Stevie‘s review of Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Contemporary Young Adult Romance published by Balzer + Bray 18 Sep 18
I’m a great fan of stories that take their inspiration from the works of Jane Austen, Bridget Jones sequels not withstanding, so I was very excited to learn of a young adult novel that claimed to be dragging Pride and Prejudice firmly into the 21st Century. And not just any part of the modern age: this book takes place in Brooklyn as the long-term residents of one particular neighbourhood face up to its increasing gentrification and the all too real prospect that they may be forced out of their homes by new neighbours and ever-rising rents.
All the familiar characters are here in various guises – mostly instantly recognisable – and the situations and challenges they face are at once familiar to Austen fans and also perfectly modern. Zuri Benitez is the daughter of a Dominican father and a Haitian mother, living with her parents and four sisters in a two-bedroom apartment in Bushwic, right across the road from a long-abandoned, recently renovated mansion that will soon house their new neighbours. But before Zuri can meet them, she has to get ready to welcome older sister Janae home from college.
The sons of the incomers are, of course, the updated versions of Darcy and Bingley, renamed for this story Darius and Ainsley. Zuri is at first suspicious of the family – while they’re black, they’re also rich – but she has plenty of other matters to concern her as well – like college applications, how to keep her two boy-mad younger sisters under control, and how to get the most out of the time she has available to spend with her older sister and her best friend Charlise. There are other boys to distract her too. Colin is the nephew of the apartment building’s owner, while Warren is a scholarship boy at the private school that Darius attends. While Zuri has no interest in Colin, other than a worry as to what will become of her family’s home when he eventually inherits the building – and a lesser concern that Charlise seems to suddenly like him – she is very taken with Warren, even though Darius warns her against getting too involved with him. Austen fans will be able to see where this is going…
I loved how the Warren and Layla story played out in this version, and I almost equally enjoyed the revelation of what Darius’ original family home is like. The whole story managed to follow the basic plot of the foundation story without becoming predictable, making all the Benitez sisters into properly updated facsimiles of the eighteenth century Bennet girls. Of the supporting cast, I particularly loved Madrina, Colin’s aunt, who is a Santería priestess of Oshun and whose presence and beliefs really flesh out the background to the family and the neighbourhood.
All in all, an excellent updating of a much-loved novel, and I’m keen to track down the author’s other works.
Grade: A
Summary:
Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.
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.
In a timely update of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.
Read an excerpt.
