The Payback by Kashana Cauley

Book Review

Apr 01, 2025

Genre & Modality

Literary Fiction
Advanced Reader Copy provided by Atria Books for free

Spoiler-Free Synopsis

Jada Williams, drowning in student loan debt and scraping by with a low-paying job, has resigned herself to a lifetime of financial crises. That is, until the "debt police"—officers with a disturbingly broad mandate to collect payments—begin to terrorize her, pushing her already precarious existence to the breaking point. Fueled by desperation and a spark of defiance, Jada, with the help of her equally frustrated friends, decides to fight back against a system designed to keep them down.

My Rating & Review

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

If you've ever stared at your student loan balance and wondered if that diploma was really worth it, Kashana Cauley’s The Payback is for you. Cauley dives into the messy, anxiety-inducing reality of student debt, especially for Black, first-generation college grads who were sold the "dream" of higher education and the gut-punch feeling when you realize "paying it off" might be a myth. Jada, the novel’s flawed protagonist, lives in a moral gray zone where every decision is weighed against the looming shadow of debt. Jada hits her breaking point, and she and her (reluctant) crew decide to fight back, and the results are truly unexpected. As a Black woman with student loan debt, I relate to Jada’s struggles, and the conclusion was utterly satisfying. I would have appreciated more insight on Jada’s co-conspirators, their thoughts and feelings outside of Jada, and more detail on their breaking points.