It would be unexpected for a modern author to take the classic story of Pride & Prejudice and turn it into a story with a setting in Brooklyn and “starring all characters of color-” and yet, Ibi Zoboi has written Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix as if the changes were meant to be.
The story follows Zuri Benitez, a proud Afro-Latino woman, a proud member of the Benitez family, and a proud Brooklynite. Zuri loves her life and all of its turmoil. Because of this, it is especially difficult for her to accept that her neighborhood is quickly changing as wealthier families such as the new Darcys move in- and it doesn’t help that Zuri quickly despises the arrogant Darius Darcy. Nonetheless, Zuri is forced to find common ground with her unwanted neighbors while being pulled between dealing with the new strangeness of places that used to comfort her, four wild sisters, teenage crushes, and college applications (a very relatable struggle for teen readers).
As Publishers Weekly so perfectly described it, Pride is a “contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love” that is simultaneously able to captivate and teach readers about how to both let go and grow in a beautifully written novel that gives the classic story a whole new dimension of freshness and diversity.
By Teen Reviewer, Gwendolyn