Jill's Book Blog

Title: Pride
Author: Ibi Zoboi
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Owlcrate
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Pride and Prejudice gets remixed in this smart, funny, gorgeous retelling of the classic, starring all characters of color, from Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award finalist and author of American Street.

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.

Review:

I loved this modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

It’s amazing the way that the story can be told in a contemporary setting. The world of this story, which is Brooklyn in 2018, is completely different from the 1800s in England when Jane Austen originally wrote the book. The story still makes sense in this setting.

This story doesn’t have to be read as an adaptation. It could be its own story, even without the references to Pride and Prejudice. You don’t have to have read Pride and Prejudice to understand it.

I loved the way the characters were turned into modern Brooklyn characters. The Benitez sisters are Haitian-Dominican girls, named Janae, Zuri, Marisol, Kayla and Layla. Darius is the Darcy character and he has a brother Ainsley (based on Bingley) and a sister Georgia. I loved these updated names.

This is an amazing adaptation!

What to read next:

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Have you read Pride? What did you think of it?

Title: The Dead Queens Club
Author: Hannah Capin
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Mean Girls meets The Tudors in Hannah Capin’s The Dead Queens Club, a clever contemporary YA retelling of Henry VIII and his wives (or, in this case, his high school girlfriends). Told from the perspective of Annie Marck (“Cleves”), a 17-year-old aspiring journalist from Cleveland who meets Henry at summer camp, The Dead Queens Club is a fun, snarky read that provides great historical detail in an accessible way for teens while giving the infamous tale of Henry VIII its own unique spin.

What do a future ambassador, an overly ambitious Francophile, a hospital-volunteering Girl Scout, the new girl from Cleveland, the junior cheer captain, and the vice president of the debate club have in common? It sounds like the ridiculously long lead-up to an astoundingly absurd punchline, right? Except it’s not. Well, unless my life is the joke, which is kind of starting to look like a possibility given how beyond soap opera it’s been since I moved to Lancaster. But anyway, here’s your answer: we’ve all had the questionable privilege of going out with Lancaster High School’s de facto king. Otherwise known as my best friend. Otherwise known as the reason I’ve already helped steal a car, a jet ski, and one hundred spray-painted water bottles when it’s not even Christmas break yet. Otherwise known as Henry. Jersey number 8.

Meet Cleves. Girlfriend number four and the narrator of The Dead Queens Club, a young adult retelling of Henry VIII and his six wives. Cleves is the only girlfriend to come out of her relationship with Henry unscathed—but most breakups are messy, right? And sometimes tragic accidents happen…twice…

Review:

I saw a review for this book on Vicky Who Reads blog a couple of weeks ago and I knew I had to read it! This book is a mix of the Tudors of England meets Mean Girls. It’s amazing!

I love the combination of historical figures and modern teens. My own manuscript is an adaptation of Wuthering Heights in a modern high school, so I especially love these kinds of adaptations.

There were also some thriller aspects to the story. Henry’s girlfriends either disappear or die after they break up. It ends up becoming a mystery of what really happened to Anna Boleyn. She apparently set a tower on fire, leading to the deaths of her and her brother. The real Henry VIII murdered his wives when they weren’t pleasing him anymore. The question in this story is did Anna actually set the fire or was she innocent?

I loved this story so much! I can’t wait to see what Hannah Capin writes next!

What to read next:

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Eliza Rose by Lucy Worsley

Have you read The Dead Queens Club? What did you think of it?