Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Трябва да те предам by Ruta Sepetys

19 reviews

kpoppe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Torture, Police brutality, and Murder

hkantola11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Genocide, Child abuse, Child death, and Death

ana_maria5's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Excrement, Violence, Police brutality, Cancer, and Injury/Injury detail

violet_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

I can't believe I waited this long to read a book by Ruta Sepetys! What an amazing author, I was completely immersed in the story. The characters are so well written that they are all brought to life. Even secondary characters are more than just props for the main characters. Really loved this one and I can't wait to read more by Sepetys.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, War, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, and Gore

Moderate: Excrement, Torture, Grief, and Blood

nairam1173's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.5

A masterful book. This is what historical fiction should be: a door to the unseen and forgotten, and a reminder of how human they were, and how human we are.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Excrement, War, and Grief

kimveach's review against another edition

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.  

---

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

oceanwriter's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring 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

I Must Betray You is the second book I've read by Ruta Sepetys and, my goodness, I was not disappointed.

Following seventeen-year-old Cristian, we are brought into the communist regime in Romania during the late 1980s. After being caught accepting a gift of American currency, he's forced to become an informer, mainly focusing on the American family his mother works for. He has to choose between friendship and his life as well as his family's.

The story has a strong focus on friendship and the difficulties of maintaining relationships in a place where nobody can trust anybody, even their own families. Cristian's grandfather speaks more openly about the corruption he's seen, causing extra worry about listening devices and agents breaking into their own. Cristian already suspects someone close to him has been informing on him given how much the agent who recruited him seems to know.

Through his American friends, Cristian is able to get an honest look at life in America rather than the lies the government has been feeding them. He realizes they have fridges full of food, wait in lines voluntarily, and is mystified by the existence Disneyland. What's more, is that he finds a photograph of Nicolae Ceaușescu visiting this place. Meanwhile, Romanians are being forced to suffer and live in isolation and fear. Cristian starts to think that maybe he can start to use his role as an informer to his advantage in an act of resistance.

This is an emotional, twisty, action-filled story about a time so overlooked in history. I thought I was well-versed in the Cold War, but this book has taught me otherwise. I never knew they suffered so much as a nation. The end of the book has a number of photographs and quotes from this time which added a lot of context to the story. And though it was fast-paced, it didn't miss a beat in terms of plot or being able to connect to the characters.

I loved this book as much as I loved The Fountains of Silence if not more. I'm looking forward to reading more from Ruta Sepetys. I'm officially hooked!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Grief, War, Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Cancer

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

---

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

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: Death of parent, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol and Cancer