I Must Betray You: A powerful, heart-breaking thriller based on real events. The winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers' Choice Medal for Writing 2023 Paperback – 4 Aug. 2022

Arrived in excellent condition

This is a view of Communist Romania, under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, in the run-up to and during the revolution of December 1989. It's seen through the eyes of 17-year-old Cristian Florescu, and gets very well the all-pervasive and hopeless paranoia of the time. Everyone could be (and probably is) an informer for the Securitate (the feared secret police); could be your mother, sister, best friend. The Securitate is expert at coercing -- in effect blackmailing -- good people into watching and informing on those close to them. It ends up that everyone is watching everyone else, and no-one can trust anyone. It corrodes society and human relationships. Also, we see the extreme material poverty and deprivation -- largely the result of Ceausescu's obsession with balancing the budget and clearing Romania's foreign debt -- at the expense of starvation at home.Young Cristian has a web of relationships: his young male friends and a growing interest in the lovely Liliana. But he can't trust these either. His mother is a cleaner at the US Embassy in Bucharest; he thus establishes contact with young Dan van Dorn, the son of Ambassador Nick van Dorn. In a nice echo of Sepetys' The Fountains of Silence, Nick appears here too and has progressed to full Ambassador status. Dan is named after his godfather, Daniel Matheson, and we get one reference to Ana, now presumably Matheson's wife.I'm old enough to remember the Romanian revolution well. The revolution succeeded, the Ceausescus receiving summary justice on Christmas Day 1989. But it was a close-run thing: what tipped the balance was the Romanian Army siding with the revolutionaries against the Securitate. I remember that this went on for several days, with the likely winner not at all clear, and the whole of Europe almost praying for the Army, while fearing that the Securitate would just have too much power and malevolence. In the end, it worked out, but with most of the terrible injustices never being resolved.While Sepetys tells the story quite well, for me, she somehow doesn't create empathetic characters in Cristian, Liliana and the rest -- the nearest being Bunu, Cristian's grandfather. Description of the climactic demonstrations and of the Jilava prison are OK but, for me, could give a better sense of the importance, drama and precariousness of the decisive days. "The Army is with us!" was the cry of the young revolutionaries. Somehow, Sepetys doesn't quite get the sense of crescendo that year-end 1989 represented.Still good, and four stars. But not, for me, in the same universe as The Fountains of Silence (reviewed also here) -- with its atmosphere, immersiveness, horror, cruelty, empathetic characters, nostalgia and requited love. But then, almost nothing is.

Definitely one of my favourite books. As someone from Eastern Europe, I am always looking to educate myself about the not-so-long-ago history of my country and those neighbouring it. Would recommend to another teenager like myself, due to some of the political ideas/climates are discussed, I believe this could still be explained to a younger audience, but sometimes it's easier to approach these kinds of topics after you have your own experience of observing the world and it's politics (around the time you begin to form your own opinions on these themes). Hope that makes sense? Anyways would definitely recommend (:

A novel about Ceaucescu’s Romania told from the point of view of a teenager forced to spy for the secret police. It’s a powerful reminder of the horror of dictatorships. This time Communism, whereas the other novel of hers I’ve read, ‘Fountains of Silence’, is about fascism in Franco’s Spain.I remember watching on TV the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1989. It was as wonderful as it was unexpected. Romania was the most brutal of the communist regimes in Europe, yet Ceaucescu was feted by the Western leaders because he took an independent line from Russia.The writing is aimed at young adults but I’d say it’s worth reading whatever your age.

very good product

If you're looking for the kind of book you simply cannot put down this is it. "I will betray you" by Ruta Sepetys is a historical fiction (but not really) that tells the story of Cristian, a 17 year old Romanian living in gloomy Bucharest under Ceausescu's regime, who is forced to become an informer for the Securitate in order to get medicine for his dying grandfather. He ends up doing everything he despises but only to use it in his advantage and undermine a system governed through a network of spies, fear and repression.He's risking everything while also living a love story. They dream about coffee, Coke, chocolate and bananas - all things Romanians could not have.They join the revolution. They fight for freedom. At what cost remains to be debated.It's impressive to see a non-Romanian author understanding so well the subtilities (and the jokes!) of the reality of living in a dark country ruled by a dark dictator.

I loved the book so much and I learned so much for the communism in Romania. Who knew how much these people suffered from someone's ego. Well written with very much relatable main characters, it really made me believe it's a real story, not a work of fiction.

Simply spectacular: great characters, gripping plot, very accurate in every detail.I have never read a book set in Romania before. Ruta is an amazing writer, this is definitely my favourite of her books

Very good book

despertou um conhecimento e curiosidade

Growing up in a brutal regime through the eyes of a 17 year old boy. The plot moves quickly and provides just a glimpse of how Romanians survived and later overthrew Ceausescu.

Well written, historical fiction. Helped me understand Romania better, very easy to read and understand. Highly recommend.

It's the third book that I have read from Ruta Sepetis and she never disappoints. She has a special gift for building true-to-life stories that immediately catches your attention. The topics are carefully selected and when you finish reading, you have no other option than consider reallity in a very different way from the view you had before. I'll never regard Romania or its people as I used to in the past.