Take It Back: A Novel

Kia Abdullah

Dec 2020 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

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 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.

Ratings and reviews

Who can you believe? Four boys accused of rape and put on trial, and stories that don’t match Jodie's the victim. Jodie has a facial deformity that even her mother can’t face and continually brings it up as the reason they live in poverty. Her mother is cruel. As you read and follow the trial, you don't know who to believe. I trusted and believed Jodie, but didn't like her friend Nina. She seemed shady and not loyal to Jodie.. Not sure if I believed the boys. I felt bad for Zara, the case worker and attorney, because the public ridiculed her along with her client. You won't want to stop reading because you want to find out what really happened and who was telling the truth. There are some sensitive and cruel situations, but this thriller has a non-stop pulse to it. TAKE IT BACK is a tense, high interest, well-written thriller. TAKE IT BACK is a very powerful, thoughtful book that will stay with you. 5/5 This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review: Wow, wow, wow!!!!! This book is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. I went through every emotion while reading this especially now when racial tensions have been at its peak here in the United States. It really showed we all need work together for peace, love, and harmony. So this book started off about a rape of a disfigured young girl but quickly turned into a racial divide as the boys accused were Muslim. You were either for the victim or for the accusers as there was no in between. Let me start off by saying I have never read a book this powerful before. Rape is a hard subject to tackle and this author did it so beautifully. You didn’t know who to believe as each character presented a good and evil side of themselves throughout the book. I didn’t know what to believe as stories kept on changing. Another main issue that was tackled was the race of the boys accused and the race of the victim. The boys were Muslims while the victim was white with a face disfigurement. This author truly showed what it was like to have different races on each side and what it does to people. How people reacted in this book was so true to what is going on in America today along with all over the world. I would also love to talk about that shocking ending. At the very last minute proof was found and I couldn’t believe it. I just love endings that I can’t predict. Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

About the author

KIA ABDULLAH is an author and travel writer. She has contributed to The Guardian, BBC, Channel 4 News, and The New York Times. Kia currently travels the world as one half of the travel blog Atlas & Boots, which receives over 200,000 views per month.