I Must Betray You

 

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Trust no one.

Tell no one

Spies are everywhere.

Romania, 1989.

Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

Reviews 

New York Times Book Review 

“The power of I Must Betray You [is] it doesn’t just describe the destabilizing effects of being spied on; it will make you experience them too.”

Shelf Awareness 

“Sepetys keeps readers riveted to this vivid, heartbreaking and compelling novel, locked into every meticulously researched detail . . . Through poetic writing, sympathetic characters, revolutionary plot and pacing, it grips the heart and soul and leaves one breathless.” 

(starred review)

Oprah Daily

“Ruta is passionate about the power of history and fiction to foster awareness and connectivity. In this book, she opens a startling window into the real-life coerced citizen spy network—including teenagers as young as thirteen—that bred an atmosphere of paranoia and fear, as people were forced to inform on one another.”