Reviews

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

hpocket's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A must read. A book I will probably read again and again. 

keyari's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Audiobook: 5✨(Narrated by: Alfred Vines, Anthony Lopez, Brad Sanders, Christopher Hampton, Eliana Marianes, Hannah Church, Henrietta Zoutomou, Jamie Lincoln Smith, Maria Liatis, Renier Cortes, Suehyla El-Attar & Xenia Willacey

amylia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious

3.5

jagoda_readsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

rcarr14's review against another edition

I just couldn’t keep track of chapters through an audiobook and it was difficult for me to follow which makes it hard to get into the story

ashkitty93's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

A fast read. Excellent tension buildup through multiple POVs, although the ending felt abrupt. Nicely read by a full cast.

#20BooksByBlackFolx

eawfritz's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jennneely82's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

A young adult, dark academia, murder mystery that includes topics like suicide, race, class, and friendship. This was a quick read that was suggested by a coworker. Even though it is an emotional rollercoaster, I'm glad she suggested it. I can definitely see why it is on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Master List for High School. 

aclopez6's review against another edition

5.0

At times, this book was tough to read. I taught in charter schools for a few years, and the charter school I started at had disgusting similarities to Urban Promise Prep (the school J.B., Ramon, Trey, and Omar attend). This review is more of a rant than a commentary on the writing or plot.

We had silent lunches at times. As teachers, we followed a system that dictated how students left the classroom. We used an imaginary point system called deductions. We had students walk in a line, inside of a painted line on the floor, silent. In the moment, working in that system, it was tough to push back, but our students deserved different, and many did not thrive in the least. While the school I worked at was not as militant as others, we did not have systems that allowed us to treat students with dignity consistently.

"But everybody (including my mom) thinks Promise is better and so perfect because of the college acceptance rate. Little do people know, Promise finds any reason to expel a kid once they realize the student has zero chance of getting into college. Kids are kicked out and thrown back into their neighborhood school their junior or senior year, with nobody to help them. And if they didn't have a chance at college before, they definitely don't have one once an expulsion goes on their record."

Thank you for sharing this truth, Nick Brooks. I will definitely be reading your future works.

bookmotel's review against another edition

1.0

Awesome cover. Couldn’t get into it. DNF