Debating Darcy

by Sayantani DasGupta

Overview

This Pride & Prejudice retelling brings New York Times bestselling Sayantani DasGupta’s trademark wit and insight to her bright and funny YA debut!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are two types of people in the hypercompetitive world of high school forensics competitions: speakers and debaters. Nobody knows this better than Leela Bose, a life-long speech competitor. When she meets Firoze Darcy, an incorrigible debater, Leela has no choice but to try and tolerate him. His elitist private school is included in the state league she’s competing in and their paths will inevitably cross.But why simply tolerate Firoze when Leela can one-up him? She decides to switch into the debate category of the competition toprove that women are just as capable as men. But the situation is more complicated than Leela anticipated, and her participationin the tournament reveals that she might have tragically misjudged the debaters in the forensics league — including Firoze Darcy.Leela will have to confront her assumptions, not only about other people, but about herself, if she’s to have any hope ofdeciphering her complicated feelings for Darcy or succeeding in the forensics competition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338813722
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Edition description:	CD Edition
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Sayantani DasGupta is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Bengali folktale and string theory-inspired Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond books, the first of which — The Serpent's Secret — was a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, a Booklist Best Middle Grade Novel of the 21st Century, and an E. B. White Read Aloud Honor Book. She is also the author of Debating Darcy, a contemporary young adult reimagining of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Sayantani is a pediatrician by training, but now teaches at Columbia University. When she's not writing or reading, Sayantani spends time watching cooking shows with her trilingual children and protecting her black Labrador retriever Khushi from the many things that scare him, including plastic bags. She is a team member of We Need Diverse Books, and can be found online at sayantanidasgupta.com and on Twitter at @sayantani16.

Editorial Reviews

With just the right mix of sassiness, awkwardness, pop culture, and high school drama, this contemporary retelling of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with a Desi twist is a fun listen. Narrator Deepa Samuel portrays Leela Bose and Firoze Darcy. Both are part of the high school forensics teams at their respective schools. Leela is a passionate speech competitor attending public school, and Firoze is a fierce debater from a snobby private school. Samuel infuses them both with believability while also helping listeners visualize the story’s settings and conflicts. The tone and pacing of the narration keep listeners invested in a large cast of multifaceted characters, particularly Leela and Firoze—individually and as potentially romantic rivals. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2022 - AudioFile

Fiercely feminist and utterly delightful. Jane Austen would be proud.” — Samira Ahmed, New York Times bestselling author of Internment

“A charming and witty retelling, unlike any other!” — Adiba Jaigirdar, author of The Henna Wars and Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating

“One thing isn’t up for debate: readers will swoon for Debating Darcy!” — Tiffany Schmidt, author of the Bookish Boyfriends series and I’m Dreaming of a Wyatt Christmas

“Debating Darcy delivers a brilliantly diverse cast of characters who make up the Bennet sibling world and DasGupta superbly explores what class and social mobility mean in America today as well as sexuality and the #MeToo movement.” — Soniah Kamal, award-winning author of Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan

From the Publisher

2022-03-16
Pride and Prejudice is transported into the cutthroat world of high school speech competitions in this humorous and timely retelling.

When Firoze Darcy first meets Leela Bose, she is singing her heart out while standing on a cafeteria table. The wealthy, very proper, and extremely attractive Firoze is horrified, especially after she makes a light joke at his expense. Leela, one of the stars of her high school’s debate team, is intrigued when she hears from her coaches—the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet—that exclusive Netherfield Academy, where Darcy is forensics team president, will be among those competing against them. When Darcy’s snobbishness becomes apparent, however, Leela declares him a rival. DasGupta’s Austen retelling both closely follows the original classic and updates it in refreshing ways. Darcy is the biracial son of a Pakistani Muslim mother and White British father. Indian American Leela, who is from a Bengali Hindu family, is taken aback when she learns that his mother is the president of Pemberley, the prestigious (and costly) university she has long dreamed of attending. Nods to Austen’s original dialogue are present throughout, requiring readers to occasionally suspend disbelief given the cast of contemporary teens. Class, colorism, and the complicated nature of South Asian American identity are explored, while the scandal at the heart of the book has been updated in a realistic way that gives young women space to speak up and fight back.

A delight. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews