Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

10 reviews

reginalibrorum's review

challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

befrazzledenby's review against another edition

read the trigger warnings first y'all whew

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Cancer, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, War, Child death, Genocide, Medical content, Body horror, Sexual violence, Death, and Confinement

greylandreviews's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

“How could we expect others to feel our pain or hear our cries for help when all we could do was whisper?”
A really informative and interesting book. I really like when Sepetys only writes from one point of view. When she does multiple, it just becomes jumbly and pacing is kind of thrown off. The narrator for this one was good also.
I never knew this about Romania and I'm really glad I learned about it. Giving a voice to a silent past is what Sepetys is a master at.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Blood, Alcohol, Death, Excrement, Body horror, Violence, Medical trauma, Genocide, Gore, War, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Cancer, and Sexual assault

bringmybooks's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

One more finished for my #12BooksRecommendedBy12Friends challenge and the further we get into the year the more amazed I am that I haven’t already read some of these books - especially this one.

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

This was a stunningly researched and unbearably heartbreaking book based on the grim reality of decades of oppression felt by the Romanian people during the latter half of the 20th century, and while it was hard to read, it also felt really necessary.

I was familiar with a bit of Romanian history prior to reading this book, but after reading this I realized just how much I didn’t know. I have such an appreciation for well researched historical fiction novels because they not only give me an idea of what was happening throughout the time periods & locales they are written in, but also the urge to do research on my own to learn and understand more (and absolutely ALL of Ruta Sepetys' books have done just this).

This book reminded me of Salt to the Sea in that it had short chapters, some choppy (on purpose) sentence structure, and once you were invested (happened at about 50pgs for me), you’re not going to put it down until you finish. (Unlike Salt to the Sea, this book only had one POV.)

100% recommended by me and now maybe I should read Fountains of Silence??? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Death, War, Police brutality, Murder, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Rape

megmoore123's review against another edition

dark emotional informative fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Stalking, Gun violence, War, Torture, Death, Genocide, and Police brutality

readingwithkaitlyn's review

dark emotional medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Death, Torture, Murder, War, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Violence, Police brutality, Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Excrement

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Classism, and Alcohol

lyzz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is my second Ruta Sepetys' book after reading Salt to the Sea several years ago. I loved this one just as much as Salt to the Sea.  

This book is set on the cusp of the Romanian Revolution in 1989.  Starting this book, I knew next to nothing about Romania aside from them having great gymnasts.  The book focuses on a teenager named Cristian who is recruited to be part of the spy network run by the Romanian government.  

This is a fantastic book.  It was informative, fast-paced and thoughtful. I learned so much about the country of Romania in this book. It makes me want to learn more about their history and their culture. This was a different type of historical fiction for me - historical thriller. I *loved* the pacing of this book. There are short chapters and the book clips along. Sometimes books that focus on pacing are short on character development - but I thought the author did a thoughtful amount of development of the main character and his family members.  

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. This would be a perfect book for someone trying out historical fiction or a seasoned reader.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Confinement, Police brutality, Torture, Death, Gun violence, and War

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

This focuses on state sponsored blackmail by recruiting a teenager to report on his family and friends. This leads to a state of paranoia throughout the book. There is state sponsored violence by depriving the citizen's of food, heat and medical care. Cristian's grandfather is tortured to death and found in their apartment. Towards the end of the book, there is a revolution and there is graphic scenes of death, torture, murder, police brutality. There are also references to Cristian's sister being involved in state sponsored prostitution/sexual assault.

ashylibrarian's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Ruta Sepetys does it again with an amazingly crafted historical fiction, uncovering the hidden history of Romania. I wanted to cry, laugh, fight, and escape while reading. 

I reread this book for a work book discussion I host with one of our high schools, and it was even better the second time around. I Must Betray You is haunting, heartbreaking, and powerful. The characters all have such important parts to the plot and are each uniquely their own with their own secrets.

As a book discussion group, we were able to talk with a teacher who had been living in Romania under the communist regime as a teenager, and she said that this book is 100% accurate to the events that occurred. It was horrifying to hear that, but I am also always so impressed with the research, detail, emotion, and perspective that Sepetys puts into her novels. She easily remains one of my favorite authors of all time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Classism, Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence

legxleg's review

informative tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

tays_books's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death, and Genocide

Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness

Minor: Excrement and Sexual assault