About the Book
(blurb from Pan MacMillan SA)
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
“Inside Promise’s walls, Moore was king, and no one challenged him. Inside a kingdom, the king can say or do no wrong. When you hear about a king being toppled, like in Game of Thrones, the threat often comes from inside the kingdom.”
Firstly, just to note the eye-catching cover art. It really makes you look twice! Very effective.
“We promise. We are the young men of Urban Promise Prep. We are destined for greatness. We are college-bound. We are primed for success. We are extraordinary because we work hard. We are respectful, dedicated, committed, and focused. We are our brothers’ keepers. We are responsible for our futures. We are the future. We promise.”
This YA murder mystery is fast paced, emotional and tense.
“I really hope Trey ain’t take my gun. For my sake and his. I mean, Trey’s a lot of things, but he isn’t dumb. And he isn’t a killer. I know ’cause I am.”
The storytelling format adds to the plot, with the clever use of transcribed interviews, testimonies, articles, texts dispersed between the chapters.
The story is also told from various perspectives and points of view, including that of the three teenagers, J.B., Ramón, and Trey. It gives the reader insight into their backstory, personal circumstances and yes, possible motives.
“It’s always the quiet ones.” The whole damn school was quiet. Moore made us that way. Any of us could be the killer when you put it that way.”
There are a lot of supporting and side characters as well, so it may be a bit challenging to keep up initially.
“It’s how we keep our heads above water in a world that’s so incredibly dangerous for us. We notice everything, take stock of possible threats, and lock it all in our memory.”
The underlying tension and apprehension building up to the murder and afterwards was almost tactile.
“A tweak here, a tweak there, and before you know it, I realized we were herding boys like cattle. They weren’t kids anymore, they were prisoners.”
To experience the prejudice and racism these guys face in a daily basis was deeply thought-provoking and disconcerting.
“He looks intimidating to some people, so that means they automatically cast him as the villain in that bad movie I was talking about. And me? People see me—Black, pretty, smart—and they cast me as someone whose feelings don’t matter. Like I’m made of steel and they can do whatever they want to me.”
To be judge purely on the colour of your skin or the neighbourhood you came from, with no hope of fair investigation adds to the dark tension and frustration. Simply because we know it happens every single day.
“Still, even if he’s innocent, I think this’ll ruin him. I think it’ll traumatize him, and I think that’s the flaw of the system. Once it touches you, you tainted forever, guilty or not. Same thing happened to me.”
The themes of toxic masculinity, a failing school system and systemic discrimination makes for a realistic, but sometimes uncomfortable read.
“No matter what, everyone already thinks I’m guilty. But what’s new? In this world it feels like I always have guilty painted on my back. This time it’s just written in blood.”
When J.B., Ramón, and Trey joined forces to do their own investigation, I was rooting for all three of them.
“Sharing your dreams with folks from the hood was always risky because most people don’t believe in the same possibilities I do.”
This is a great book for teenagers, who is the target audience for this book. Although I have not read “One of Us is Lying” by Karen M. McManus, I’ve heard that “Promise Boys” will be enjoyed by fans of that book series/series. With just over 300 pages, this was a quick, but insightful read.
“Those poor boys. So full of anger. It’s because of their life circumstances though, right? I mean, imagine if you lived in poverty, were racially profiled, and a victim of systemic inequity.”
Oh, if you get the opportunity to listen to the audiobook (I was listening to it, while reading the book), you should absolutely take it! It is a production in the true sense of the word, with background noise and music, various voice actors playing the roles of the protagonists and others, etc. It is the future of audiobooks! Available on Audible.
With thanks to Pan MacMillan SA for the opportunity to read this book.
The Details
Format: Paperback
