Book Review: Pride

Pride

By: Ibi Zoboi

Published By: Balzer & Bray

Publication Date: September 18, 2018

Page Count: 304

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher via Edelweiss

Young Adult - Contemporary

I love a good Pride and Prejudice inspired tale and I also know that I adore Ibi Zoboi's writing style, so picking up her latest novel, Pride, was a no brainer. The story is set in a neighborhood in Brooklyn that has recently become one of the "up and coming" areas. As more affluent people move into the neighborhood, the longterm residents find themselves being pushed out due to rising rents and gentrification. Zuri Benitez has no room for the wealthy in her life. She wants to leave her neighborhood, go to college, and then return to help make it a better place. Zuri doesn't sugarcoat the realities of people on her street, but she knows that this is her little corner of the world - it's a part of her.

Zuri has a certain territorial nature concerning her home and she's not too keen on the fact that a wealthy family has built an ostentatious house across the street from her apartment building. This is just one more sign that wealth has come to town and that those that can't afford the price tag will have to pack up and move on. Zuri's ready to dig in her heels, but her sisters are a bit more swayed when they see the handsome Darcy brothers: Ainsley and Darius. As with Pride and Prejudice, the Benitez sisters will become intertwined with the fate of Ainsley and Darius. While their are plenty of allusions for the Austen fans, let it be known that Zuri's story can also stand on its own with all of those elements removed.

I loved the modern touches that grace this classic story and the commentary on the gentrification of urban neighborhoods. I was also fascinated by the cultural details that came with Zuri's background of Dominican and Haitian. 

Another thing that sets Zuri apart from the original classic is her desire to attend college. While Elizabeth Bennet is a big reader and Zuri certainly has that in common with the famous heroine, Zuri also writes poetry and is doing everything in her power to seal her acceptance to Howard University. Zuri's poetry softened some of her harder edges and helped me understand her more. Poetry has a way of making all of us - fictional and real - a bit more vulnerable as if exposing part of our soul to an audience. Those moments were when Zuri truly let her guard down.

I highly recommend this novel to Austen fans, those looking for a great diverse read, and those who enjoy contemporary romances. Ibi Zoboi is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors as I have yet to read any of her work I didn't love.

One Last Gripe: I wanted more resolution concerning Darius' grandmother.

Favorite Thing About This Book: I love how Zoboi breathes live into her setting. I felt like I was walking through Brooklyn while reading this and experiencing the neighborhood along with Zuri and Darius.

First Sentence: 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.

Favorite Character: Zuri

Least Favorite Character: Darius' Grandmother

Summary:

Pride and Prejudice gets remixed in this smart, funny, gorgeous retelling of the classic, starring all characters of color, from Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award finalist and author of American Street. 

 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.