Kia Abdullah's fast-moving, compelling legal thriller is a skillfully written and well-developed story. The author intelligently and incitefully deals with matters of race relations, sexual assault, disability, prejudice, and relationships, all with a gentle hand searching for the truth. Abdullah adroitly looks at social issues with clarity and sensitivity. At the same time, in a carefully crafted understory, she creates and develops characters and relationships that pull the reader even deeper into the complexities of the plot which also has a twist at the end. Highly recommended for its excellent writing and thought-provoking investigation of faith, honor, and loyalty.

Parts of this book were really hard to read. I was interested to find out what the truth was so I kept reading but I admit I had to skip a lot of the really descriptive parts it to me I did nothing to the story. But in the end the book turned out to be well worth reading.

Double. Gut. Punch.
WOW.
This book wasn't my usual "thriller," but I'm glad I gave it a chance. Once I started reading this one, I could NOT put it down.
Set in London, a rape case involving a white girl with facial deformity accusing four Muslim school-mates. Zara, our main character, is assigned as the special consultant to the victim. Zara is Muslim. Zara's past creeps up to haunt her in this chilling story of one night gone wrong and 6 lives that will be forever changed.
Beautifully written.
Actual stars: 4.5
Excellent read, easy to recommend who like harder reads with difficult/troubling narratives. Triggers - this books details a fairly graphic rape.

Easy read! The story never gets boring so it definitely keeps you reading. There were a few parts where the situation could have been summed up a bit but for the most part, the plot was intriguing and you really won't know who to believe. You want Justice for Jodie but you're confused by the boy's recollection of events -- he said she said! Was a little disappointed near the end but then the book redeemed itself! I gave it three stars instead of four because nothing really made it stand out and it seemed like the author was equally trying to force not only Jodie's story but Zara's as well which was a little exhausting to follow.

Take It Back is a gripping read and I couldn't put it down even when I tried. This book takes over your life! The author has something special here and I am thrilled to have been able to read an early copy. You can bet I'll be singing high praises for this novel when it comes to release day!

This book started out slow for me but picked up mid way through. The story of Jodie, a 16 year old girl who accuses 4 classmates of rape is a hard one to digest. As the trial builds I found myself hoping one thing and then another. This push and pull made the entire end of the book fly by.

I gave this 3 stars, but it’s really closer to 3.5.

Many Thanks to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book before being published in exchange for an honest review.
The book is about a rape case of a 16 years old girl, Jodie who´s deformed face make it difficult to look at her. When people look at her, they feel pity, shame or disgust. That´s why when she accuses 4 students from her school of rape after a party, people can hardly believe her, even her best friend or her mum don´t believe her. She´s a white girl, the teenager boys are from hard-working immigrant families.
The case worker, Zara, is from the same background that the boys. I didn´t think much of them because she is doesn´t get on with her family at all, mainly with his brother after she divorced 2 months later of an arranged matrimony and after that she just uses men. So when for a careless talk to a friend in a bar is overheard by somebody working for the news, the girl and she become known to the press. That follows up with big demonstrations and confrontations outside the court between those 2 groups. The ones who believe the girl and the ones who trust the students and don´t think they did anything to the girl and can´t believe that Zara is doing the impossible to put them behind bars.
The book is very quick pace especially when Zara and Jodie are coming in and out of court. You will really want to know what happens at the end of the book, where there is a turn in the events that you would never have guessed.
The book is about 2 very sensitive subjects. Rape and Race. I didn´t enjoy the book as much as I don´t like any of the subjects. I always feel uncomfortable with those topics. I just can´t understand how people can be judged because of their race or religion and I also don´t understand why people would rape their victims just for fun or hate or a laugh. But it is obvious that those things happened before and happen nowdays.
My feelings were mixed. First you think Jodie has been a victim of four fearless boys who only care about their looks and about not to compromise any of the ones in the group. Then the books continues and you think that Jodie only is looking for attention. Some attention that she didn´t get it from her dad who left when she was two, or from a mum who is always blaming her of being abandoned by his husband because of her and her face.

So here I am with my mixed feelings. Really good mystery book but didn´t enjoy the topics that much.
3.5 stars

This book was not what I was expecting at all, it was much more powerful than the typical courtroom thriller. This is a heartbreaking, emotional, gut wrenching read that not only shines a light on the she said, he said struggle but also racism, religion, economic status, and disabilities and so much more. They’re all weaved into a moving, dramatic story about Jodie, a sixteen year old girl that has severe facial deformities, who accuses four Muslim boys of rape. Zara, a Muslim herself, is a former barrister now working as an advocate for rape victims when she meets Jodie. As the case moves forward Zara and Jodie are faced with many adversaries. Does truth prevail? What is the truth? This book had me until the very last sentence.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Painful. Less of a psychological thriller than courtroom drama about a very intense assault. Well written but triggering. Read at your own risk

Wow. This is an incredibly written, heart-wrenching courtroom thriller. It’s hard to say I enjoyed it because of its topic, but something of the equivalent.

Jodie is a white female with a physically deformed face. She shows up in Zara’s Office with accusations that four Muslim boys raped her. Zara is Muslim herself, although she has modernized her ways and because of it is estranged from her family. The story tells the process of the trial, from Zara‘s point of view, Jodie’s point of view, and that of the boys. The trial stirs up an incredible race war, people feeling very strongly on both sides. As the trail progresses and evidence becomes known, people form opinions about the boys’ guilt. I honestly did not know who to believe throughout the entire book.

I will be thinking about this one for a while. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Take it Back in exchange for an honest review.

Man oh man. What a gut punch. I haven't read many - if any - books that have left a mark on me like Take it Back has. This was real and raw and gritty and heartbreaking and empowering. It was infuriating and sad, unbelievable and disgusting. This book was so many emotions wrapped in one that I am still trying to get my bearings.

Take it Back is about Jodie, a horribly disfigured 16 year old girl who, after a an evening partying, accuses four bright and handsome young Muslim boys of rape. What happens after Jodie's accusation is a story of loss, sadness and maybe a little bit of hope. London is thrown on its head in trying to determine who to believe; do you believe the young woman who has no benefit in bringing more unwanted attention to herself or the four handsome young men who come from hardworking and high performing immigrant families? To make matters more complicated, Jodie's appointed lawyer is a beautiful woman who also happens to be Muslim. She will have to go up against her family and her culture if she's serious about finding Justice for Jodie.

There were so many things I loved about Take it Back. I love court room dramas but as far as I can remember, this is the first court room drama I read that took place in London. It was really cool learning more about their judicial system and how it differs from that of the US.

Zara - Jodie's lawyer - was a fabulous character. She was strong and brave but also flawed and extremely frustrating. She embodied the bad-ass Muslim lawyer that she was but she was also real - scared, angry, prideful. She was everything you would want a daughter to be even though she was never able to see or understand that. It was eye-opening to learn more about the expectations and requirements of the Muslim religion; it was easier to understand the pressure that people - especially women - are under to keep the traditions of the culture alive.

Jodie - oh Jodie. What a devastating and heartbreaking character. I know that pity is something most people cringe at, but that's all I cold feel for Jodie. Deep pity and sympathy for a young woman who has experienced so much horror and grief during such a short life. Teenagers (and heck, adults) are so mean, even to pretty girls. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to live in the shoes of someone like Jodie. During the entire story I was just hoping someone would give Jodie a hug.

This was such a wonderful book - one that left me deeply sad after I read the last page - but one that brought light to a topic that's usually shrouded in darkness. I cannot recommend highly enough.

I almost passed on this book. Did I really want to get involved in such heavy subject? I am so glad I read it. Reading about a different culture was eye opening. Zara was such a complex person. Brilliant and unhappy. Jodie's story was so sad, but was she lying? The boy's stories: were they lying? I tried to guess how it would end. I was right! I was wrong! At 3:00 in the morning, I sat with open mouth. Read this book.

Riveting and heartbreaking, a truly enthralling story that puts a new spin on an old and horrible story of violence against women.

Take It Back is the third book I’ve read this year that tells the story of a fictional rape trial – after Valentine and The Night Swim – and it is easily the best. It was well-written, it was emotional, it was nuanced, and I recommend it to anyone who can handle the obviously very sensitive material it discusses.

Take It Back follows a rich and complicated cast of characters. First, we have Zara, a Muslim woman who left behind her life as a highly successful barrister to take a low paying job as a caseworker for sexual assault victims. I found this aspect of her character a bit cliché, but thankfully there was a lot more to her than that. Her complicated relationship with her more traditional family and her conflict with the Muslim community were complex and interesting threads in this multi-layered story. I had zero interest in her love life, and her drug addiction wasn’t explored as thoroughly as I would have liked, but overall, I found her a strong, dynamic, impactful protagonist.

Next, we have Jodie, the alleged victim. Jodie is disabled, with a very visible facial deformity that prevents her from fitting in with her peers. She was very easy to sympathize with her after everything she’s gone through, from her neglectful, abusive, and alcoholic single mother who leaves Jodie to take care of herself and their household to her history of bullying and low self-esteem. Kia Abdullah never gave too much insight into Jodie’s thought process so as not to reveal the answer to the book’s central mystery: Is Jodie telling the truth about what happened to her?

Finally, we have the four alleged perpetrators: Amir, Hassan, Mo, and Farid. I didn’t expect to sympathize with them, but I did, which made it surprisingly easy easy to believe both sides of the story. I wanted to believe Jodie because my first instinct is always to believe the victim, but at the same time it was difficult to reconcile what I learned about the boys from reading their perspectives and meeting their families with what I learned about them from Jodie’s accusations. I felt like another member of the jury, trying to distinguish fact from fiction without letting my own personal biases get in the way.

Moving beyond the characters, the plot of Take It Back was right up my alley. I love court proceedings. I’m not very familiar with the British legal system so it was interesting to get a glimpse of that. And the question of who’s telling the truth and who’s lying was intriguing enough to keep me reading, especially when combined with the small subplots in each of the characters’ lives and the book’s exploration of important themes like rape culture, misogyny, and Islamophobia.

I had only minor complaints that kept this book from earning a full five stars. Although for the most part I loved Abdullah’s writing style, her dialogue could use some work. Almost every time her characters discussed something serious, they would say things that made me think, “People don’t really talk like that,” which took me out of the story.

That ending, though…

Ekkkk I am so loving this book! Y’all the thriller novels have been fantastic this year... the main character was phenomenal. Y’all are going to love this book.

This was a fairly decent book but went very slow and felt like there was a lot of fluff that I could’ve lived without. Some chapters were far too long with little things of interest.

Wow what an intriguing story,a real page Turner that brings up a lot of issues,race,religion,women,truth and lies.
Loved the ending,and the main character determination to get to the truth.
A real head Turner.Will love to read more of Kia books.

This was not the ending I wanted, but it might be the one we deserve. Casually brutal but not gratuitous.

I read about Take it Back by Kia Abdullah and was instantly intrigued by the premise. The author is so gifted with storytelling and I found the book to be well-written.

Is 16-year-old Jodie is telling the truth, or is it the boys who are lying? They have so much to lose if what Jodie accuses them of is true. What would Jodie gain by concocting a story that propels her into the spotlight as this case develops? Jodie is a white girl with what I surmised are severe facial deformities.

The boys she accuses of rape are Muslim so instantly there is a race issue. Lawyer turned rape counselor Zara herself is Muslim but she doesn’t want that to get in the way of her supporting Jodie. She struggles with criticism from her own community as she defends Jodie.

The suspense builds as Zara attempts to piece together the truth. Its a case of he said/she said but goes so far beyond that simple premise due to the fact that Jodie is disfigured and even her mother doesn’t believe her, leaving Jodie to deal with this on her own with just Zara to help her fight.

This book will make you think and takes on so many different issues that I have to applaud the author for her writing and weaving this complex tale.

Synopsis:

The Victim: Jodie Wolfe, a physically flawed 16-year-old girl accuses four boys in her class of something unthinkable. The Defendants: Four handsome teenagers from hard-working immigrant families, all with corroborating stories. The Savior: Zara Kaleel, a former lawyer, one of London’s brightest legal minds, takes on this case. She believes her client, even though those closest to her do not. Together, they enter the most explosive criminal trial of the year, where the only thing that matters is justice for Jodie. But this time justice comes at a devastating cost.

I expect this to be widely read and discussed when it comes out this winter, however, you can find this now at the Book Depository or pre-order here and it will be delivered in December!

What an impressive story from an author I was not familiar with. If you like legal thrillers you definitely will enjoy this .

( There were some points in the book that seemed as if it reached a low, but the author was quick to pull you right back in.)