Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Title: I Must Betray You
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Bucharest, Romania
Month Read: February 2022
Book Type: Hardcover
Publication: 2022
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 336
TRIGGER WARNING-
Murder / Illness / Genocide / Hunger / Abuse (there are more, but these are the bigger ones)
"WILL YOU REMEMBER ME? A boy with wings of hope.
Strapped to his back.
That never had a chance to open, denied Forever knowing,
What he could have become. What we all could have become."
No Spoiler Summary:
I Must Betray You is a historical fiction book about the Romanian Revolution in 1989. You follow Cristian, a 17 year old who is blackmailed into helping the Government against his will, and he decides that the only way in which he can survive this morally corrupt act is to burn it to the ground from the inside.
Review:
I'm blown away by how good every book Ruta Sepetys writes is. Every time I pick one up, I think that this can't be as good as the last novel, and every time I am speechless once I have finished because she has done it again.
I went into this book barely knowing where Romania is, never mind having any slice of historical knowledge about the country. I think it is absolutely wild that school in the United States barely touches on the Iron Curtain, and the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1900s. How several countries were filled with dying, starving, walled off communities similar to what I assume we're being told is happening in North Korea nowadays.
This book is dark, but the moments of hope are such bright spots, and I think the love story subplot was absolutely necessary to keep you from being so incredibly sad the entire book. I think Cristian is SUCH a great character, and an amazing narrator for this novel, in particular, and I was also THRILLED to see Nick Van Dorn (a character in her previous novel, Fountains of Silence.)
If you love, or even like, historical fiction- this is for you. If you want to know about a history you've likely never heard of, this is a great book to learn from. It's technically billed as YA, but her books can 100% be read by adults. This book is fantastic. I'd also listen to her on the podcast: The Book Review by the New York Times. It was a great 20m or so of listening to her talk about this book, and also touch upon some of her others.
Recommendation:
Historical Fiction:
Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
"Sorrow. Anger. An expanse of emptiness that takes form as a separate entity living inside of you. It digs, takes root, and dwells there. And somehow, you know that even if it worms its way out, there will be no relief. If it leaves, there will be nothing left but charred remains, like the inside of a house torched by fire."
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