dumps where the characters state what has happened in the book up to that point are frequent. As a result, there’s a lack of action and a lot more internal monologues than a book of this genre should have. However, I can’t complain, as the book promises to be gritty, and it certainly delivers!
The book takes you on a journey through all the characters’ points of view, featuring police interviews and news articles. These interviews do become repetitive, but the book pulls you back in with plot twists aplenty.
I’d recommend this book to fans of One of Us is Lying and The Hate U Give. It’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but if my review sounds appealing to you, I’d implore you to read it!
Willow Byrne, 14
Great review! Definitely persuaded me to read it!