Title: Take It BackAuthor: Kia Abdullah
Published: 8th August 2019
Source: Pigeonhole
Star Rating: 5
The Victim: A sixteen-year-old girl with facial deformities, neglected by an alcoholic mother. Who accuses four boys of something unthinkable.
The Defendants: Four handsome teenage boys from hardworking immigrant families. All with corroborating stories.
Someone is lying.
Former barrister Zara Kaleel, one of London's brightest young legal minds, takes up Jodie Wolfe's case; she believes her, even if those closest to Jodie do not.
Jodie and Zara become the centre of the most explosive criminal trial of the year, in which ugly divisions within British society are exposed. As everything around Zara begins to unravel she becomes even more determined to get Jodie the justice she's looking for. But at what price? [Goodreads]
The Defendants: Four handsome teenage boys from hardworking immigrant families. All with corroborating stories.
Someone is lying.
Former barrister Zara Kaleel, one of London's brightest young legal minds, takes up Jodie Wolfe's case; she believes her, even if those closest to Jodie do not.
Jodie and Zara become the centre of the most explosive criminal trial of the year, in which ugly divisions within British society are exposed. As everything around Zara begins to unravel she becomes even more determined to get Jodie the justice she's looking for. But at what price? [Goodreads]
My Thoughts:
This completely captivated me and drew me in right from page one. I think one of the best ways to experience this book is not knowing too much - you need to navigate your own way through this story and see how you naturally react as each chapter unfolds.
It's so cleverly written because even though you're given a heart-breaking, harrowing account of rape right at the beginning, the story isn't that simple. As I got to know Jodie and Zara, as well as the four accused boys my mind was changed over and over again as to whose story to believe. Then as the novel moved to the courtroom and the media attention erupted, it was both fascinating and scary to see how splintered society became, and how Zara became swept up in this divide.
This was far more than your typical courtroom drama. It was such an emotional and uncomfortable read, and so powerfully relevant. I feel like I need everyone around me to read this so we can discuss it! It's definitely one of my top books for the whole year, an outstanding 5 stars.
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