Review: Pride by Ibi Zoboi

I am a lifelong fan of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and try to read ALL the retellings. What did I think of this latest re-imagination of a classic love story? Find out in my review of Pride!

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

To be published by Balzer + Bray on September 18, 2018

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius.

Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding. But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

Review of Pride:

I approach retellings of Pride and Prejudice with both excitement and trepidation. Most of them are okay, some are terrible, and very few are really fantastic.

Pride was everything a good re-telling should be: true to the spirit of the original, but with a completely unique and creative spin.

Zuri Benitez is one of four Haitian-Dominican sisters living with their parents in Bushwick.

Zuri’s older sister Janae is a student at Syracuse University while aspiring poet Zuri dreams of attending Howard University.

When a new family moves into the brownstone across the street, Zuri and her sisters are curious. The Darcy family has two teenage sons: Darius and Ainsley.

The Darcy family is rich enough to be a matter of gossip and curiosity in the neighborhood. Zuri and Darius Darcy are attracted to each other, but can she fit into his world? Does she want to? And are people like him going to change her beloved neighborhood?

Some of the Pride and Prejudice hallmarks that were incorporated in this retelling:

A strong sense of place. P & P takes place in Georgian England, a time when a woman needed to make an advantageous marriage to secure her future. Pride is equally rooted in its contemporary setting – a diverse Brooklyn neighborhood showing signs of gentrification.

Class issues. There are stark class divisions between Elizabeth and Darcy , and Elizabeth sometimes feels embarrassed when she sees her family through the eyes of Darcy and his snobby friends. Because Elizabeth has no brothers, on her father’s death, his estate will transfer to a male relative rather than to Elizabeth and her sisters.

In Pride, Zuri obviously has great pride in her neighborhood and family. The arrival of the the Darcys makes her worry about the neighborhood she loves changing, the people she grew up with getting displaced.

Family. Elizabeth Bennet both loves and feels exasperated by her sisters and meddling mother. I thought Zuri’s close-knit family (which extends to her neighbors and landlord) was my favorite part of this story.

Social Mobility. Elizabeth feels enormous pressure to marry well. I loved that Pride updated this aspect of the story by having Zuri dream about leaving the comforting familiarity of her family and neighborhood and heading out-of-state to college. Brooklyn feels like the whole world to Zuri and it was fun to see her take a college road trip that offered her a chance to spread her wings.

The romance. I don’t think that Pride’s romance was as intense and swoony as the original, and I was okay with that. Elizabeth and Darcy’s romance is more a courtship while the romance in Pride felt more like a teenage flirtation – perfect for YA.

In sum, if you are a P & P fan like I am, I think you’ll be pleased with this one. I loved this update of a classic hate-to-love story.

Have you read Pride and Prejudice or read any re-tellings? Tell me in comments!