"Pride" by Ibi Zoboi is a modern adaptation of the novel "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Since it is a shorter book than the original, some scenes were not adapted and the sequences of events are sped up and pushed together a little bit.
The Bennett family is represented by the Benitezes in Pride: Mrs. Benitez is Haitian and Mr. Benitez is Dominican, with five daughters Janae, Zuri, Marisol, Layla, and Kayla. The five girls all share a bedroom in their small apartment in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is primarily African-American and Hispanic.
The story starts off when the building across from Zuri's is renovated into a mini-mansion, and the rich Darcy family, consisting of brothers Ainsley and Darius and their parents, move in from Manhattan. At the same time, Janae, the oldest sister is returning from her first year at Syracuse University, as a much worldlier person who is eager to study abroad her next year. As soon as their father gives them permission to go visit the new neighbors, the two eldest girls go over to introduce themselves. Ainsley and Janae are instantly attracted to each other, but Zuri thinks Darius seems rude and unfriendly. This impression is later confirmed when he seemed disgusted by Layla and Kayla trying to dance with him at a block party.
The theme of gentrification is woven into this story to reflect what's really happening in real-life areas like this and also to provide a housing-related crisis that was omnipotent in the original book. Since women weren't allowed to own property in Regency-era England, the girls in "Pride and Prejudice" were in danger of losing their house should the father die to their cousin Mr. Collins. The prices of the buildings in Zuri's neighborhood are slowly going up as more and more well-off people are interested in moving in, and the threat of them being priced out of their apartment looms over their heads.
Zuri also gets to meet the fan-favorite in every adaptation, the Georgiana character, while on a trip to DC. Knowing that it's Zuri's dream to attend historically black college Howard University, Janae buys her a bus ticket so she can take a tour there. After her tour, she runs into Darius at a cafe, who is in DC visiting his sister Georgie, who interns there. Zuri immediately likes Georgie and thinks that she would fit in with her and her sisters, and Georgie invites Zuri to have dinner with them and their grandmother.
In "Pride", Catherine de Burgh takes the form of Darcy's grandmother, who is snobby and doesn't hide her dislike for Zuri after learning where she is from. Zuri leaves the dinner early after telling the grandmother off, and Darius offers to drive her back to Bushwick, rather than have her take the late bus. During the drive home they talk and get to know each other, and Zuri finds that she might like him more than she thought.
