I Must Betray You

Mind freaking blown! This is my second read of Ruta Sepetys and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both. She is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. I skipped over the first books about the Holocaust because I was tired of all historical fiction books being about the same time and place. But in this book (as well as Fountains of Silence), she shares an informative (fictional) story of history that we don’t often hear about in the US. And at first I was concerned it’d be watered down since her books are for YA, but she doesn’t hold back! Wow! This story is powerful, raw, and poignant.

so quick and such a nice book! the author put so much effort and i love that. i liked the characters and the writing overall was amazing! definetly will read more of ruta's work!!

Excellent book! This should be required reading for middle school and high school students. Very enlightening in regards to Romania and the fall of Communism.

I read this in one sitting without really meaning to pick it up at all today.

What a fascinating story about communist Romania in 1989 - a topic I previously (and shamefully) knew nothing about. I read and read and read and then I cried and cried and cried. Beautifully done.

4 Stars

“FREEDOM. I stood, starting at the seven letters, while a lump the size of a fist formed in my throat.” Ceausescu “had stolen us from ourselves, for himself. He had broken the soul of Romania and parched a beautiful country into an apocalyptic landscape of the lost.” “They steal our power by making us believe we don’t have any…But words and creative phrases–they have power.” “When we don’t know the full story, sometimes we create one of our own…panning for truth, interrogating memories, correcting false narratives, and pondering the fact that when betraying others, we often betray ourselves…time becomes the unveiler of truth. And that painful shift in comprehension…is called ‘a rite of passage.” “And that’s when it hit me: The teacher must be an informer. He informed on the students. The school director was an informer. He informed on the teachers. The secretary was an informer. She informed on the school director. Luca was an informer. He informed on me. I was an informer. I informed on Americans…Sometimes in outwitting others, we accidentally outwit ourselves.” “Betrayal. It’s indigestible. It instantly changes the frequency of things. Every Romanian carried a world inside them, and mine had quickly gone from dark to black…I grabbed the flag and cut the communist coat of arms from the center, leaving a hole amidst the vertical stripes of blue, yellow, and red…Blue for liberty. Yellow for justice. Red for blood.” “There’s a difference between someone who’s running, and someone who’s running from something…One of life’s universal truths: Things that seem straightforward? Often aren’t…An unexamined life wasn’t worth living…sometimes to go inside, we needed to go outside…this is bigger than the ‘I’ or the ‘me.’ This must be ‘we’...It’s important for all ages to demonstrate. The world must see that everyone wants change.” Like protagonist Cristian Florescu exploration of the power of the written word in his notebook Screaming Whispers, Ruta Sepetys’ I Must Betray You is “full of heart, painful truths, and also humor. But above all, we note its courage, to speak such truths plainly and openly…Nu va fie frica. Veti fi liberi…Do not be afraid. You will be free.”