‘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. thank goodness for books like this - books that teach us and help us remember.↠ 5 stars

Could not put it down.Grabbed me after a few chapters and kept me absorbed and on the edge until the very end.Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu has been ruling Romania for 24 years. The Communist Party spied on everyone and had a right to see and hear everything at all times. Romanians lived in constant fear, stood in line all day for just a can of dented beans, had their tiny apartments bugged, weren't allowed to interact with "foreigners", everyone had to report anything they saw. Told fro...

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, Edoardo Ballerini (Narrator)While I knew some of what went on in Romania during the tyrannical twenty four year rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu, I wasn't aware of the details that we get from this story. In 1989, seventeen year old Cristian Florescu has never known anything else but the spirit and life crushing existence under this regime but from his grandfather he knows that things used to be so much better. Now Cristian knows that this is all there is, nothing to

I HAVE A COPY I HAVE A COPY I HAVE A COPYYYYY i'm definitely starting this in the next couple of days now hehe____________________________________________A HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK SET DURING THE COMMUNIST ERA IN ROMANIA?!?! I NEED IT!! seeing that this book is set in my country has made me so happy 😭😭and the palace of the parliament on the cover with the Romanian flag I'm freaking out. THE COVER IS STUNNINGI've never read a fiction book set during this time period in Romania so I'm so excited fo...

At last, I’ve been baptized into Sepetys’ world. My first.Romania. 1989. A dictatorship under the communist cloud. Where people are expected to spy on each other. Throw them under the bus in order to secure contraband or empty promises. Trust no one. What a horrifying world to grow up in and live in. Whisper truths but be fearful and mindful of someone listening.17 year old Cristian has been told he has to become an informant. He has no choice. It’s to save his Buno. The guilt consumes him.This

4.5 ⭐I devour it in two sittings. So goood!I'm unfamiliar with Romania's history. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys shines light during the dark period when Romanians live in fear and suspicion under the communist party and dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu (in office 1965-1989). The story follows Cristian Florescu, a seventeen-year-old high school student who's been tapped by the secret police to become an informant, a tool for intelligence and surveillance. One in every ten Romanians is a "Securitate...

To quote the author:“ …when adversity is drawn out of the shadows and recognized, we endure that human beings living under oppression - past and present – know they are not forgotten. Together we can shine a light in dark corners of the past. Together, we can give history a voice.” The author hopes through the reading of her book, readers will be inspired to research the fall of communism in Europe and the incredible fortitude and bravery of the Romanian people. This fictional story is based on...

Ruta Sepetys doesn't freaking miss! I don't think they'll ever be a book by her that disappoints me because she's so brilliant. If you're look for YA historical fiction that explores periods of times, perspectives, experiences, cultures, countries that often are left out of the narrative look no further than this author. I loved this book to pieces and honestly I can't wait to read it again. I received this book for review, but all thoughts are my own.I Must Betray You is set against the backdro...

Together we can shine a light in dark corners of the past. Together, we can give history a voice. ~Ruta SepetysUnder the Ceaușescu regime, Romania was isolated from the world. Its citizens were deprived of liberty and basic necessities. They had to wait in line for rations. Electricity was available sporadically. The Securitate established a web of citizen informers. Extensive pictorial and written files were kept. The consumption of an exotic treat like a Coke or a Twinkie was documented. Famil...

I Must Betray You is an outstanding book - one I finished reading several days ago, and yet I'm still a jumble of feelings. A perfect example of historical fiction at its best!Disclaimer: this is going to be a long ass review.Actual facts that were referenced in this book: By 1989, Romanians had been subjected to a dictatorship for nearly two and a half decades. They were ruled by Nicolae Ceausescu, a ruthless tyrant who lived in luxury while the people lacked even the most basic necessities. Fe...

I'M SCREAMING FEBRUARY SEEMS SO FAR AWAY

Ruta Sepetys is such a gift: her books often take us back behind the Iron Curtain and remind the world of the dark that existed there. In this case, it is Romania in 1989. (Given Putin's war on Ukraine, that curtain is likely to rise again.) She is a brilliant storyteller and she puts such wonderful flesh and bones on her characters, and gives them such remarkable inner lives. We know them and get them -- and in this wonderful novel, we feel their fear and then their courage.

I Must Betray You was my third book that I have read by Ruta Sepetys. As in her past novels of historical fiction, her research was impeccable and impressive. I listened to the audiobook of I Must Betray You that was brilliantly performed by Edoardo Ballerini. All my emotions were awakened and touched as I listened to this gripping yet heart wrenching story about what the citizens of Romania endured under the tyranny of Nikolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elana. I Must Betray You triggered memories

My mother was born and raised in Romania during the communist regime. When it fell in 1989, she was only about 22 years old. I’m interested in reading to understand her better and I remember her telling me all about that dictator and the control he had. It’s why I was born in Austria as a refugee

Wow! This was completely unputdownable and beautifully written. It’s only February and I know this will be one of my books of the year. I ignorantly didn’t know much going into this novel about the harsh realities of communist rule in Romania, which in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t too long ago at all. However Ruth Sepetys’ historical fiction sets the scene perfectly and offers a true and shocking depiction into the events that took place in the late 1980s. I don’t have much to add that oth...

Looking back on history is as the author says a way to both remember and learn, to try and stop atrocities, to be aware that things can happen under the cloak of suspicion, fear, and the manipulations of the press, the new sources, and the population. Romanians living in the country while it was still under Communist rule, know exactly what a terror filled life produces.Ruta Sepetys takes us there in the year 1989, and introduces us to a young man, Cristian Florescu. Only seventeen, he and his f...

1989 Romania Romanians don’t be afraid! You will be free!And free they were. Rich with more recent history! Reality of war. Friend against friend. Family against family. All about survival. In the end freedom reigns!

This was the first book I’ve read in a long time that gave me chills. Ruta Sepetys is one of my favorite authors and this is one of the reasons why. We need more authors like her in historical fiction who write about events in history that often get overlooked in the bigger picture, especially for younger generations who weren't around to witness these things firsthand. To elaborate on this more, we all know (or at least I believe most people do) about the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 19...

I must admit, when I saw that an author of another nationality wrote a book about an extremely emotional event in the history of Romanians, I was reluctant and did not have high expectations. I ordered my book and until it arrived I read 2 more books written by this author. The two books impressed me a lot, I have nothing to comment on, Sepetys knows what she is doing.What can I write about I Must Betray You ...... I read it with tears in my eyes and goosebumps. I was 12 years old at the time of...

I picked up this book and pretty much didn’t put it down until I was done. I was drawn so deeply into this world. I don’t think I had ever read anything set in Romania during their communist regime or the revolution. I love when a story can tell me about a time period/place that I wasn’t really aware of before. There have been so many dark periods that we try to hide from so I love a fresh voice that sheds light on our mistakes and helps to prevent their being repeated. I also really loved that