TAKE IT BACK
BY KIA ABDULLA

"Take It Back," written by Kia Abdullah is a powerful, multilayered and controversial novel that has much substance to it. It is a deep and dark portrayal of how a city can be radically divided regarding religion which in this case is Muslim and the white Anglican extremists on both sides. It illuminates how pervasive prejudiced radicals who violently protest and kick it up a notch where vigilante groups take matters into their own hands and how dangerous the consequences can be to all people involved.

This is a well written novel that features a sixteen year old girl named Jodie Wolfe who is white and born with facial deformities. Jodi is poor and lives with her alcoholic and largely neglectful mother. Jodi just wants to feel desirable and one night she goes to a party with her best friend Nina who leaves Jodi alone. Something happens and Jodi's life is traumatized according to her. She claims to have been raped by four Muslim classmates in an old warehouse.

Zara is a thirty year old Muslim woman who gave up a career as a barrister because she didn't find it rewarding. Zara is a strong independent protagonist who divorced the man who her family had picked out for her in a prearranged marriage. She works as an advocate for victims of sexual assault when Jodi comes in and tells her about being raped and Zara believes her. Zara has Jodi get a medical exam by the organization she works for. The exam is done by a forensic medical examiner and Jodi has saved the clothes she wore the night she claims to have been raped.

This is an intense plot that is written with sophistication. Zara gets targeted by the Muslim community for the role that she plays by helping a white woman while four of the accused she is helping to get prosecuted are Muslim's like she is. Also Zara's choice of sexual partners are white men who are non-Muslim white men. Her defense of Jodi and her sexual partners get leaked to the media which is explosive in this high profile case. I loved this novels message of how sad and deadly the consequences are by the prejudiced extremists on both sides. Kia Abdullah has written a gut wrenching and unforgettable story that is worthy of more than five stars. I look forward to what she writes next as this one will continue to haunt me.

Publication Date: December 8, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Kia Abdulla and St. Martin's Press for generously providing my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TakeItBack #KiaAbdullah #StMartin'sPress #NetGalley

I love the story. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. Absolutely brilliant writing.

Take It Back by Kia Abdullah is a superb page turner. Well worth the time and the read! Looking forward to the next novel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

How many times have we thought, if I could only take it back? That is the main theme of the book as everyone wants to take something back, to return to the way things were.

The main character is Zara Kaleel, a former lawyer, with a bright legal mind who gives up her high-powered job to become a consultant to rape victims. Zara is estranged from her Muslim family as she is determined to live life her way. Unfortunately, I never quite connected with her character. We are told she is a strong and independent woman, but her actions say differently. There are many things in Zara’s past that she wants to take back.

Zara meets Jodie, a white 16-year-old who claims that four boys lured her to a deserted warehouse after a party and then proceeded to rape her. Jodie has a severe facial deformity, and has lived a life of torment as she is labelled a freak. Jodie’s alcoholic mother resents her as she was left a single mother to raise her alone when Jodie’s father abandoned the family. Jodie does have one friend, but will she remain true in the wake of the accusation? Jodie quite often thinks how life would have remained simpler is she could take it back.

As for the accused, they are four Muslim young men from hard-working families, all with deep ties to their immigrant community. No one can believe that these handsome and popular young men would commit the crime they are accused of, setting off a series of violent attacks against the Muslim community. While they admit that something happened, they insist it was consensual. And they would take it back if they could.

Thus begins an explosive trial, with a few twists and turns along the way. At the beginning, I tried to keep an open mind and pretend I was part of the jury. It was very hard as this is a she said/he said situation, until facts are slowly revealed. But do they really tell the whole truth?

All in all, the writing is good. I did feel the story going off-track at times with Zara’s personal issues. The problem was they really didn’t seem to tie-in all that well with the story. The book’s main themes of justice, race, religion, equality and empathy are weighty enough to stand on their own.

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: Dec. 8, 2020

Itsy Bitsy Review

This courtroom drama had the makings of a great controversial story. A sixteen-year-old white girl with facial deformities accuses four Muslim boys of rape. Her rape counselor is a brown Muslim woman. Throw into the plot that the girl’s mother is an alcoholic and her rape counselor has a history of struggling with her own addictions. Doesn’t this sound like a gripping novel soon to be a film?

The author writes in a manner to make the reader feel uncomfortable and she does succeed. Yet, she didn’t manage to write the two female protagonists in a way to make the reader cry for them, at least I didn’t. For some reason, I did not feel the empathy for them that I should have. I am not sure why, it just wasn’t there. Possibly they were underdeveloped characters and written too much like one-sided characters. Also, the big twist at the end of the book, for this reviewer, was easily guessed. I may be too harsh here in my criticisms. If the novel does become a movie I will be watching it.

Zara's life is in turmoil when she represents a British teenager who accuses a group of Muslim boys, from her Zara's community, of gang rape. It is Zara's professional duty and responsibility as a woman to represent Jodie Wolfe, but the Muslim community views her as a traitor.

Abdullah's book explores the conflicted world of heritage and the quest for what is morally right and just. Take It Back was a good, quick read. I felt it moved a little too quickly. Perhaps a little more focus on character exploration would have given some depth to the plot and the struggles the characters were facing. Their struggles were immense, but as a reader, I read them, but didn't feel them.

Overall, I liked the plot of Take It Back, and it was worth the read. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of the book in exchange for my hones opinion.

Zara provides legal representation for victims of sexual assault in London. The allegation comes from Jodie, a high school young woman with significant facial deformities attributed to elephantiasis. Jodie grew up with a mother who resented her daughter's unattractive features and consistently reminded Jodie of the repelling physical features. .After attending a party, Jodie ends up in an abandoned warehouse with a young man who she's been attracted to. The truth around the ensuing behavior for all parties involved must be unraveled.

This was a difficult book for me to read. So many issues in this story had me clenching my teeth as well as my fists. The subjugation of women within a religion while hating any woman who is not part of their religion was appalling to me. The basis of this story has four Muslim teenage boys being accused of rape by a white girl with Elephantitis. The social worker she reports the rapes to happens to be Muslim. The hatred in this story is stunning.

I learned a lot while reading this book even though I am in my 70s. I have lived through times when black men would step into the street to allow white women to pass on the sidewalk. I have marched during the Civil Rights Movement. I was one of the women who burned her bra in the 60s. To think all of my generation 's hard work may disappear saddens me.

Zara Kaleel, a 30-year-old Muslim woman, leaves a successful practice of law in London to become a sexual assault advocate. But Zara has her own struggles – with an addiction to tranquilizers and with her more traditional Muslim family. Then Zara is assigned Jodie’s case: a poor, white, disfigured teen who accuses four Muslim classmates of gang rape.

As the case moves toward trial, inconsistencies show up in Jodie’s story. Is she traumatized or lying? What about Amir, the ring leader? Is he the ideal immigrant?

When the tabloids join the fray, the case erupts into war between various special interest groups, complete with protests and threats. There are many topics for book club discussion: #metoo, the role of (social) media, the immigrant experience, and peer pressure.

Those who love twisty courtroom dramas will not want to miss it.

A Musllim girl with facial deformities accuses four Muslim boys of raping her at an after-party party. Zara, another Muslim who is an ex-lawyer, helps the girl through the courtroom.
We learn about Muslim families and cultures. Such a variety!

What an amazing book.

This book examines the alleged rape of a disabled girl by four Asian boys, and is told from the perspective of a former barrister who now acts as a victims' advocate.

Not without her own problems and an Asian woman herself, the main character, Zara, finds herself questioning her own experiences as she works to help the victim bring her rapists to trial. As stories start to change, the reader is left guessing.

This was an excellent book, and I enjoyed it a lot. I'll be looking for more books from this author.

This book hooked me right away and stayed strong right through a wonderful ending! The main character is a used-to-be barrister in London. She's now working at a women's shelter to help victim's of sexual assault and meets a teenage girl who claims to have been sexually violated by four Muslim boys of Pakistani descent. The reader follows the case as it develops with the author skillfully keeping the truth hidden until the very end, was the girl really assaulted or is she lying? The author includes various Muslim cultural references throughout the book which I liked. I have no reservations about recommending this book!


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy to review.

A Courtroom Thriller!

Jodi Wolf is sixteen. Going through high school is awful enough, but when you have a facial deformity, it is even crueler.

Jodi has accused four Muslim boys from good families of rape. No one believes her. Not even her own mother. Best not to ruin these boys promising futures.

The only person in her corner is Zara Kaleel, a former lawyer and a brilliant one at that. She is also Muslim. Will she really go against her own people for this girl?

This was an emotionally charged story. And in the end justice may not be what anyone thought.

Emotional and timely read that I put down and picked up. I cried, I was furious and at the end, just spent.

Well Done!

NetGalley/December 8th. 2020 by St. Martin’s Press

Courtroom dramas are a drama I typically love without any reason, so I was a little surprised at how challenging I found this one to read. As some other reviewers have mentioned, I found some of the graphic references throughout to be really tough to read - I needed to step away often. While that doesn't take away from the obvious skill in the writing (also frequently mentioned in reviews!), it was more graphic than I anticipated and therefore was more challenging to read.

Additionally, I felt like the author was pretty clearly inserted throughout the story. That felt distracting for me, but that may have been because I was so choppily reading this one.

Overall, not for me, but I can see this one becoming a hit.

This was a great book that seems like it would be something from a movie. I thought I knew who was the lier and who was telling the truth and I was so wrong it made me want to cry. No wonder no one says anything, their world is turned upside down even when their telling the truth!! I would definitely recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It covers some difficult subject matter relating to rape, racial/religious hatred which I admit does not make it sound like an easy read but this is dealt with well in neither an inflammatory nor patronising way.

The style of writing was engaging and kept me turning the pages at a rapid pace! I changed my mind several times throughout the book about who was telling the truth and didn't feel the outcome was predictable. The courtroom sections were particularly good and it was so easy to picture the scene in your mind whilst reading.

Finished it in two days which is always an indication of a good read!

This book has so many layers and depths. There are many underlying messages and lessons throughout. Taboo subjects are dissected. You’ll find yourself having empathy and the next minute condemning. It really makes you check your moral compass while you read and then really r-e-a-d the messages throughout.

This book draws you in by the main character's story. I found myself wanting to know more about her life and trusting her more than the victim's story or the boys. You literally do not know who to trust and this book takes you back and forth not knowing who to trust. Definitely recommend.

I was slightly worried going into this one because it is marketed as a courtroom thriller which is not my thing-but wow...was I pleasantly surprised. I felt this to my absolute core. Everyone should read this. Just wow-it honestly left me speechless.

Take It Back by Kia Abdullah was a powerful read. It follows Zara, a Muslim barrister, as she takes on the case of Jodie, a poor white girl with a deformed face. Jodie claims 4 Muslim teenage boys raped her. No one believes her. The boys come from good families and Jodie is poor white trash. Zara has demons of her own to contend with. She abuses pills and has a less than enviable family life. How will she be able to defend a white girl against 4 Muslims, her own people? J was very enthralled by the character of Zara. She is flawed but you can't help but root for her and understand her. This is a great criminal/legal thriller. It also is a cultural,racial, religious thriller and I learned a lot I didn't know about the Muslim faith and community. This is a great book to read for anyone who enjoys thrillers and books that can be disturbing and a bit melancholy. Don't miss this one! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.