Promise Boys

By: Nick Brooks

Narrated by: Alfred Vines, Anthony Lopez, Brad Sanders, Christopher Hampton, Eliana Marianes, Hannah Church, Henriette Zoutomou, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Maria Liatis, Renier Cortes, Suehyla El-Attar, Xenia Willacey

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the 2024 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Young Adults!

"Skilled vocal performances from more than a dozen narrators immerse listeners in a schoolyard murder mystery involving race, wealth, and power."—AudioFile

This audiobook features a full cast, musical accompaniment, and sound design. Listen along and become immersed in Promise Boys.

The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying in Nick Brooks's Promise Boys, a trailblazing, blockbuster YA mystery about three teen boys of color who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names—for fans of Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Karen McManus.

"The full-cast narration helps the listener track the extensive collection of characters in this whodunit....Musical accompaniment is peppered throughout the production as well, adding to its overall polished production and thrilling atmosphere."—Booklist

"A brilliant pulls-no-punches mystery with bruised hearts at its core."—Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End

"Thrilling, captivating, and blade-sharp. Promise Boys will stay with you long after the last page."—Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

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?

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

©2023 Nick Brooks (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"A sharp examination of systematic inequality in urban schools and Black and Latine boyhood. Breathtakingly complex and intriguing."—Kirkus, starred review

"The path to manhood has never felt more ominous than it does in PROMISE BOYS. I was at the edge of my seat trying to figure out if I was reading a story about boys becoming men or boys becoming killers—you will be too. A brilliant pulls-no-punches mystery with bruised hearts at its core."—Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of They Both Die at the End

"There's nothing like a book that manages to flawlessly thread subtle social commentary through a propulsive plot carried by complex characters. Promise Boys does that ten times over, and I can't wait to see this expertly crafted mystery take the world over... while teaching us a thing or two about what it means to be a boy of color in 21st century America."—Nic Stone, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Dear Martin

The Detailed Storytelling

I liked all of it, great depth, storytelling, detail. It’s like I was in the story myself. GREAT BOOK.

Great Story

What a great YA book! The narration was great and the story was great. I flew through this and couldn’t put the book down!

Great listen

I heard about this book from and interview with the author on NPR. It was a great listen. The variety of readers adds to the performance.

Fun read with an excellent message

I got hooked on the story immediately and listened to it in one day. I’d love to hear more about what happens next with these well-developed characters!

A decent listen!

I liked the multiple voices for the narration and the story line was quick and mysterious.

Great pick!

Excellent YA novel. Believable plot, good character development, realistic portrayal of challenges faced by teenagers.

Absolutely captivating

When it stated in the summary that this story was The Hate You Give meets One of Us is Lying, it was not wrong. This story was captivating from the moment I started it. Brooks did a great job with emerging readers into this story.

Fun Read

I enjoyed this book. Turning pages and unaware of a great ending. I will tell others.

Both Challenging & Captivating

This book is written in a way that keeps the reader trying to guess and solve the mysteries on their own, but only getting enough clues to misdirect you. The way the author is able to convey the thoughts and feelings of so many characters is amazing, and it really makes you start to think about how the school system actually works. This is a work of fiction, but is it really all that fictional?

Discovery

I was looking for a contemporary YA book and discovered this. I loved reading and listening to the brilliant audio version narrated by fantastic performers! Well done!
The story line is complex enough, the book expresses a valuable message and the ending is brilliant. I will follow Nick Brooks’ work for sure!