Take It Back

Started out really interesting.  I didn't like zara.  😕  she hits her “boyfriend” and it's nothing.  Addicted to pills.  Just makes mistake after mistake.   Took away from the story from me.  Other things bothered me as well.  Maybe will pick up at a later date just to find out what happens.

Oh my god.
This was so amazing.


I just finished reading this and I literally have goosebumps. Wow.
I was so immersed into the story, it really took me there. The courtroom thriller setting, all the commentary, and the running plot, it was amazing.
Zara's character was the highlight of the book for me. She was always the bigger person, even during the hardest times, she just keeps going, but also we see her break down a few times, rendering her a human with flaws.
I will definitely be thinking about this for a while.

i really loved the discussion had in this book. this book really discussed the nuance of so many issues relating to race and sexual assault and the intersection of those. i love a legal thriller personally. while it doesn't have as much legal aspects, the vibes and some of the discussions really remind me of allegedly by tiffany d. jackson which is one of my favsssssss

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.

Nuanced Courtroom Thriller. This is an interesting one. One with a main protagonist that... has several rough edges, at least a couple of which come back to bite her. One with a strong commentary about the role of Muslims in British (and by slight extension, Western) society, at many different levels. One with a strong discussion of what it means to be the “other”... in so many different ways. And one with secrets almost literally to the last word. Tremendous book, and very much recommended.