Porter Square Books is thrilled to welcome Nick Brooks, author of the new YA mystery Promise Boys, in partnership with GrubStreet's YAWP program and 826 Boston. Bestselling author Karen McManus will join him in conversation. This event will take place at 7pm on Friday, February 3 at Porter Square Books. RSVP to let PSB know you're coming and to receive event updates.
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.
"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?
Nick Brooks is an author and award-winning filmmaker from Washington, DC. He is a 2020 graduate of USC's TV and Film Production program. His short film, Hoop Dreamin', earned him the George Lucas Scholar Award and was a finalist in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Film Fest. He is currently in development for his first feature film, We Were Born Kings, with Mandalay Pictures. Before becoming a filmmaker, Nick was an educator working with at-risk youth and many of his stories are colored by his experiences with the children and families of his community. He is also the author of Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont. Follow Nick on Twitter and on Instagram.
Karen M. McManus is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of young adult thrillers. Her work includes the One of Us Is Lying series, which has been turned into a television show on Peacock and Netflix, as well as the standalone novels Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins, You’ll Be the Death of Me, and Nothing More to Tell. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages. Karen lives in Massachusetts and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northeastern University, which she uses to draft fake news stories for her novels. To learn more about Karen and her books, visit karenmcmanus.com
GrubStreet's Young Adult Writers Program (YAWP) is where teens from all over Boston and the Greater Boston area gather to craft their stories, share their ideas, and cheer on their fellow writers. They work to remove social, cultural, and institutional barriers in order to facilitate and support an expansive and equitable artistic ecosystem where youth voices thrive and their storytelling flourishes. Visit
grubstreet.org/programs/for-teens/ to check out programs and resources.