A review by kdowli01
Take It Back by Kia Abdullah

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 
At first glance, this sounded like a really standard legal thriller, but it ended up being so much more complex than that, and I absolutely loved it. 

Synopsis: Former lawyer Zara Kaleel is a victim advocate in rape cases, and is helping Jodie Wolfe--a white girl with severe facial deformities--in a case against four Muslim boys. Zara being Muslim herself is placed a situation where she wants to see justice done, but is seen as a traitor to her community because of it. 

So, on the surface, this is really exciting, with an ending I did NOT see coming. I'd recommend it just for that. But it was so much more than that. Zara's relationship with her family and the Muslim community is incredibly complex, and that added so much nuance to the story and what the whole process meant to her. In addition being just a really unique voice in the thriller landscape. 

Zara is also incredibly flawed, and that is not glossed over in the least. This is listed as the start of a series, and I'll definitely be reading more to see what happens to her. 

This covers a lot of really tough topics, so CWs galore: racism, islamophobia, bullying, victim blaming 
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