Take it Back by Kia Abdullah
Rough Read
This was a rough read – gang rape, facial disfigurement, abuse at home and school. My heart went out to Jodie This is the first time that I had a hard time reading a book with these trigger warnings. I went through lots of bullying when I was younger so I guess that part of the story hit too close to home for me.
Zara Kaleel, a former lawyer, takes on Jodie’s case. She is now working with abuse victims. While it seems that no one else believes Jodie, Zara does. Zara is also Muslim, as are the guys accused of raping Jodie. This creates a powerful subplot to the story – a Muslim prosecutor, a non-Muslim victim, and Muslim defendants. This leads to Zara being ostracized in her community. Zara in my opinion goes through a rough transformation herself which was also hard to read.
Surprisingly, I had a hard time getting into the book. I think it just tried to cover too much. Rape, abuse, religion, islamophobia, race. Perhaps fewer issues dealt with more thoroughly would have made it better. Just my opinion. While a good read just covered too much and didn’t give everything enough time to breathe in my opinion. Now let’s talk about the end…. Don’t get me wrong we all love a good plot twist but when it comes as the last two sentences it leaves the reader confused and needing more answers. A solid three star read just rough from start to finish.
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