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anarmandameg's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
patricktreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
Promise Boys is Pretty Little Liars, but better. This story is a dark who done it set to very current issues and situations that many young people, especially people of color deal with on a daily basis. From racism to false allegations and even automatic wrong doing assumptions, it is all there.
I give the story itself a full 5 out of 5, and the audio book I give a 10 out of 5. The production put into it was outstanding, and the full cast knocked it out of the park.
The only part I didn't like was that I didn't know it was going to be a series. That cliffhanger!!! Oh my goodness! Read it. You won't be disappointed.
I give the story itself a full 5 out of 5, and the audio book I give a 10 out of 5. The production put into it was outstanding, and the full cast knocked it out of the park.
The only part I didn't like was that I didn't know it was going to be a series. That cliffhanger!!! Oh my goodness! Read it. You won't be disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Gun violence
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
4.5
***EDIT***
Truth be told, I guess I am just dumb. I did not realize that the NetGalley was only 80% of the audiobook (because I did not see it listed anywhere as such...).
I just finished the full version and it definitely was worth it! I am so glad I finally read two reviews that stated NetGalley only gave 80% of the audiobook out and don't have to be frustrated with the ending anymore.
This is a great book. It very much gives The Hate U Give meets One of Us is Lying. Nick Brooks really draws attention to the despicable systemic racism and inequality that too many young black and brown folks (especially male-presenting) face in the educational system. Brooks created more than just a YA mystery - Brooks created a call-out to systemic inequality and racism.
Brooks also touches on pretty much everything a young adult mystery should touch on, and let me just say the audiobook was killer. The full cast is phenomenal and the added sound effects really elevated the scenes for me.
I had my assumptions about who had done it about a third of the way through, but with all of the distractions and perspectives, I could never be 100% sure. I think that part of this was due to all of the perspective changes. I don't often love a book that changes perspectives so much because it feels like it is easy to become lost, but the way in which Brooks wrote the multiple perspectives was smart and intentional. And there is so much depth and complexity to each of the main characters. This created a seamless flow through the characters without losing the importance of the plot.
I am very much so looking forward to recommending this to readers!
CAN IGNORE THIS PART OF MY FIRST REVIEW - JUST KEEPING FOR MY RECORDS.
**Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
This book...
This book was good. It very much gives The Hate U Give meets One of Us is Lying. This book really draws attention to the despicable systemic racism and inequality that too many black and brown folks (especially male-presenting) face. Nick Brooks touches on pretty much everything a young adult mystery/thriller should touch on, and the audiobook was killer with sound effects. This really elevated the interview scenes for me.
I often don't love a book that changes perspectives so much, but the way in which Brooks wrote the multiple perspectives was smart and intentional. This created a seamless flow through the characters without losing the importance of the plot.
But y'all...I listened to the ending of this book FOUR TIMES to see if I missed something. I thought maybe I just didn't understand something or that I fell asleep during an important time in the audiobook or that maybe because I was listening to an eGalley from NetGalley that part of the book was missing. But...I don't think so. I think it just ends. Abruptly. Please tell me if I'm wrong. I was so invested in the entire book until the last 5 minutes and it kind of ruined a big part of it for me. How did everything come together like that?Was it Stanely Ennis (SP)?? Was it someone that Ennis knew? Is there more to the story? It just seems so weird to me that the story ends on a cliffhanger with the idea that this is a stand-alone novel. Someone explain!
I think teen readers will like this book, but if the ending is actually the one I listened to, I think they may be frustrated, as well. I am interested to see more reviews once the book is published.
Truth be told, I guess I am just dumb. I did not realize that the NetGalley was only 80% of the audiobook (because I did not see it listed anywhere as such...).
I just finished the full version and it definitely was worth it! I am so glad I finally read two reviews that stated NetGalley only gave 80% of the audiobook out and don't have to be frustrated with the ending anymore.
This is a great book. It very much gives The Hate U Give meets One of Us is Lying. Nick Brooks really draws attention to the despicable systemic racism and inequality that too many young black and brown folks (especially male-presenting) face in the educational system. Brooks created more than just a YA mystery - Brooks created a call-out to systemic inequality and racism.
Brooks also touches on pretty much everything a young adult mystery should touch on, and let me just say the audiobook was killer. The full cast is phenomenal and the added sound effects really elevated the scenes for me.
I had my assumptions about who had done it about a third of the way through, but with all of the distractions and perspectives, I could never be 100% sure. I think that part of this was due to all of the perspective changes. I don't often love a book that changes perspectives so much because it feels like it is easy to become lost, but the way in which Brooks wrote the multiple perspectives was smart and intentional. And there is so much depth and complexity to each of the main characters. This created a seamless flow through the characters without losing the importance of the plot.
I am very much so looking forward to recommending this to readers!
CAN IGNORE THIS PART OF MY FIRST REVIEW - JUST KEEPING FOR MY RECORDS.
**Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
This book...
This book was good. It very much gives The Hate U Give meets One of Us is Lying. This book really draws attention to the despicable systemic racism and inequality that too many black and brown folks (especially male-presenting) face. Nick Brooks touches on pretty much everything a young adult mystery/thriller should touch on, and the audiobook was killer with sound effects. This really elevated the interview scenes for me.
I often don't love a book that changes perspectives so much, but the way in which Brooks wrote the multiple perspectives was smart and intentional. This created a seamless flow through the characters without losing the importance of the plot.
But y'all...I listened to the ending of this book FOUR TIMES to see if I missed something. I thought maybe I just didn't understand something or that I fell asleep during an important time in the audiobook or that maybe because I was listening to an eGalley from NetGalley that part of the book was missing. But...I don't think so. I think it just ends. Abruptly. Please tell me if I'm wrong. I was so invested in the entire book until the last 5 minutes and it kind of ruined a big part of it for me. How did everything come together like that?
I think teen readers will like this book, but if the ending is actually the one I listened to, I think they may be frustrated, as well. I am interested to see more reviews once the book is published.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse
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