Book review - Promise Boys

 

Title: Promise Boys

Author: Nick Brooks

Genre: mystery

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Rating:

 

elements worth discussing

Summary (provided by publisher): 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 opinion: There are certainly things that I like about this book. I like the way that it discusses perceptions. The messages are pretty obvious, of course. We're looking a lot at how Black teens, especially boys, are viewed by the world. And how treating teens like criminals encourages criminal behavior rather than discouraging it. We're looking at the corruption of power and how well intentioned ideas can turn out badly. But a lot of the messaging is pretty obvious and heavy handed. There is little in the way of nuance. Still, it raises enough interesting ideas to make it worth a read.

More information: Promise Boys releases January 31.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley