Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.
Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?
A gut-wrenching, startling window into communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the number one New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray.
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First line:
They lived in darkness.
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Source:
Source:
Hardcover
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Publisher:
Publisher:
Philomel Books
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Rating:
5 Radios out of 5
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Ruta Sepetys has done it again. She has created a captivating, moving historical fiction that revolves around the teenagers and children that are caught up in a little known time of history. I cannot emphasize enough how important Sepetys's books are for young adults and adults alike to read and learn about events that are often overlooked in the West.
Cristian's story quickly draws you in as he attempts to determine who he can trust in a nation that has been primed to betray each other. Cristi struggles with his identity as he is forced into being an informer, something he is vehemently against. Tension is ranking up in the country as other nations in the Iron Curtain are overthrowing their communist leaders, and many in Romania are eager for their country to follow.
I Must Betray You will have you questioning what you know about the fall of communism in 1989 as well as pondering what exactly the people of Romania went through in their fight for freedom. I appreciated Sepetys's "Author Note" as she was able to simply lay out the basics of Romania's communist history. Sepetys also includes a comprehensive list of sources for readers to explore this history further.
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