This tense, riveting thriller captures life in Bucharest in the weeks leading up to the 1989 uprising that ousted Ceaușescu from office, illuminating the physical and psychological cruelty of his oppressive regime and the courage of citizens demanding freedom. Interspersed with the staccato-paced, first-person, present-tense narrative are top secret State Security reports, giving readers insight into the danger Cristian is in.

But Cristian, who writes his thoughts and dreams in a secret journal he hides in the closet where he sleeps, thinks he can outwit the Securitate, even as he begins to wonder if there are greater threats than he realized right within his home. 'He has tried to betray them and joined the White Witch, O Aslan,' said Mr. He had the look of one who has been with the Witch and eaten her food. Having grown up under the brutal Ceauşescu regime, Cristian knows there are spies and informers everywhere now he is one of them. Beaver 'I didnt like to mention it before (he being your brother and all) but the moment I set eyes on that brother of yours I said to myself Treacherous. Wise, funny Bunu is the most important person in Cristian’s life: He shares his opinions about the government even though the family knows their cramped apartment in Bucharest is bugged, like those of all their neighbors. Cristian hates himself for agreeing to spy on the 17-year-old son of the American diplomat his mother works for, but the Securitate officer has promised much-needed medicine for Bunu, Cristian’s beloved grandfather, who has leukemia. Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys is back with a historical thriller that examines the little-known history of a nation defined by silence, pain, and the unwavering conviction of the human spirit.When 17-year-old Cristian Florescu is called to his school office and confronted by a member of the Romanian secret police, the Securitate officer tells Cristian that he and his family won’t be punished for the illegal American dollar Cristian possesses if he’s willing to become an informer. I Must Betray You Ruta Sepetys 4.43 47,940 ratings7,842 reviews Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction (2022) Romania, 1989. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives.

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.Ĭristian 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. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream they are bound by rules and force.Īmidst 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. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe.

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