Take It Back by Kia Abdullah is a fast paced court room thriller. Zara is an attorney who quit her high powered job to work with assault victims. When 16 year old Jodie walks in, her story is enough to make your stomach turn. Jodie, who has facial deformities, states she was assaulted by 4 Muslim boys she goes to school with. Zara, who is Muslim, is on Jodie's side, despite the cultural pressure to stand with other Muslims. She navigates Jodie's case all while dealing with public backlash. The case goes to trial, where the truth comes out.

This book was a read-in-one-sitting story. It was complex, and addressed cultural differences and tensions in a realistic way. Zara is a complex protagonist, and at times I didn't love her, but I loved what she stood for. The ending was perfect for all the buildup. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Jodie accuses four boys from her school of rape and Zara is the case worker assigned to support her. Jodie has a facial deformity. Zara and the four boys are Muslim. The boys deny it, but their story changes. Zara knows Jodie is capable of telling convincing lies, but nevertheless believes her story.

This was a quick read and the story moved along at a good pace. There were sections devoted to Zara's personal life; her character seemed to be a bit all over the place and I wasn't sure to what extent this was intentional on the author's part. I wanted to like this more than I did - the 'issues' were all very clearly and obviously explored: Jodie is 'English', the boys are 'Muslim'. Zara's family feels she should not take Jodie's side, as this is a betrayal of her culture.

None of the characters came out of the story very well and the final twists left a bad taste in my mouth.

Take It Back is a very well-written, well-crafted psychological suspense novel The story revolves round Jodie Wolfe, a 16 year-old girl with extreme facial deformities, who appears in the offices of a non-profit sexual assault referral center. Jodie is met there by Zara Kaleel, a formerly highly placed legal eagle who has left her white shoe law firm in order to do more meaningful work. Haltingly Jodie tells Zara about her rape at the hands of four popular Muslim classmates five days ago. A Muslim herself, Zara knows that taking on Jodie's case will put her in the cross hairs of her own family and community. The mystery of this novel, which takes the reader through the heart wrenching rape trial, is whether there truly was a rape. A classic case of she said/they said.

Again, this is an excellent book, but I have to admit that throughout my reading and the book's conclusion, I was overwhelmed by sadness. It is about all of the worst of society: abuse of women and cultural/racial divisiveness. The things we're faced with daily in real life and through the 24-hour news cycle. Honestly, by the end I just wanted to get to the last page and move onto my next book.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has gotten many rave reviews on NetGalley so I requested it. Sadly, I could not get interested in this story about a 16 year old girl being raped by 4 Muslim boys. Just not for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Impressive doesn’t begin to described this taut and deeply disturbing story. It was difficult to take in the sometimes horrific circumstances and details, yet hard to put down until the end. Jodie Wolfe is a white teenager with a facial deformity, living with an alcoholic, uncaring mother. She accuses four Muslim boys of sexual assault. Her advocate Kara, a former lawyer who is also Muslim, believes her unconditionally, even while seeing cracks in her original story. The trial portion of the book creates even more horror, via the hungry and hysterical media, polarized mobs, hate crimes, and lying from both sides. There are many subplots, including Kara and Jodie’s backstories; race, religion, prejudice, rumor, innuendo, and much more. It is amazing that so much was packed into one story such as this. The ending had an unexpected twist, touched on at the beginning but forgotten, that was another shock. This book was a real eye-opener for me. I usually don’t like stories with unlikable (to me) characters,, and I’m slowly learning to appreciate the plots of several recently read books, especially this one, where I don’t really relate to any of the characters. Ms. Abdullah has taken old customs and new societal norms, and blended both seamlessly. The contents of this book were totally unexpected, and so much more than I anticipated. This book will get under your skin and make you think. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley, Ms. Abdullah and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book I read from this author and I was very impressed with her writing style. The story is about a sixteen year old girls with facial deformities and the very difficult life she had. One day after school party she’s raped by a Muslim and his friends. The case goes to trial and the media plays, as usual, a part on it. The story is not only about a trail for rape, but also religion, racism and and sexism. An intense story that kept me turning the pages. I would definitely recommend this book.

Dark, Compelling, Riveting!

This was dark in the best of ways. A horrible crime occurs, but who is to blame? Sometimes. . . Not All Is As It Seems.

I couldn't tear myself away from this book. It was TOO good if that is even possible. I believe this was a debut novel and for a debut. . . WOW. Ms. Abdullah knows exactly how to weave a terrifying and enthralling web. I didn't want this book to end.. . but I did. Because I HAD to know what happened. I was racing to the finish. I couldn't have guessed this ending. It was very unpredictable. This was a pure pageturner and it was also extremely unique. It made me think long after the final page was turned. I will absolutely read anything by Ms. Abdullah. Next book please!