Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

7 reviews

arthomas's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Torture, Chronic illness, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, and War

kimveach's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a fascinating story of Romania in the late 1980s under the dictatorship of Ceausescu.  Under Ceausescu's system, many people became informers.  It was a country where no one could be trusted, including your friends and family.  We've heard about the orphanages, but this young adult story tells more about what happened to the rest of the people living there.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Genocide, War, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

padawan17's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Excrement, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cursing, Suicide, Antisemitism, Addiction, and Child death

clevelandbookgirl's review

reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Toxic relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Blood

Moderate: Gore, Torture, Grief, Alcohol, and Police brutality

Minor: Toxic friendship, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Animal cruelty

shesreadthat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Genocide, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Antisemitism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Violence, War, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gun violence

jessgreads's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Title: I Must Betray You

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Bucharest, Romania

Month Read: February 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2022

Publisher:  Penguin

Pages: 336

TRIGGER WARNING- 

Murder / Illness / Genocide / Hunger / Abuse (there are more, but these are the bigger ones)

"WILL YOU REMEMBER ME? A boy with wings of hope.

Strapped to his back.

That never had a chance to open, denied Forever knowing,

What he could have become. What we all could have become."

No Spoiler Summary:

I Must Betray You is a historical fiction book about the Romanian Revolution in 1989. You follow Cristian, a 17 year old who is blackmailed into helping the Government against his will, and he decides that the only way in which he can survive this morally corrupt act is to burn it to the ground from the inside. 

Review:

I'm blown away by how good every book Ruta Sepetys writes is.  Every time I pick one up, I think that this can't be as good as the last novel, and every time I am speechless once I have finished because she has done it again. 

I went into this book barely knowing where Romania is, never mind having any slice of historical knowledge about the country. I think it is absolutely wild that school in the United States barely touches on the Iron Curtain, and the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1900s. How several countries were filled with dying, starving, walled off communities similar to what I assume we're being told is happening in North Korea nowadays. 

This book is dark, but the moments of hope are such bright spots, and I think the love story subplot was absolutely necessary to keep you from being so incredibly sad the entire book. I think Cristian is SUCH a great character, and an amazing narrator for this novel, in particular, and I was also THRILLED to see Nick Van Dorn (a character in her previous novel, Fountains of Silence.) 

If you love, or even like, historical fiction- this is for you. If you want to know about a history you've likely never heard of, this is a great book to learn from. It's technically billed as YA, but her books can 100% be read by adults. This book is fantastic. I'd also listen to her on the podcast: The Book Review by the New York Times. It was a great 20m or so of listening to her talk about this book, and also touch upon some of her others.

See more reviews at:  https://jessgreads.wixsite.com

"Sorrow. Anger. An expanse of emptiness that takes form as a separate entity living inside of you. It digs, takes root, and dwells there. And somehow, you know that even if it worms its way out, there will be no relief. If it leaves, there will be nothing left but charred remains, like the inside of a house torched by fire."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Stalking, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Child death, Torture, Grief, Death, Confinement, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infertility

juliacarp's review

adventurous dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is absolutely my favorite book of hers that I have read. It was incredibly interesting, incredibly sad, and incredibly deep. I never really knew much of the subject matter, and I did end up looking more into it. I found the characters loveable and they had so much depth. I think that she did a really good job covering the topics and making the setting how she described. I already love her writing and I think it was even better than before.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and War