From Powells.com
Staff recommendations, guest essays, and curated reading lists.
Staff Pick
I love a modern retelling of classic Jane Austen plots, so I was thrilled to hear about Ibi Zoboi's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice set in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood with protagonists of color. It's sharp, crackling with wit like Austen herself, and immensely relevant. Zoboi is a powerhouse! Recommended By Christine R., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Stands solidly on its own while cleverly paralleling Austen's classic...in a contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"This Bushwick-set, contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice tackles gentrification, Blackness, and romance with honesty, humor, and heart. This excellent coming-of-age take on a classic belongs on all YA shelves." School Library Journal (Starred Review)
Review
"[A] lively and innovative Pride and Prejudice retelling (starring a fully rounded Afro-Latinx YA character)." The Horn Book
Synopsis
In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic. A smart, funny, gorgeous retelling starring all characters of color.
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.
Ibi Zoboi's Pride is a strong option for summer reading and for sharing in a classroom or for homeschooling.
Zoboi skillfully depicts the vicissitudes of teenage relationships, and Zuri's outsize pride and poetic sensibility make her a sympathetic teenager in a contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love. (Publishers Weekly, An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List)
--School Library Journal
(starred review)About the Author
Ibi Zoboi holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her novel American Street was a National Book Award finalist and a New York Times Notable Book. She is also the author of Pride and My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich, a New York Times bestseller. She is the editor of the anthology Black Enough. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three children. You can find her online at www.ibizoboi.net.