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florina's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
emeraldelephant's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
jessgreads's review against another edition
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."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Infertility
focaccia7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder
library_kb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Ruta Sepetys has done it again--created an absolutely immersive historical fiction story around a part of history I had never learned about before. This is definitely a hard story--if you aren't good with descriptions of violence and gore, it probably won't be for you, but if you can handle this hard topic, it is a must read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Gaslighting
reading_ladies_blog's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
maddiet425's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer and Alcohol
foreverinastory's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Damn Sepetys did it again. Her writing and books are phenomenal.
I Must Betray You takes us to post WWII Romania where Ceaușescu's reign is still going strong. But the people are overworked, being starved and harassed by Ceaușescu's secret police agents. The country is governed by isolation and fear. When Cristian Florescu is blackmailed to become an informant, he feels even more lost. His choices seem impossible, but when the opportunity to expose what is happening in Romania to the world, he jumps into the revolution.
All of Sepetys's books have taught me something. I love that most of her books have focused on Eastern Europe because US public schools hardly talk about these subjects. Even though I took AP European history in high school, I knew nothing about this. This book takes place in 1989 and focuses on the Romanian revolution of December 1989.
Cristian was an easy character to empathize with. We see the horrible things happening in Romania through his eyes and with his sense of compassion. He is such a cinnamon roll. I loved how much he loved his family, especially his Bunu (grandfather). Their relationship was one of my favorite things in this book. Among all the fear and paranoia, these two were bright stars. The love they had for each other was always palpable.
This is a heavy book, but wow I sped through it. Sepetys is a masterful writer, never shying away from the hard truths, but also doing so in such a way that the characters' humanity is always preserved. My heart hurts so much for 1989 Romania and the people who went through these real life events. Sepetys also weaves in reports throughout Cristian's narrative. So not only do we get his POV, but we see how the Securitate see him. And wow, it was menacing. The environment created in this was so tense and fearful.
There's not a ton of action in the beginning of this. Don't get me wrong, things happen and we get to know all the characters. But the first half of the story really sets in tension and depicting just how awful conditions were for the average Romanian citizen. The juxtaposition is made clear whenever Cristian interacts with Dan Van Dorn, the son of the American embassy delegate. The way the Van Dorns are treated and the access they have compared to Cristian is wild. It really slams home the point of how privileged the American delegates are treated.
I highly recommend reading the historical and author note at the end, it is amazing to see a glimpse of the research process and the real people whose lives have been touched.
Rep: All Romanian cast, male side character who loses an arm, chronically ill elderly male side character, Roma male side character.
CWs: Blood, confinement, death, death of parent, emotional and physical abuse (government to its people), genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, murder, police brutality, stalking, violence. Moderate: torture, gun violence, chronic illness, war. Minor: cancer.
Damn Sepetys did it again. Her writing and books are phenomenal.
I Must Betray You takes us to post WWII Romania where Ceaușescu's reign is still going strong. But the people are overworked, being starved and harassed by Ceaușescu's secret police agents. The country is governed by isolation and fear. When Cristian Florescu is blackmailed to become an informant, he feels even more lost. His choices seem impossible, but when the opportunity to expose what is happening in Romania to the world, he jumps into the revolution.
All of Sepetys's books have taught me something. I love that most of her books have focused on Eastern Europe because US public schools hardly talk about these subjects. Even though I took AP European history in high school, I knew nothing about this. This book takes place in 1989 and focuses on the Romanian revolution of December 1989.
Cristian was an easy character to empathize with. We see the horrible things happening in Romania through his eyes and with his sense of compassion. He is such a cinnamon roll. I loved how much he loved his family, especially his Bunu (grandfather). Their relationship was one of my favorite things in this book. Among all the fear and paranoia, these two were bright stars. The love they had for each other was always palpable.
This is a heavy book, but wow I sped through it. Sepetys is a masterful writer, never shying away from the hard truths, but also doing so in such a way that the characters' humanity is always preserved. My heart hurts so much for 1989 Romania and the people who went through these real life events. Sepetys also weaves in reports throughout Cristian's narrative. So not only do we get his POV, but we see how the Securitate see him. And wow, it was menacing. The environment created in this was so tense and fearful.
There's not a ton of action in the beginning of this. Don't get me wrong, things happen and we get to know all the characters. But the first half of the story really sets in tension and depicting just how awful conditions were for the average Romanian citizen. The juxtaposition is made clear whenever Cristian interacts with Dan Van Dorn, the son of the American embassy delegate. The way the Van Dorns are treated and the access they have compared to Cristian is wild. It really slams home the point of how privileged the American delegates are treated.
I highly recommend reading the historical and author note at the end, it is amazing to see a glimpse of the research process and the real people whose lives have been touched.
Rep: All Romanian cast, male side character who loses an arm, chronically ill elderly male side character, Roma male side character.
CWs: Blood, confinement, death, death of parent, emotional and physical abuse (government to its people), genocide, grief, injury/injury detail, murder, police brutality, stalking, violence. Moderate: torture, gun violence, chronic illness, war. Minor: cancer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Torture, and War
Minor: Cancer