“It’s a truth universally acknowledged that when rich people move into the hood, where it’s a little bit broken and a little bit forgotten, the first thing they want to do is clean it up.”
Pride by Ibi Zoboi is a young adult “Pride and Prejudice remix” that follows the character Zuri Benitz, a seventeen year old Black girl in Brooklyn, New York, after the rich Darcy family moves into the big house across the street. Zuri immediately finds herself with a great dislike toward one of the two sons, Darius Darcy, but she seems to be alone in her opinion of him. And while the new neighbors distract her, Zuri can’t help but notice how her neighborhood is changing before her eyes, the victim of gentrification. Pride follows the structure of Pride and Prejudice while also introducing a few new topics as well that are unique to Zuri, e.g. gentrification, Black pride, grief, and more. I thought these topics were such a great addition, but I wished that they had been delved into a little bit deeper––they alI felt like they were touched on at a very surface level, and left me wanting more. I was very satisfied with the retelling aspect, though, and enjoyed searching for comparisons between it and the original Pride and Prejudice story; it kept me thoroughly engaged as I read. I thought that Zoboi’s retelling was a great take on bringing representation into a well-loved novel––one that originally has none, and turns Jane Austen’s nineteenth century love story into a contemporary tale about a Black girl from ever-changing New York––who is proud of her culture, family, and home––as she navigates her first love. A recommendation for anyone interested in modern takes on classics!
This book sounds like it was good in the aspect of promoting things that modern-day kids of color experience, especially with the way it seems to tie into the original Pride and Prejudice story. The author was both able to get their point across while still adding similarities between the book and the original P&P story.
The hook you selected for your review is awesome and perfectly captures the main theme of your story. As soon as I read it, I wanted to continue reading your review. Also, I know that during our group discussion you said you struggled with the structure, but I found your review very compelling and easy to follow. I would love to read this book in the future.