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chris_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Classism, Racism, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Blood, Bullying, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
runlaurarun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, and Gun violence
Minor: Murder
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Also the full-cast audio really drew me into the story and was amazingly done!
Graphic: Racism and Classism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual harassment
parksidereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
You guys, typically YA thrillers are not my jam. But the premise of Promise Boys and the fact it took place in my new home town, I jumped at the opportunity to give it a go, and it did not disappoint.
As a fast-paced thriller told from multiple POVs, Promise Boys has a unique format that breathes so much life into the characters, setting, and plot that future thrillers will aspire to be as impressive.
๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐: ๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐'๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ'๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, ๐.๐., ๐๐ข๐ฎรณ๐ฏ, & ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐บ, ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ?
But it doesn't stop there. This book is SO MUCH MORE than a whodunit. It casts a much needed spotlight on race, privilege, our failing educational system, and the hopes and dreams of our youth. Guys, this book will force you to think and is perfect for some really deep book club discussions.
Many thanks to the publisher for my gifted audiobook copy.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Classism, and Bullying
lybrarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Racism, and Gun violence
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- 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
Brooks introduces some twists and turns, and while ultimately, I had an inkling as to what actually happened, I appreciated the red herrings included throughout the book. I can definitely see teens who enjoyed books like One of Us Is Lying and The Hate U Give also enjoying this book. Can't wait to recommend it to teens at the library!
Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Alcoholism
Minor: Mass/school shootings and Injury/Injury detail
hschlecht's review against another edition
4.0
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Racism, Murder, Death, and Gun violence
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse
bruhnette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this amazing book.
Graphic: Racism and Violence
bookswithca's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racism, Classism, Bullying, Addiction, Blood, Stalking, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence