My latest read is PRIDE by Ibi Zoboi. PRIDE is a retelling of Jane Austen’s classic PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, but this time around it follows an Afro-Latino teen in a Brooklyn neighborhood. Here are ten things I loved about PRIDE:
1. Zuri
Zuri is delightfully spirited protagonist, the resemblance to Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet is clear, but with her love for her home neighborhood and her lovely poetry, Zuri is just as equally her own person as she is a modern Elizabeth Bennet.
2. Balance Between Retelling and Independence
PRIDE loves and respects the original P+P tale. The love for the original infuses this retelling, but at the same time PRIDE isn’t afraid to change things up. Some changes are natural with the youth of the cast-Layla, our Lydia analogue, is just thirteen, and the leads are just incoming high school seniors. Other changes are cultural based, reflecting the change in setting from early nineteenth century English countryside to twenty first century Brooklyn. Whatever the reasons, PRIDE isn’t afraid to change stuff up to make the story all its own.
3. Layla is better than Lydia don’t @ me
But seriously, Layla is much more relatable than her Austen counterpart. Part of this is that while she and her twin Kayla (who is this story’s version of Kitty) are boy crazy, they’re also just kids. There’s also a much bigger focus on Layla’s relationships with her family. She’s just much more sympathetic.
4. A Kinder view of All Zuri’s Sisters
Layla’s not the only one that gets a nicer portrayal than her Austen analogue. All of the Benitez sisters get to feel like real teenage girls. Even Kayla and Marisol, who get the least attention from the plot, are fleshed out as real girls.
5. More Interaction Between the Leads
This is a romance after all, so I loved getting more scenes of Zuri and Darius interacting one-on-one. It helped sell their relationship, and it was just plain fun to read.
6. A Quality over Quantity Cast
The cast of PRIDE is far smaller than the many characters of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. This works to PRIDE’s benefit, as it’s able to explore more deeply the various side characters. With two notable exceptions (and if you read, you'll definitely know who I mean) all of the cast manages to be well rounded and relatable.
7. Zuri Tells People Off and It’s Wonderful
Fear not, all ye who loved Lizzie Bennet’s sass. Zuri Benitez is a worthy successor in the telling people off department.
8.Familial Relationships
The familial relationships in PRIDE, whether between the Darcys (in PRIDE Darcy, Georgia and this version of Bingley are all siblings) or the Benitezes, feel real and relatable. They feel like real siblings.
9. Women Looking Out for Each Other
It’s hard to discuss this deeper without getting into spoilers, but suffice to say PRIDE has women and girls that look out for each other.
10. Modern Struggles
Zuri has struggles that real modern teen girls face. She's more focused on her future college than her future husband. That and the other issues she deals with will be familiar to teenage girls everywhere.
All in all, PRIDE is a great story that I’d recommend to those that loved PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, those that had trouble getting into it, and even those that have avoided touching it entirely. PRIDE has taken the basic bones of a beloved story and given it a cultural update, with a result that will please any teen that picks it up.
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