Book Review – Take It Back ~ Kia Abdullah

When a young girl with facial deformities reaches out to former barrister turned caseworker Zara Kaleel and narrates her worst nightmare, Zara knows she’s telling the truth and would do anything to bring justice to the poor girl. But the society and politics won’t let it go easily without a fight that would drag every bit of her reputation into public attention and threaten to destroy her forever!

Zara Kaleel is an interesting character with her Barrister fame. She is bold and beautiful and represents young woman from her community to the world she walks in. An instant pity and sympathy arises in her heart on the first sight of Jodie, who regardless of her deformities is a strong willed girl for her age. As she narrates her horrible rape experience by the boys of her school, Zara is mortified and immediately decides to fight against them. Very soon, Zara’s image as a muslim barrister is reflected back as disgrace to the Muslim community as she supports a white girl against 4 muslim immigrant boys from hardworking families.

We also get to know more about Zara’s strained relationship with her family post her failed one-week long marriage. She struggles to keep up with her fling but fails miserably. Jodie on the other hand gets no support from her alcoholic mother nor her quirky lying BFF from school.

Finally when the trial happens, it’s a nationwide drama as journalists and reporters try to get as close as possible to the characters involved. Kia Abdullah brilliantly plots a powerful subject in the most eloquent way possible. So many messages including class divisions, race, disabilities, rape and disgrace of women, politics are discussed in the book in the honest and brutal manner that affects the society we live in. It’s a case of he said/she said, as the reader is manipulated to believe the third person PoV until the truth comes out by itself.

Very thought provoking and uplifting, this book just blew my mind. It has promised a courtroom drama (which I was very much looking forward to!) but very much resembles a fast paced crime thriller instead! With short and crisp chapters that fly in a jet speed, the readers are easily hooked to Kia’s writing. Honest and brutal, Kia brings out the hard truth in the modern world with such elegance!