I did it. I read this book in one day because it captivated me. Everytime I read one of her books I feel so ignorant. She has opened my eyes to the atrocities of history that are often forgotten. The imagery, the language, the story....beautiful.

Really late writing this up, but I absolutely loved it and purchased it for the library *and* myself back when it released.
Tense and layered with phenomenal characterization and depth of setting. A bit longer than some of her others, but the short chapters make the pages fly by and before I knew it, I was at the climax and then bereft because the book was over.
The context Sepetys gives at the end stuck with me long after, especially the information about just how many people were made informants, the kind of psychological damage that kind of systematic breakdown of even the closest bonds of trust can do, and the efforts (and limitations thereof) of the government to give people access to records. Truly chilling in light of what's going on around the world now.

I loved this! Really engaging historical fiction about a point in time that is often overlooked in American fiction. As always Sepetys keeps the plot exciting.

One of the best books of 2022! Ruta Sepetys builds a bleak, chilling picture of Romania in the final days under Nicolae Ceaușescu through the eyes of Cristian, a 17 year old who is recruited to work for the secret police in order to protect his family. He knows that in his world, you trust no one, and no one trusts you- something as seemingly innocuous as a shared imported soda can land a friend in prison.

As Cristian's story unfolds, he is forced to examine his relationships, his family, and his own choices as he decides which is more important- protecting the people you love or doing what you know is right.

This book made me ugly cry, gave me chills, and had me cheering out loud at turns. Sepetys is a master of historical fiction, and this entire book felt like an immersive experience. I finished it and immediately started looking for nonfiction about Romania under Ceaușescu so that I could learn more, which always feels like the mark of great historical fiction!

I Must Betray You is a expertly crafted narrative that highlights a forgotten period of history. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.

This is a must read. Too many of us don’t know what we don’t know, and Ruta Sepetys aims to correct a small piece of that in I Must Betray You. This story reminds us that our perceptions and the truth of reality can be worlds apart. This book also shows us the power that can come with being brave enough to share our stories. Cristian is a young man stuck - in a country ruled by a dictator, in a neighborhood full of constantly watching eyes, and in a family that is ruled by fear and silence. Romania and it’s people are starving and crumbling under the weight of that silence and fear. Cristian must decide where he stands and how he will fight.

Ruta Sepetys has done it again. She never fails to impress. While this book was slightly different than her other ones, as it doesn't take place during WWII, it was still amazing. Learning more about communist Romania in 1989 was so interesting. It was action-packed and the short chapters made it unputdownable. I can't wait to see what else she comes up with!

I so enjoyed this beautiful, heartbreaking novel! I’ve come to expect amazing stories from this author and this was just that!

But really, this book was amazing. I had ZERO knowledge of things in Romania as was portrayed in this novel - and, while it is fiction, I know the author does extensive research. ⁣
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I’ve been moved to tears by every book of hers that I have read (in a good way) and this one was no different. ⁣I highly recommend it to fans of hers but also to those who enjoy YA historical fiction!

My rating: 5*

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! It was compelling, fast paced, and a look at a historical moment that sadly, I knew nothing about. I have already recommended it several times!

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys; Philomel Books, 336 pages ($18.99) Ages 12 and up.

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Ruta Sepetys, a master of gripping historical fiction including "Fountains of Silence" about Franco's Spain, offers a harrowing novel of life in communist Romania under the iron grip of corrupt dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu and the bloody popular revolt that brought them down.

17-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, an impossible notion in the Romania of 1989, a surveillance state where neighbors, friends, family members are recruited by the security apparatus to spy on each other. He has a crush on a girl; he lives in a tiny apartment in an ugly concrete apartment block in Bucharest with his parents, older sister and his grandfather, who is dying of leukemia and is openly critical of the regime. His mother works as a cleaner for the U.S. ambassador.

In hopes of paying for medicine for his grandfather, Cristian agrees to become an informer, ordered to spy on the ambassador's son, a boy his own age. The narrative, written from Cristian's perspective, is interspersed with chilling short security reports on his spy efforts, code name "OSCAR," which clearly indicate some unknown third party is spying on him.

Sepetys offers a vivid look at the severe privation and indignities of life in Romania, after Ceaușescu impoverished the country paying off the nation's debts. Electricity and food are rationed. (Premature babies die when electricity is cut to incubators at the hospital.) Citizens regularly wait in line for hours at the supermarket for scraps of food such as pig or chicken feet (called "'patriots' because they were the only part of the animal that remained in Romania"). Young women are routinely subjected to surprise gynecological examinations at the workplace to determine whether they are pregnant. Wild dogs attack children in the streets.

Sepetys offers fascinating details of Romanians thirsty for glimpses of the outside world: Cristian and Lilliana savoring a taste of Coca-Cola or a Twinkie, young people cramming into an apartment to watch banned American movies, like "Die Hard," dubbed into Romanian. There is a premium on cigarettes (Kents) as currency to bribe officials for favors, to buy medicine – or in one case, for enough gas at the crematory to fully cremate a body.

Worst of all, though, is the poisoning of trust, with the widespread use of citizen spies. Cristian knows someone in his circle is spying on him; is it his girlfriend? His best friend? His sister?

No detail is spared of the torture, beatings and bloodshed as many, including children, are killed or severely injured when the state turns its full force on the protesters who rise up to overthrow their leader at the end.

This book was much better than I anticipated. Ruta Sepetys' name carries a lot of weight, but the cover made me assume it was going to be another WW2 novel. Once I started reading, however, I realized the heavy weight packed into the pages of this book. True dictatorship and suppression is a concept many youth in America cannot imagine, yet Sepetys brings the concept to life in a very real and detailed way.

This book will fly off of the shelves!

I don’t frequently pick up historical fiction, but I was completely transfixed and blown away by I Must Betray You. It depicts the bleak and hostile life of the average Romanian in Communist Romania. Cristian is a free-thinker who questions the narrative he’s been told about Communism and the life he’s expected to lead in Romania. It shows the way the government used fear as a means to control their citizens and surveillance as a way to be sure you were never truly alone. While overall quite dark, it has such a universal tone of hope that I absolutely loved it. If you are looking for a thought-provoking novel that you’ll struggle to put down, this one is for you!

Another unique novel from the queen of YA historical fiction, this one focusing on teenage Cristian, who lives with his famiily in Bucharest, Romania, in the late 1980s. When the government blackmails him into becoming an informant, he instead becomes a freedom fighter, witnessing the overthrow of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. Pair this with "Watched" by Marina Budhos.

‘when justice cannot shape memory, remembering the past can be a form of justice.’

Powerful and haunting - a story to give proper justice to an often forgotten memory. I'm extremely thankful for books like this - books that teach us and help us remember.

4.5 stars.

I don’t even know what to say. This books was perfection. Ruta Sepetys’ writing is always mesmerizing. This one might be my favorite so far. It is so relevant. It is so scary how this books reflects the communism we see all over the world today. What a warning to the U.S.A. if we vote away our rights. I was shook when I learned about the mandatory examinations on women for pregnancy checks. What an absolute violation of humans rights. I definitely recommend this historical fiction read!

I Must Betray You is a very impactful and moving read which I flew through in one day (and a work day at that)! Sepetys's writing made me feel like I was there in Romania, constantly looking over my shoulder with Cristian. I know so little about the Communist Regime there in the 1980's and I feel like I learned so much and plan to research even more. The short chapters made this thrilling read fly by. I can't believe this is my first by Sepetys. I will have to rectify that immediately!

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I’m not usually into reading thrillers because it sets my anxiety levels off too much. But when I began reading I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, I thought I was reading straight historical fiction. Correction! I was reading a historical thriller. The cherry on top was that Ruta Sepetys writes about little-known history, so I really leaned into the story instead of googling everything which made the suspense that much more intense. ( I did google Nadia Comaneci though… I couldn’t resist when I heard how she escaped Romania.)

The reason why I am writing the review this way is because I absolutely want you to read this book and I absolutely do not want to provide any spoilers. I was so glad that I just jumped into this book without looking anything up. Basically, I was asked if I wanted to read it and participate in a one-time online book club with the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN) and I said yes. I was vaguely familiar with the author as a historical fiction writer before this, but that was it.

So here are five things I loved about I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys:

1. Historical Fiction Includes The 80s And 90s Now…
I have always been and will always be a fan of historical fiction. I think of it as a two-for-one special. You get a good story and it opens a pathway of inquiry for you to learn more about an era in history than you might have normally. But does it hurt my chest a little that the historical fiction range now includes the late eighties? Yes, it does. What got me with this story about Romania in 1989 was that you almost felt like the story was really set in WWII. The way the Romanian people were being forced to live was inhumane and cruel. Which leads me to my next reason.

2. Little-Known History Is Addictive
Unless you are an expert on Eastern Europe, this book will take the little tidbits, stereotypes and mirages you have about Romania and crack them wide open. I mean I have rarely heard Romania mentioned in pop culture unless it is in reference to Transylvania. Even the main character Christian Florescu mentions this. The author spoke about having to do interviews with Romanians in addition to her traditional research.

I just kept thinking as I was reading…this is so wild! In 1989, I was a kid while this character was a teenager and I was just sitting in my school desk on the other side of the world absolutely clueless about the intricacies of the Cold War. I had no idea about the repercussions on the countries controlled by the Soviets after WWII. I am currently engrossed in reading the rest of Ruta Sepetys’ books because I crave more of these types of stories.

3. Christian Florescu Is My Male Protagonist Hero
So I will admit, my preference for a protagonist is usually a female character. But the thriller aspect of the book, (you never know who is snitching on who) had me so caught up that I did not care that Christian is a boy. He is a teenager struggling with how to use his voice to fight the injustice he sees as well as to just feel like a whole human being. He has typical teen issues like figuring out how to get the girl and trying to maintain his privacy. But he also deals with these monumental, put-gray-hair-on-your-head-before-you-hit-20 issues. The kid is being blackmailed to become an informer. You can’t even apply “snitches get stitches” in Romania at this time, because everyone HAD to snitch on someone to survive. Basically, if you didn’t snitch you were either going to go missing or end up dead sooner rather than later.

4. Who Do You Trust?
There are so many twists and turns in this book! Christian is a writer and he wants to help expose the poverty, fear and abuse that is happening to his people to the world. Everything is bugged. The communist regime listens to everyone and has everyone listening to everyone. Being a writer, even if it is just personal writing is dangerous for him. He wants to be part of the revolution. But when he is told he must become an informant or suffer the consequences his world tips upside down just in time for the actual revolution to begin.

Being an informer, makes him feel like a traitor to his people and especially to his family. Particularly he feels torn because of his bunu (grandfather) who often speaks to him about forbidden things that would have him considered a dissident.

5. Quick & Intense Read
Fair warning. I finished this book in two days and one of those nights I stayed up to almost 3 am because the story got so intense. I was determined to figure out who was informing on who, just like Christian is in the book. This novel was so good and so intense! I immediately began working on reading Ruta Sepetys’ other books because I just was so blown away by I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys.

There is no way I can ever give a Ruta Sepetys book less than five stars because she writes with such passion that I am brought to tears. Sepetys is the reason I started reading historical fiction. She writes with magic in her veins and I swear she has some deep, dark hidden secret that allows her to write with such rhythm that I don't realize I'm reading a story based on true events. Once reality comes back, I am emotionally shattered. I will always read whatever Sepetys writes and I cannot wait for her next novel.

Romania. 1989. Deep in the throes of communism and a pretty evil dictator. Hours in line for a can of food, dreaming of what something as simple as a banana must taste like. You couldn’t trust a soul, because it’s possible that absolutely anyone you know is spying for the government. Constant fear and paranoia. And then at the end of 1989, the young Romanian people have had enough. ⁣
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I was seven years old when the events in this book took place. I was living in Northern California enjoying a pretty lovely little childhood. I was well fed, well educated, warm and safe. I couldn’t help compare my life at that time to the experiences of the Romanian people at that time. ⁣
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There are a few things I live about Ruta’s books…⁣
- They have short chapters which makes them quite fast paced and quick to read. ⁣
- The fact that Ruta writes these with a YA audience in mind helps makes the material incredibly easy to grasp and follow, despite them all being quite heavy in subject matter. However, they can absolutely be read and enjoyed/appreciated by the most adult of adults.⁣
- Ruta continues to open my eyes about people, places, and events I knew nothing about before her books.

This book captured me and I could not put it down. Even though the book was historical fiction, I think it portrayed this time period very well, it even made me curious to research more. I loved reading about Romanian culture and history although heartbreaking. The twists and turns had me hanging on to the edge of my seat. I highly recommend.