Bea Reviews Take It Back by Kia Abdullah

Series: Zara Kaleel #1
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 8th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

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.

My Thoughts:

Whew! This was intense. This is not the book to pick up when you are in the mood for an easy or light read. First, it deals with sexual assault and examines assault versus rape versus desire. Then, it deals with drug addiction, physical differences, prejudice, family estrangement, racism, tabloid journalism, and mob behavior. Did I mention it's intense? 

Zara Kaleel is a lawyer turned sexual assault advocate. When Jodie Wolfe walks into her office, Zara believes her tale and so did I. Before they even get to court, Zara's personal problems start to affect the case. It's complicated further by details in Jodie's story changing and Zara's local Muslim community attacking her for prosecuting four Muslim boys. The community turns on her for believing a white girl instead of defending the boys. 

Abdullah presents a powerful story, told from multiple POVs including Zara, Jodie and the boys. We get slivers though, snippets, and Abdullah spins a complicated story, slowly unraveling the different threads, then rearranging them back into a new design. The story drags a bit here and there and yet at times I had to stop and take a break due to the intensity.  Still, I was sucked into the story and needed to know what would happen next, and what the verdict would be. I was sure I knew what had happened but less sure of the verdict. I did not see that ending coming. There were several twists near the end that took me by surprise. I should not have been so sure of myself, lol.  

Abdullah reminds us that truth is multi-faceted and rarely simple, and doing the right thing is not a simple question of black or white or choosing A over B. Choices and decisions have infinite ramifications and we can't always predict them. The book was fascinating and provocative. At times overly ambitious, it nevertheless was enthralling.