Friends with ARCs | Pride + The Deepest Roots

Collaborative feature with Alexa. We read ARCs together and post our reviews on the same date.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

pub 9/18/18 by Balzer + Bray
YA - Contemporary Retelling
Received from pub via Edelweiss

I only read Pride and Prejudice for the first time a year ago so the story was still fairly fresh in my mind, which both worked and didn’t work in my favor as I delved into Ibi Zoboi’s modern take on this classic. She drew on the most important elements, which were easy to recognize, and made them her own. There’s Zuri (aka Elizabeth) and her pride in Brooklyn and her Afro-Latin roots, her fierce love and protectiveness over her sisters, and confidence to be exactly who she is. All things I liked but what turned me off from Zuri was her closed-mindedness. Like the book, Zuri certainly has opinions upon meeting Ainsley and Darius (I’m sure you can guess who he is) when they move into the house across the street. But she is downright hostile towards them, and belittling of anything and anyone outside her hometown. Her view of the world was just so small. And while I understood the lack of opportunity, I didn’t like how she treated people and it was just different from the Elizabeth I came to love in the original. Unfortunately since the story is from her perspective, that made it hard for me to enjoy the book overall. But that said, I liked seeing this classic take place in Brooklyn, the dynamic between the sisters and the writing style is engaging.

What’s your favorite P&P adaptation? The movie version with Keira Knightley.

The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo

pub 9/18/18 by HarperTeen
YA - Magical Realism
Received from pub via Edelweiss

As I’ve mentioned before, magical realism is always a hit or miss with me and in the case of The Deepest Roots, it was a hit. I had my doubts in the beginning as I learned about the world and picked up on the author’s vernacular but by the time it hit its stride, I was invested. In Cotton Hollow, Kansas all the girls are born with some kind of special ability. They can Fix anything, Find anything. Heal or seduce as a Siren. No one knows why but depending on who you ask, they claim it to be either a blessing or a curse. And in the case of three best friends Rome, Lux and Mercy it usually feels like the latter. In addition to their powers, the author also touches on their different upbringings, poverty and the struggles they face in order to dream of a better future for themselves. It was a surprising commentary but a good one that gave the girls’ world more weight. But the biggest highlight was their friendship. It’s one that’s tested as each girl hides their burdens from the other, even as they band together to uncover the secret of Cotton Hollow, which was the overarching plot of the book. I enjoyed how everything unfolded and I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Which power would you want to have? At first I had no idea which one I'd choose but then I realized, I think I'd want to be able to fix anything, especially since by nature I'm a problem solver/fixer/planner type.