Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix

Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix is a young adult novel from author Ibi Zoboi. First published in 2018, it follows a teenage girl, Zuri, as she grapples with the gentrification of her Bushwick, Brooklyn, neighborhood. The gentrification is epitomized by Darius, a boy who moves into a renovated “mini-mansion” across street from Zuri’s home. Zuri, who takes great pride in her diverse neighborhood and her Dominican-Haitian heritage, sees Darius—who used to live in Manhattan and has a prejudiced view of the Bushwick neighborhood—as a threat and the two characters immediately butt heads. However, throughout the book, Zuri overcomes her pride while Darius overcomes his prejudice—and the two characters find love. Ibi Zoboi is a Haitian-American author who was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young Adult Literature for her novel, American Street.

Content Warning: Pride addresses themes including racism, classism, and police violence. The book includes the use of a racial slur, an instance that this study guide discusses, as it relates to an important plot development. This edition of the book used for this study guide is the paperback from Balzer + Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins, New York, published in 2019. Original copyright Alloy Entertainment and Ibi Zoboi, 2018.

Plot Summary

Pride is told from the point of view of Zuri “ZZ” Benitez, a junior in high school living in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. Zuri is one of five sisters. The girls live with their Papi and Mama in one apartment, with the sisters sharing the living room as their bedroom. Although the Benitez family is not rich, they are loving and happy, and Zuri is proud of her Haitian-Dominican heritage, her family, and the diverse neighborhood that she calls home. However, Zuri’s community comes under threat when a fancy new house is built across the street. Zuri recognizes this is a pivotal step in gentrifying Bushwick and is aware that gentrification can push poorer families like hers out.

The fancy house belongs to the Darcy family: Mr. and Mrs. Darcy and their sons, Ainsley and Darius. Zuri’s sister Janae immediately sparks a romantic connection with Ainsley and they start dating. Zuri is unhappy about this development, believing that the class difference between the Benitez and Darcy families is too big for a romantic relationship to overcome. Zuri also dislikes Ainsley’s brother, Darius, who seems snobby and is always looking down on Bushwick after having lived in Manhattan. When Ainsley dumps Janae, Zuri feels validated in her initial suspicion of the Darcy boys.

Meanwhile, Zuri starts a romance of her own with a neighborhood boy, Warren. Warren goes to the same fancy private school as the Darcy boys, but he is there on scholarship. He is born-and-raised in the hood like Zuri, and Zuri identifies with him—not like Darius, who seems foreign to her. Nonetheless, Zuri is intrigued by Darius.

On a trip to visit Howard University in Washington, DC, Zuri attends a poetry reading and shares one of her poems. When she finishes, she realizes that Darius is in the crowd, along with his little sister, Georgia. Darius offers to drive Zuri back to Brooklyn. The two connect in the car ride and kiss. The next day, Zuri goes to meet Warren. Darius, who warned Zuri about Warren previously, finally tells her why: Warren took sexy pictures of Georgia and shared them with others. Zuri is horrified and breaks up with Warren on the spot. She begins dating Darius openly.

When Darius takes her to a house party in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a bunch of his fancy private school friends, Zuri reverts to her belief that her and Darius’s worlds are too different to come together. They get in a fight and Zuri storms off. She then sees on Instagram that her little sister Layla is at the party with Warren. Worried, she goes back to the party. Darius helps her find Layla and fights Warren. After this incident, Zuri’s and Darius’s relationship is solidified.

Shortly after, the Benitez family is forced to move—meaning Zuri and Darius will no longer live across the street from one another. The Benitez family must move because the woman who owned their building, Madrina, dies. Her nephew, Colin, inherits the building from her and sells it to a real estate developer. At the book’s conclusion, Darius cements their love—literally—by carving “Z + D FOREVER” in the freshly poured concrete in front of the Benitez’s old house, which is now being rebuilt.