Pride Audiobook

 

Rating: 4 stars for a good romance to heartbreak and back again journey

My Thoughts:

This is a remix of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice done by Haitian born writer Ibi Zoboi and read former slam poetry champion and award winning author of Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo. 

In the gentrifying neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, there comes a black family with economic privilege, the Darcys, moving into Zuri Benitez's neighborhood. The Darcy brothers are fine specimens of gentility. The two older Benitez sisters are famous in their neighborhood for being both beautiful and smart. As a reader, I know the story. I know there is going to be issues with cultural identity, class, gentrification, first love, misunderstanding, broken hearts. . .this is still Pride and Prejudice. But what I love is that the update stays true to the neighborhood. These kids really could be living across the street from each other and come from two different worlds. This is a more realistic, American version of Pride and Prejudice, still with the romance, but also more familiar in its culture and class clashes. This is a great update that should actually be read first. 

From the Publishers:

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.

Publication Information:

Author: Ibi Zoboi

Narrator: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publishers: Harper Collins Publishers (September 18, 2018)

Grade level: 7-9