Darius never does anything to deserve the attributes Zuri ascribes to him and he never does anything that seems like it should provoke her into insulting him. Zuri basically attacks him for not being good enough from day one, and she never lets up, eventually telling him that she needs a “boy from the hood” like Warren–not some rich boy like Darius who has a big house and does not understand the street code. While readers may understand some of Zuri’s feeling, since they get to hear the story from her, it is difficult to understand why Darius falls in love with her. But I do think it lessens the realism of the story a bit. This part of Zuri makes for a compelling story and, indeed, makes her a compelling character. Almost as a defense mechanism, she begins to accuse Darius of any manner of things–essentially not being “Black enough” because of the music he likes, the school he attends, the way he behaves with his friends. She is immediately suspicious of the handsome and rich Darius Darcy and his family because she believes they must look down upon her and her family. Of course, this is a Pride and Prejudice retelling, so Zuri’s pride ultimately is her undoing when it moves from an understandable love of her home to prejudice against anyone she sees as an outsider, or not like her. Her story is a celebration–a celebration of all the good she finds in the people around her, and the ways that goodness uplifts her. But she wants them to know that everyone on her street knows the code and they all look out for each other. She knows that people are judging her for where she lives. She knows some people think her neighborhood is not safe. Her life, as she tells us, is one full of love, and that comes across on every page as Zuri defends the place she calls home and describes the camaraderie and the care she finds there. Zuri’s voice carries Pride, making readers fall in love with her, her neighborhood, and her family. Readers looking for a contemporary story lead by a fiercely independent heroine and told in brilliantly strong prose will be enthralled by Ibi Zoboi’s Pride. She does not think the boys belong in her neighborhood, but they may not be as stuck up as she believes.
When two handsome, rich brothers move in across the street, however, Zuri will be confronted with some of her own prejudices. Zuri Benitez is one of five daughters growing up in Brookly, and she is planning out a future full of dreams–one where she goes to Howard and then comes back to help transform the neighborhood she loves. Pride is a fresh retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that pays homage to the original story while making the tale fully its own.
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