This book had some great parts, and some really disappointing parts.

I enjoyed the criminal/legal aspects of the book. I thought the premise of the book was good, and was handled appropriately. Jodie was a sympathetic character, and the various personalities and lives of the accused boys were well written. I actually liked Zara's character too, for the most part. The pieces I struggled with were where this was turned into a race issue. I just felt like this was an added factor that muddied and complicated things, and added so much more drama than I was willing to deal with. I would have much preferred this to have focused solely on the accusations and subsequent investigation, without all of Zara's family drama and the racial subject matter. Then there's the matter of the ending. Super late breaking twist that shocked the hell out of me, but also left me wondering "why?"

3.5 stars

Take it Back by Kia Abdullah is a mystery/courtroom drama about a disfigured girl who accuses four Muslim boys of raping her. It is a difficult book to read as there are some graphic scenes describing the sexual assault. But I also found it to be thought-provoking and fairly compelling storytelling.

I was definitely hooked at the beginning of the story. Despite the tough subject matter, the story was very interesting. The implications of raping a girl with a disability. The implications of Muslim boys being charged with the rape. The implications of a Muslim female lawyer being on the side of the girl. There was a lot to think about as I started reading. The story is told from the perspectives of all the characters, and it is written in a way that you just aren't sure who is guilty or not guilty.

Towards the end, I felt like the story started to drag on and it didn't quite hold my attention like it did at the beginning. Plus the unpleasant topic made for less than enjoyable reading at times. It's the kind of book that it is hard to say I liked it? But definitely had some interesting moments and plenty of food for thought.

Wow, I couldn’t put this book down! Take It Back is a fast-paced courtroom thriller, set in London, with a very timely plot and well-developed characters. I made sure NOT to read any spoilers before I began this novel, and I would advise other readers not to either, because there are several twists through-out the story that will stay with you for a while after reading.

Zara Kaleel left her high profile career as a barrister to become a counselor at a local sexual assault center. Estranged from her more traditional Muslim family, and torn by her own beliefs, wants, and needs, Zara makes for a conflicted and interesting character. When Jodie Wolfe, a disabled teen with facial deformities, enters the center and tells Zara that she was gang raped by four Muslim boys from her high school, Zara makes it her mission to help Jodie get justice.

It doesn’t take long for the media to pick up on the case, and for racial tensions to reach a crescendo. Jodie, and Zara are both dragged through the mud, and Zara’s conviction that Jodie is telling the truth holds her strong through the process.

This is definitely a harrowing read, and deals with vivid accounts of rape, violence, and racism. Zara is not always likeable, but she is definitely relatable. I loved how Kia Abdullah builds the suspense, letting the reader make up their own mind about the case while they read, giving us insights into Zara’s head, but also Jodie’s and the boys that she accuses heads. I also appreciate that the author delves deep into a rape case, to show that it often isn’t the truth that wins a case of this type, but the portrayal of the survivor, the perpetrator(s), and the lives that they live.

I’m looking forward to reading Kia Abdullah’s next novel now - I love a deep, gritty, shocking, and believable thriller! Take It Back is definitely a 4.5 star read for me!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bengali boy rapes classmate causing uproar. Muslim woman lawyer takes the case against the wishes of her community, further alienating her from them. Many twists and turns and a very clever ending make for good reading. Some of the insights into the strong us vs them pressures in any community, but even more so for women in male dominated societies, add to the appeal of this really well written novel.

In light of everything going on in the world this book is somewhat fitting. This book focuses on what happens when a white girl accuses 4 muslim boys of rape. This book left me guessing the whole time and has underlying themes of how culture affects us and how we perceive those different. The ending didn't really sit very well with me but I appreciate Netgalley and the publishers the chance to review this book.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This novel really surprised me. I thought I would enjoy it but I did not think it would move me the way that it did. Sixteen year old Jodie Wolfe's life has not been easy. She has grown up with an alcoholic mother who much like Jodie's peers makes fun of her facial deformities. When Jodie accuses four teenage boys from hard working Muslim immigrant families of rape things begin to turn from bad to worse for her.

When Zara Kaleel, former barrister turned rape counsellor is assigned to help Jodie things become extremely hard for her. As a Muslim she is accused of being a traitor and much more. This is a heavy book but definitely one worth reading.

Jodie, a 16 year-old girl from east London, has battled verbal and physical abuse all of her life, thanks to a deformity she was born with. Then one night she attends a party, and after the party she gets sexually assaulted by four muslim guys from her school.. She hires Zara Kaleel, who is also Muslim, to help fight for her in court. The court battle threatens to rip apart their community, and becomes a divison about race, sex, and religion.

This book was excellent. I didn't want to put it down. I wanted to get to the truth behind all of the murkiness of the evidence that was presented in court. This was the kind of book that draws you in and holds you there to the very last page, and then makes you want to talk about it afterwards. This would make an excellent book club book. I highly rercommend this one!

Ok. Wow. Ok.

This was a wild ride from the first page to the last. I just didn't know what to expect every second. My gosh! Take It Back really was a thriller that took me through roller coaster of emotions and I just didn't know whom to sympathize with and whom to believe through the entire book. Every page was a new twist that absolutely blew my mind!

This book has left me reeling, I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite books of 2020. It is way more than a courtroom drama, it is complex, thought provoking, insightful, and just amazing. The way that Kia Abdullah wrote the story and the characters brought forth so much emotion because we are privy to the lives of not only the main characters but of their families and how this high profile case affects each and every one. I highly recommend this book and look forward for the next installment.
Thank You to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

What really happened to Jodie that night? Zara, an attorney now working as an advocate for sexually abused women, believes Jodie when she details a horrific gang rape by four Muslim teens who are her classmates. Jodie is white, she's got facial deformities and other physical issues, and she's living with an alcoholic mom. Zara, who fled an arranged marriage, finds herself in the cross fire of two communities- she's a Muslim woman working to assist the prosecution of Muslim men and she's involved with a Caucasian man. Jodie's story changes as the case moves forward until.....No spoilers. This is told in third person perspective by Zara and by several of the boys. Abdullah has done a very good job of portraying the complexities of humans. The UK court system works differently, of course, from the US but that won't be a problem for US readers. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is a page turner with multiple surprises.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Take It Back is one of those thrillers that grabs you by the throat from the top and doesn't let go for the whole dark ride. The pacing is breakneck the whole way though and I found it very difficult to put down. Zara, the main protagonist, is a total mess but I think that suited this story which is very raw and painful throughout. There's a lot of second guessing throughout the book, a lot of wondering who's telling the truth when everyone seems to be caught in lies at one point or another.

As a reader, this can be an uncomfortable book. The descriptions of sexual violence would have me recommend a trigger warning for those who have experienced it but the racial and physical violence is also disturbing and downright terrifying. I thought the author did a good job at showing how disgusting humans can be with one another (even complete strangers) without being gratuitous. By the end of the story, I felt as though I was hurting for everyone involved and that extended out of the fiction and into the real world, further justifying this true crime fan's belief that humans truly are the worst monsters.

My only and rather big complaint about this novel is the ending. I hate cliffhangers when there is no reason for one. To be honest, I find it lazy and very unsatisfying. After such a fast, tightly detailed story, to have the ending just sitting in the air was a complete let down. It left a bad taste that I will admit colors my entire review because I really did like the book a lot before that point. Unless it's a series (and even then I still don't like them) there's no reason not to give the readers a true ending. I would still recommend it though because I think the story touches on very important themes and is absolutely engrossing, I just wish the very last bit had been more solid.

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

At the center of this compelling drama is the rape of a deformed 16 year old girl by four of her classmates. In and of itself this premise has enough bones for a great legal thriller. But Abdullah takes us beyond "He said, she said" and has us take a good hard look at how societies respond to such high profile cases.

Our protagonist Zara has started on a new path in life. She has left behind her career as a barrister and has now assumed the role of advocate. We know that some trauma has brought her here and we see the fallout - strained relationships, substance abuse, casual sexual encounters. But the one area where Zara does not falter is in her unshakeable belief in Jodi's story. Despite the ease with which Jodie has lied, her stories differing between advocate, police and lawyers. Despite the wholesome well bred reputation that the boys have. Despite her family's pleas for her to leave the case alone. Despite Despite the Muslim community denouncing her as a traitor.

As you turn the pages Take It Back develops into a complex shape that is layered with feminism, race and religion. We are asked as readers to view the case from all angles. To think about why men rape. To consider how physical beauty, or lack thereof, impacts how people perceive our character. Take it Back asks us to think about how society and culture mold us into individuals that can accept "boys just being boys". We are tasked with looking at how our prejudices color and impede our quest for the truth.

Take It Back was a gripping novel. I look forward to reading Truth Be Told, the second installment in the Zara Kaleel series.

Zara changed careers as a high profile lawyer in London to work at a sexual assault center. Jodie is a teenager with a facial deformity who shows up at the center for help as she recounts a story of a sexual assault by four Muslim teenagers. Jodie is white, Zara is Muslim. What entails is a he said/she said trial of epic proposition where Zara stands up for Jodie, but is ostracized from her own community and targeted for things in her personal life.

My thoughts: This courtroom thriller has stayed with me. It’s raw and heartbreaking, powerful and moving. It hits on the many relevant topics of race, sexual assault, social injustice and growing up with a facial deformity. I was rooting for Jodie, the defendants and Zara all at different times during the story.

This was a really captivating courtroom drama. Zara is an advocate for teenager Jodie who claims to have been raped by four Muslim classmates in modern day Britain. Zara is also Muslim and is shunned by her family and community for taking on Jodie’s case. The book leaves you guessing until the very end - what really happened? There was one quote from the book that stood out for me: “Oppression doesn’t spread through men with guns, or bombs on trains. Oppression spreads when women like you tell their daughters to marry a certain man, or wear a certain dress, or work a certain job. It happens when women like you tell us - gently and with all the love in the world - not to peek above the parapet, instead to stay at home, to be quiet, to be kind, to be good.” It was also interesting to learn the differences between the American and British court systems, particularly the courtroom vernacular.

A timely book which takes on contemporary issues of tribalism, color and a very sensitive subject. There is plenty of courtroom drama and we get to know the players as well. Just when you think you have it figured out, there is another twist to the story. Very well done and an interesting read overall.

Thank you to the publisher for the copy - all opinions are my own.

If you love ripped from the headlines, #MeToo movement, he said vs she said stories that will make you think, and then make you think some more - THIS is the book for you.

To say this book and story are engrossing is a gross understatement - I was invested from the start, and so entirely sucked in to trying to figure out which of the two sides was lying in their story. Honestly, I did NOT see the outcome of this book happening the way it did, and that it was neither easy nor wrapped up in a clean bow is what makes this one of my top recommended reads of the year, by a long shot.

A must read for suspense, drama lovers out there - or for any reader who really wants to be pulled into a plot to think hard about all the ways one story can unravel.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This book made me think; how hard it must be to not only be a victim of sexual assault but the strength it must take to take that first step to report it. People of minorities, people that are deemed as less than desirable; how would a jury feel about a case like this? Four Muslim boys accused of raping a white girl with a deformity; would this case be different if it was four white boys or four rich boys? We as a society should not make assumptions but we all do, whether it’s based on looks, employment, accent, race, wealth, etc. We should believe someone when they come forward as a victim, but some will not and some will victim blame.

Jodie our victim in this book has alway been a victim of circumstances; is she telling the truth, are the boys. For Zara, what does a case like this mean; as she stands beside Jodie, other muslins say she is a traitor; she is just doing what she thinks is right. As tempers in the community flare, will Zara get out if this case unscathed?

It was a good read, with lots of twists, I was not sure who to believe, who was ultimately telling the truth. In the end, things are never just black and white and there are truth and lies in every story.

Lara a young Muslim woman, has given up a lucrative, high powered legal career to work at a rape counseling center. When she takes on a case involving the alleged sexual assault of a physically deformed white student by four Muslim classmates, her world explodes, as does the shaky relationship between the Muslim and non Muslim world of London. As the court case proceeds, there are a lot of disturbing questions.

This is a well written, fast, yet engrossing read. It raises a lot of social and cultural issues, giving the reader much food for thought and debate; it would be a great read for a book club.

The ending left readers to hypothesize what happens next. Again, another question open for debate.

Wow, wow, wow and WOW!! This was an incredible book. It is so timely and yet timeless. It tackles such deep subjects like prejudices, race, class, disabilities, religion, politics, physics appearances, sexual assault, gender bias, the justice system, addiction the media and more. It’s a courtroom drama that will draw you in from the start. Very smart with twists and turns that truly leave you thinking you know the truth in one moment and questioning yourself the next. We get to read the perspectives of the accuser, the accused and many family members at the same time that each and every one of them is being scrutinized but the legal system and more scarily, the public and the media. I do not want to give away a single thing that could take away from your time reading this tale, but will say that it is a rare event that I reach the end of the book without knowing the answers. This one kept me riveted to the very last page.

Abdullah created a book with so many moral issues and the dilemma she set up worked well. Jodie, a 16-year old with a horribly disfigured face and an alcoholic mother who blames Jodie for ruining her marriage and life, accused four upstanding young Muslim boys of raping her. She turns to a rape counselor for help. The counselor, Zara Kaleel, has been a high-powered lawyer. Zara is struggling with personal issues. After an arranged marriage and divorce, her father disowned her. She’s also become dependent on prescribed drugs to keep her going. As Zara works with a private investigator and the police, Zara’s story starts to have holes while the young men’s stories are collaborated. It turns into a huge racial issue with Zara being accused for being an “Uncle Tom” in taking on the defense of Jody. As I read this, my emotions struggled with what was right. I felt pity for Jody and the unloved life she’d had. I hurt for Zara who didn’t see this as a racial issue and I felt badly for the young men whose lives had been shredded. I thought I knew the ending, but the ending threw all the issues back at me. Days after I read it, the problems of race, sexuality and religion presented in the book give me a lot to think about.