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A review by toggle_fow
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
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
3.75
Ruta Sepetys doesn't miss.
This book explores 1989 Romania at the nadir of Ceausescu's long rule through the eyes of Cristian, a teenage boy.
Cristian likes hanging out with the girl next door, watching bootleg Western movies, and listening to Radio Free Europe with his grandfather, who urges him to think beyond the limitations of their lives. And there are many limitations: Romanians can't travel internationally, must stand in ration lines for everyday essentials, work long hours to barely get by, and must guard their words carefully, aware every moment that the secret police are waiting to punish any dissent or disloyalty to the regime.
When Cristian himself is blackmailed by the secret police into spying on the American ambassador and his son, he finds himself trapped. He doesn't want to be an informer, but he has no choice.
The story starts out slow and ordinary, exploring interesting moments of daily life in this unfamiliar setting. As Cristian's unwilling involvement with the secret police grows, so does the intensity, until the eventual revolution fills the streets with danger and change.
Overall, this story didn't reach my emotions as much as some of Sepetyes' other works, but definitely delivered the feeling of accessible, lived-in history that I expect from her. I can't believe all this stuff was happening in late 1989, practically 1990.
This book explores 1989 Romania at the nadir of Ceausescu's long rule through the eyes of Cristian, a teenage boy.
Cristian likes hanging out with the girl next door, watching bootleg Western movies, and listening to Radio Free Europe with his grandfather, who urges him to think beyond the limitations of their lives. And there are many limitations: Romanians can't travel internationally, must stand in ration lines for everyday essentials, work long hours to barely get by, and must guard their words carefully, aware every moment that the secret police are waiting to punish any dissent or disloyalty to the regime.
When Cristian himself is blackmailed by the secret police into spying on the American ambassador and his son, he finds himself trapped. He doesn't want to be an informer, but he has no choice.
The story starts out slow and ordinary, exploring interesting moments of daily life in this unfamiliar setting. As Cristian's unwilling involvement with the secret police grows, so does the intensity, until the eventual revolution fills the streets with danger and change.
Overall, this story didn't reach my emotions as much as some of Sepetyes' other works, but definitely delivered the feeling of accessible, lived-in history that I expect from her. I can't believe all this stuff was happening in late 1989, practically 1990.