{"id":36303,"date":"2020-04-02T17:36:55","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T21:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36303"},"modified":"2020-04-02T17:36:55","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T21:36:55","slug":"review-of-pride-by-ibi-zoboi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36303","title":{"rendered":"Review of Pride, by Ibi Zoboi"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Pride<\/em><\/p>\n

by Ibi Zoboi<\/p>\n

Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins), 2018. 289 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written October 15, 2018, from a library book
\n2018 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n#4 General Teen Fiction<\/p>\n

This is a Pride and Prejudice<\/a><\/em> \u201cRemix,\u201d set in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. I have lost count of how many Pride and Prejudice<\/em> tributes I have read (Actually, that\u2019s not quite true, since you can find links to all the ones I\u2019ve reviewed on the page when I post this.) \u2013 and honestly, I\u2019ve loved them all. This is no exception.<\/p>\n

Zuri Benitez and her four sisters watch as a new family moves into the house across the street. It used to be run-down, but they\u2019ve been renovating it for a year, and now it\u2019s a mini-mansion. Ainsley and Darius Darcy are fine \u2013 but who are they to come strutting into the neighborhood thinking they\u2019ll help it out? You guessed it \u2013 older sister Janae and Ainsley hit it off right away, but there are fireworks first between Zuri and Darius.<\/p>\n

I got to thinking about Pride and Prejudice<\/em>. It might seem obvious, because it\u2019s right there in the title, but isn\u2019t it all about respect? When someone smart, good-looking, and yes, rich, moves into town \u2013 who is he to think he\u2019s better than the rest of us? The Elizabeth Bennets of the world \u2013 highly intelligent themselves and with a loving, close-knit family \u2013 deserve respect, too.<\/p>\n

But maybe they\u2019re a bit quick to believe they\u2019re not getting it from the Mr. Darcys of the world.<\/p>\n

The Pride and Prejudice<\/em> story is universal because it\u2019s about earning respect \u2013 and discovering that good-looking, rich man who has the world\u2019s respect might actually be kind and sensitive and doing good things that go beyond the externals \u2013 he might actually deserve Elizabeth Bennet\u2019s respect, too.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also about culture clash. The guy who has made it in the predominant culture moving in near the metaphorical peasantry \u2013 and needing to learn to appreciate that their lives, too, have rich community around them.<\/p>\n

Pride<\/em> tells that universal story in a new setting, with a great big helping of delight. Zuri is an Elizabeth Bennet with attitude. She\u2019s a poet, and I\u2019m guessing she\u2019s going to make it into Howard. Here\u2019s a window into her process of discovering that Darius Darcy is more than externals, too.<\/p>\n

ibizoboi.net<\/a>
\nepicreads.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/pride.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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