From author Kia Abdullah, Take It Back is a harrowing and twisting courtroom thriller that keeps you guessing until the last page is turned. One victim. Four accused. Who is telling the truth? Zara Kaleel, one of London’s brightest legal minds, shattered the expectations placed on her by her family and forged a brilliant legal career. But her decisions came at a high cost, and now, battling her … But her decisions came at a high cost, and now, battling her own demons, she has exchanged her high profile career for a job at a sexual assault center, helping victims who need her the most. Victims like Jodie Wolfe.
When Jodie, a sixteen-year-old girl with facial deformities, accuses four boys in her class of an unthinkable crime, the community is torn apart. After all, these four teenage defendants are from hard-working immigrant families and they all have proven alibis. Even Jodie’s best friend doesn’t believe her.
But Zara does–and she is determined to fight for Jodie–to find the truth in the face of public outcry. And as issues of sex, race and social justice collide, the most explosive criminal trial of the year builds to a shocking conclusion.
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Can I just say WOW!!!
I’m more of a paranormal reader (and proud) and I only read something different when I’m on holiday (weird I know) but that was great writing.
The story drew me in.
This book has great characters, very complex and draws you in from the start and keeps you there till the last page.
I loved the character of Zara, going against her family and community to represent Jodie was to her family “wrong” Zara is a Muslim, the accused are Muslims, Jodie is a disabled white girl! But after serving the judicial system for years, Zara has had enough, so she left her high flying career and now helps victims of violence. Again her family are disappointed, but it’s something Zara had to do for herself. I also get the impression that Zara is battling herself, her addiction to medication, her boyfriend and her unsympathetic family all add to her daily battle. When you first meet her, you get the impression Zara just doesn’t care, her boyfriend wants more, she’s just rebelling by dating a non-Muslim, she barely speaks to her family….. but if you look further she’s disconnecting…. built such a high wall, that nothing or no one can get through.
Jodie is alone in her battle and the world. Her best friend Nina, proves to be not the best friend she claims to be! And as for her drunken mother (who I wanted to slap) just wanted to blame the world for her problems, she didn’t care about Jodie at all!
Jodie is written as a very strong character, she’s had to face people and their discriminations since birth. Jodie has facial disabilities, but that shouldn’t define you! yes
Yes she’s the victim of a violent crime, but she’s not about to let people shut her up! She’s demanding justice.
But as it all beings to spiral out of control, Jodie wonders if she just should have stayed quiet (especially as they find out she had a crush on one of the accused!)
The four accused boys take Jodie’s accusations differently…. Farid withdraws from reality, Amir and Hassan both lash out at others and everything around them. Mo seems the most genuinely troubled by Jodie’s accusations.
You could almost sympathise with Mo, but there is something stopping me, I’m not sure, but I don’t want to trust him!
The book takes us on a journey that I found fascinating and horrifying at the same time.
To have to prove your innocence, to have to run the gauntlet of people judging you. Hoping your friends and family have your back, only to find out that they don’t, not really!
The courtroom scenes are just as bad, if this is the way the system works, then no wonder people don’t come forward!
The hits in this book keep coming….. Zara makes a rookie mistake and it’s Jodie who pays for it! Then when you think it’s going to correct it’s self…. bang!!! Another blow!! Seriously I felt emotionally exhausted after several of the chapters!
There are triggers in this book, it’s deeply upsetting in places. But please stay with it!
The story will have you trying to work it out until the end!
I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it.
A twisted and intense story that takes a look at race relations between Muslins and Whites in England. Zara is a Muslim lawyer who struggles with her faith and her family traditions. A disabled white girl accuses four Muslim boys of rape and it causes a deep chasm in the society. The story looks at the family issues each of the characters struggles with and how it affects the decisions they make. The issues of mental health and drug use is dealt with in an way that focuses on the hidden pains. It is an emotional roller coaster as the story swings from one end to the next. The ending is unexpected and will surprise you.
Impressive writing. The story drew me in. While the story revolves around a current issue, the story is character-driven.
This book has great characterization. The four accused boys aren’t all alike in their reactions to Jodie’s accusations: Farid withdraws, Amir and Hassan lash out at others, and Mo seems genuinely troubled by whatever transpired between he, Jodie, and the other boys. Of all the accused, Mo is one that is almost sympathetic. Almost.
Jodie is sympathetic. She’s alone in the world. Her BFF Nina proves to be no friend at all, and her alcoholic mother blames her for every woe in their lives. Her facial deformities make her subject to bullying, and she’s almost nonchalant about the scrutiny she faces whenever she meets someone new. But Abdullah does a great job of making Jodie more complicated, more than simply “victim.” She has her own motives and goals.
Zara is a complex individual. Against her family’s wishes, she chooses to represent Jodie and bring accusations against the four Muslim boys. To her family and many others, it appears that she, a Muslim, is rejecting her community and culture. Her white boyfriend loves her, but she’s ambivalent about him, refusing to totally trust him. Her friend Safran, a colleague, is the only one she seems to trust; but sometimes she’s a little too open with him, to her own (and other people’s) detriment. (Incidentally, it’s nice to see a female-male friendship in fiction that doesn’t involve romance or sex.) She abuses medicine to deal with her stress. She genuinely cares about Jodie, but she finds it difficult to believe everything the girl says. In short, she’s a nuanced character.
Every time I thought things couldn’t get worse for the characters, they do. Abdullah raises the stakes over and over as we wind our way though conflicting claims, different data interpretations, mixed motives and emotionally-charged reactions, with Zara right at the heart of the confusion. After a few chapters, I did my usual skip-to-the-end routine. But despite knowing the ending, Abdullah kept my attention. I couldn’t look away from the book. I couldn’t bear to.
This is a thought-provoking and troubling book that underscores the divisions in society, and shows what happens when we see only the groups that are different from us, and not the individual humans within those groups. Nothing good comes from that. Hatred, violence, chaos.
With brutal honesty, the book shows what rape victims fight against when they come forward. If the standard is that the accused is innocent until proven guilty, then the accuser–the victim–is, by default, a liar until she/he proves the truth. The courtroom scenes are gut-wrenching. If this is how victims are treated in their pursuit of justice, it’s little wonder that many don’t come forward at all.
This is a tough book to read. Readers should be aware that there are racial and sexual pejoratives used, along with some brutal violence. After reading so many crime thrillers, depictions of violence don’t easily upset me. But certain scenes left me shaking. I imagine these might be triggering for those who have survived rape.
Totally engrossing, well-written, and riveting. I highly recommend this to all fans of legal thrillers.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
This is a brilliantly written novel that explores some really dark themes, including rape, racism, cultural norms and justice. What is justice when a sixteen year old Caucasian accuses four Muslim youths of rape? Jodie Wolfe has a facial deformity. The question is posed would these boys actually touch her with her physical problems? Added to that conflict is the fact that her own mother doesn’t believe her, her best friend thinks she is lying, too and the person on her side, the Rape Assistant Counselor Zara, is investigating everything to try to find out the truth. The plot is so complicated that at times the differences in cultures lost me, but I persisted and continued to read voraciously since the story was so compelling. I really wanted to find out the truth and when it was revealed, I gasped. This is a story that is not to be missed, a tale of so many different kinds of abuse that it boggled my mind. This is a legal thriller more than anything else, but it also a statement about society and acceptance or lack thereof. Be aware that there are numerous expletives used which took away from the story for me since I don’t like their use, but the author wove a good, well-developed story with believable characters.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
4.5 stars !
Take it Back has so much depth to the story!
It is a very thought provoking read.
It’s not only about rape that Jodie accuses 4 boys who happen to be Muslim , its partly the boomerang effect that this trial will have on their families, the community, the lawyers, the counselors.
This book captivated me from the first page to the final one.
I laughed, I cried, I cheered and I felt badly at times.
It is a story that is so timely, that will resonate with many people and will certainly stay with me for a long time.
I say put Take it Back to the top of your TBR pile.
I look forward to reading more by Kia Abdullah.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a fantastic read that I will continue to talk about .
This was an intense book. It keeps you turning the pages.
I felt sad for Jodie and at times was annoyed with Zara.
It was a bit twisted and I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised with the ending.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
Take It Back is so engrossing I stayed up until two a.m. reading it, then spent the next few hours replaying it in my head. Wow! Such a great book with challenging situations and legal and moral quandaries.
The premise of Take It Back is simple yet plausible—horrifying apt in these times. A sixteen-year-old white teenaged girl suffers from neurofibromatosis, a condition in which tumors grow in the nervous system. She has multiple deformities from this as well as balance issues. She accuses four immigrant boys, all Muslims, of raping her. The boys back up each others’ stories. So who is telling the truth?
Take It Back is a great read for those who enjoy crime thrillers or legal thrillers as well as those who like reading about contemporary socially relevant issues. This book addresses social issues we hear about on a daily basis and highlights how divided the world is in terms of politics, culture, religion, class, and race. Its twists and turns, particularly at the end, will keep readers entranced.