Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Pride

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

1wingedbalrog's review

emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can't remember the last time I finished a whole novel in one weekend. I'm pretty sure it was one of those cheap, "airport thrillers" - the kind that pulls you along relentlessly with intense plotting and suspense but you forget about a minute after reading the final page. But I'll remember this one.

I will confess that I am biased as a fan of Pride & Prejudice, and perhaps I was just so eager to see the next clever way Zoboi would reinterpret the story. But I also think it's undeniable that Zoboi has written an adaptation that stands on its own legs in a suffocating crowd of similar titles. Think Clueless.

The level of charm, cleverness, and surprise in this book off the charts. Zuri Benitez is every bit the fierce and brilliant iconoclast her inspiration was, but suited to a different environment that brings a new dimension to it all. While the love story with the boy is iconic, Zoboi has found a very original take in the material. She's written a love story about a girl and her neighborhood, as Bushwick gentrifies and Zuri struggles to hold on to what she takes pride in (see what I did there).

Unlike other P&P adaptations, which tend to sand down the romance for a new crowd, Zoboi gives us a Mr. Darcy that we can grow to fall for, despite how horribly insufferable he is for most of the book. It's actually enjoyable to hate-read Darius, and the changes in how we feel about him don't come from cheap sympathetic short cuts, but from Zuri's own revelations in how she judges people.

I could go on about the clever ways the book updates early 19th-Century elements for Gen Z, or how it portrays the awkwardness and challenges of solidarity-building between Black people from different economic classes. But this review is too long already. Even if you are not a YA fan or feel like these endless Jane Austen riffs have overstayed their welcome, you owe it to yourself to try this one out.

Content Warnings