I Must Betray You

More than anything, this book put me in the shoes of a young person who has no idea how to know the difference between truth and lies. He doesn’t know who to trust. I was fully immersed in this terrifying world.

Šepetys made me feel what it was like to live during a dictatorship leading up to the Romanian Revolution in 1989.

I came away feeling profoundly grateful for my freedom and in awe of those who fought for theirs.

I Must Betray You is another of Ruta Sepetys’s incredible historical YA novels.

She consistently brings to life disparate places and times, and this story of the lead-up to the fall of communism in Romania in 1989 is no exception.

Communist Romania is a nightmare, pitting family and friends against each other through the horrific secret police. Teenage Cristian knows things aren’t right, and he is that rare person who dares to stand up even when it’s completely impossible to win.

I love how Sepetys ties Cristian’s triumphant fictional efforts into the real events in a believable way. When I… show more.

Sepetys never disappoints, but I Must Betray You grabbed hold of me and didn’t let go. I read this book in twenty-four hours.

Sepetys has a way of character development that never underestimates her readers. This story is raw and haunting, with a hard punch of constant action. I Must Betray You takes us behind the Iron Curtain to 1989 Communist Romania, where high schooler Cristian must become an informer to save his family. What unfolds is a story of bravery, sacrifice, and love.

Romania in 1989 is bleak: citizens are impoverished and can trust no one.

Anyone could be an informer, either by choice, or by blackmail, and Cristian Florescu is soon trapped. He doesn’t want to inform on anyone, but he doesn’t feel like he has a choice.

Cristian is instantly likeable—though he faces difficult choices, he wants to do the right thing. His relationships with his family members are well-crafted, as is his light romance with Liliana.

I enjoyed this glimpse into Romanian life at the end of the Cold War, when things were awful, but hope was on the horizon—a… show more.

Set in Communist Romania, I Must Betray You follows Cristian Florescu, a teenaged boy who, to protect his family, is blackmailed into becoming a spy for the regime. Technically this one is classified as historical fiction, but it has major thriller vibes a’la old-school Bond…if 007 were a kid acting out of self-preservation. Cristian might not be an assassin, but he pushes the limits when he decides to play the game…act the spy while simultaneously working with a group of rebels. Read if you love double agents and trusting no one. 

My favorite setting—Romania in the days leading to and during the 1989 Revolution—shapes the story in this young adult novel. Sepetys draws fully-formed and believable characters. Regular people are confronted with the difficult choice as to whether to inform for the secret police or stand against the tide, ironically in a place where their freedom to choose or speak out has been crushed into non-existence. Sepetys shines her spotlight into a dark corner of recent history about which many know next to nothing.