i enjoyed this book even though i found it challenging at times. A story covering both rape and race. A courtroom drama that i only put down to give myself a break as the topic is grim but i did enjoy the book. Im not one for court room dramas as a rule as i find em long winded but this one i enjoyed and would recommend especially if your into this genre.

Take It Back, was a fantastic book in itself, due to the character development that happens throughout the entire story, but the ending was not very satisfying due to the fact that there were a few twists and a few plot holes, which never really end up getting a resolution and the book felt a bit half-hearted to me, this book probably could have done with a couple more pages to resolve these plot holes. The author, Kia Abdullah, obviously wrote this book with so much passion, and for that reason, I would recommend this book to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with this copy, in return for an honest review.

This book was hard to read in that it covered a difficult subject matter - rape and prejudice. An Asian lawyer decides to act for a girl who claims to have been raped by a Muslim boy. To make it worse the girl has a facial deformity. When this happens normally families close ranks, mothers and fathers try to protect their children, what happens when your family doesn't care, when your friends don't believe you? This story had me believing one side then the other. Who is the victim and who is the criminal? A good read that teaches us not to judge until you know for certain all the details.

A brave and often uncomfortable read, Take Ot Back is a uncompromising story of sequel assault and racial prejudices. A girl with facial deformities accuses four boys from immigrant backgrounds of rape. Quickly the case becomes less about the rape itself and more about racism, misogyny and antireligion. One accusation could be the thing to ignite a divided city.

This kept me up to the wee small hours, it's a seriously tense read. I honestly didn't know who was telling the truth until the final reveal. A fantastic read, but often hard to read.

I absolutely loved this and couldn’t put it down. I do thoroughly enjoy a courtroom drama but this was so much more than this. It contains themes such as rape, bullying, discrimination, race, religion and misogyny among others so it’s very hard hitting but in such a good way. The main protagonist is a Muslim trying to find her way in a western way whilst still keeping her family happy and I found this struggle really interesting and actually educated me on a lot of things. The story itself was well written and keeps you guessing - the fact the story is from the POV of the accuser and the accusees makes you really wonder who is telling the truth.

There's been a lot of hype around this book so I was pleased to be accepted for it. I enjoyed it a lot and can see why it's been so well received

A well written story that explores current themes, sexual assault, racial tensions, prejudice, and poverty. And it is one of those books that offers so much more, it’s a book that’s thought provoking, a relevant if not disturbing tale of our times. This is one of those books that would make the perfect book club read, it explores current and relevant topics that will make for lively, thought-provoking discussions.

A well crafted book, the autor takes difficult subjects and explores them tactfully and well. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

IT’S TIME TO TAKE YOUR PLACE ON THE JURY.

The victim: A sixteen-year-old girl with facial deformities, neglected by an alcoholic mother. Who accuses the boys of something unthinkable.
The defendants: Four handsome teenage boys from hardworking immigrant families. All with corroborating stories.

WHOSE SIDE WOULD YOU TAKE?

Take it Back is a “he said, she said” story of rape and race that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

This book was reminiscent of the back and forth I felt when watching series one of Liar. Just when I thought I knew what the truth was another revelation had me questioning everything I thought I knew.

The characters are not particularly likeable and I found it hard to connect with them but it worked for this book.

This isn’t a story for the faint-hearted. It’s gritty and dark. Frustrating and infuriating.
I flew through it, desperate to discover the truth.

Having said that it wasn’t perfect, and there were things I found irritating, but it continued to build throughout and the ending caught me by surprise!

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (rounded up to 4)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (HQ) for providing a copy of the book for review. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

I do love a courtroom drama but Take It Back is so much more than that. It takes a real delve into British society, tackling rape culture and racial divides. The author, Kia Abdullah, manages to do this incredibly well, refusing to shy away from topics that are so relevant to modern Britain and highlighting issues a lot of people in Britain would like to pretend aren't happening.

I know it's a bit of a cliché to say this book was a rollercoaster but there's really no better way to describe it. The twists and turns in here were shocking yet never felt unrealistic.

I got this as an ARC and then picked it up as a hardback because the plot intrigued me so much and clearly my instincts were correct. I would highly recommend giving this a read!

Thanks to HQ and Netgalley for providing me with a copy for review.

I highly recommend this book. It has twist after twist after twist that keeps the book interesting and difficult to put down. Rape is a very hard topic to read about so it's best to mindful of that before you start this book.

This book was amazing. It was a very difficult subject and was expertly written about. I couldn't put it down and totally invested in the characters. It kept you on the edge of your seat the whole way through, I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

Unfortunately I read this book a while ago and seem to have missed it when writing reviews. - sadly I cant remember enough detail to give a full review.
However, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC :-)

This book is compelling and kept me on the edge of my seat. It tackles difficult subjects head-on. Well-written which takes on all your emotions all at once. Recommended I look forward to reading more from this author

A totally absorbing read, a very difficult subject dealt with very well, gripping from start to finish, I lovws it

This was not a nice book to read.
The author appeared to be totally against Muslims with not a nice word to say.
The story itself has to many twist and turns which left it difficult to follow.
Not for me.

I loved this book, I raced through it. I would definitely recommend it and will be reading more from this author!

A dark and disturbing courtroom thriller that is a very difficult read. Unfortunately, I found the characters unlikable and the story slow to progress

This isn’t an easy lighthearted read so if you’re looking for that, it’s not for you!

But if you want a gripping thriller then it’s right up your street, what a tension filled novel this one was, very much a he said she said rape court room drama but a fantastic one at that

Loved it

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Without doubt Kia Abdullah has written a timely novel about the festering resentments in Brexit Britain. With her punchy prose and evident conviction to the sometimes distressing and uncomfortable themes she elucidates in her book, this is an author to look out for. Novels of this type rarely come along with any frequency; mainly because it takes a certain bravery on the part of the author to stick their head above the parapet on such emotive issues as sexual violence and its intersection with identity politics. Abdullah has this bravery in spades and she does a wonderful job of bringing into the light the tangled interplay of gender, race and class in contemporary society. I won't recount the blurb - publishers are evidently more able in this respect than I am! What I will do, and this is not something I particularly like doing, is highlighting what I perceived as some of the weaknesses of this book. Firstly "Take it Back" was loaded with stereotypes. Whilst I agree that Brexit Britain has unleashed something ugly in the national psyche, there was no room for the nuances of identity politics in the novel. Secondly, the author tries to tackle too many aspects of identity politics in this book - gender, class, race, religion - to the extent that this felt contrived and deliberately provocative - a sort of paint-by-numbers representation of multicultural Britain. Again, nuances were lost. My main problem with the narrative, however, was with the juxtaposition of victim with the alleged perpetrators of the rape. This felt heavy-handed. Although the author reiterated several times through the course of the novel that rape is primarily about power and not about sexual gratification, the contrast made between Jodie's 'ugliness' and her alleged attackers' more pleasing visage, merely underscored the myth that the author was trying to explode. If Abdullah formed her characters in this way deliberately to explore prejudices of rape, then we must ask the question: who's prejudices? If it is not the author herself, is it societal, her readership? I would hope not, as the former is too vague and the latter is entering the dangerous territory of potentially patronising the reader. Most of us understand that rape is a complex, multi-faceted crime, with a number of different motivations on the part of perpetrators. Moreover, the explorations of Jodie as victim goes nowhere to explaining why only 5.7% reported rape cases end in conviction. There is a further issue. Namely, if Jodie is such an unattractive victim and her attackers unlikely rapists, there is some doubt about whether the case would have gone to trial in the first place. It is no stretch to argue that rape has been effectively 'decriminalised' by our legal system where the proportion of reported rapes prosecuted in England and Wales has fallen to just 1.4 per cent. This is a staggering statistic with various reasons given for the sickening dearth of prosecutions for this heinous crime, with women's groups arguing that this is primarily dictated by the likely response of juries to evidence. If Jodie was such an unlikely victim and a woman's sexual attractiveness an accepted and pervasive motivation for rape, would the case have gone to trial? Mmm, maybe it would have been more realistic if the CPS dropped the case and the truth of events had come out another way. Just a thought...

A good book but questionable in some aspects.

3.5 stars