Debating Darcy
by Sayantani DasGupta
High School    Scholastic    320 pp.   g
4/22    978-1-338-79769-5    $18.99

This retelling of Pride and Prejudice replaces the Bennets with a ragtag speech and debate team looking to make it amongst the more elite private academies. Leela Bose, an Indian American high schooler, is poised to reach the top this year with her fellow Longbourn High forensicators (“yes, it’s a real word”). But then the team meets Firoze Darcy, a debate competitor for Netherfield Academy (and “Desi hottie”). An obnoxious comment from Firoze makes Leela, who has often faced racism and colorism, feel “ugly” in a way she hasn’t felt since she left the nearly-all-white town where she grew up, and when Firoze becomes a regular presence at her high-school tournaments, she goes on the offensive. In her YA debut, DasGupta (author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond middle-grade series) balances everyday teen topics like crushes and arguments with more wide-ranging issues like sexism, sexual harassment, and racism. She evokes the feel of Austen through lots of references to the original and writes with a similar witty tone, while keeping the language contemporary and fresh. With its plucky cast of modern-day teens, this is a great entry point for new Austen fans.

From the July/August 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.