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A review by foreverinastory
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
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