Bibliographic Information

Title: I Must Betray You

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Publisher: Philomel Books

Copyright Date: February 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1984836038

Genre

Historical Fiction

Format

Book

Print Length

336 pages

Reading Level/Interest Level

Grades 8-11 (per Booklist)

Awards or Honors Include

• Carnegie Medal Nominee (2023); Winner, Carnegie Shadower’s Choice (2023)
• YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick (2023)
• An NPR Best Book of the Year – Young Adult (2022)
• An Amazon Best Book of the Year – Young Adult (2022)

Plot Summary

“The State controls the amount of food we eat, our electricity, our transportation, the information we receive. But with philosophy, we control our own minds. What if the internal landscape was ours to build and paint?” (p. 15, Kindle edition)

Bucharest, Romania: 1989. 17-year-old Cristian lives in a cramped, concrete apartment with his parents, sister, and grandfather under the ever-watchful eye of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu’s communist state. Despite living daily with hunger, hidden dangers, and no personal freedom, he only wants to catch the attention of his pretty classmate Lilian and spend time with his best friend, Luca. Instead, he gets unexpectedly forced into the network of Romania’s citizen spies and threatened by the secret police.

Cristian’s world begins to crumble as he compromises all he holds dear and begins to distrust the people he thought he knew the best. As neighboring communist countries begin to fall, Cristian must make impossible decisions about claiming a brighter future for himself and Romania while trying to keep himself and those he loves safe.

Author Background

As the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, author Ruta Sepetys (pronounced Roota Suh-PET-tees) is proud of her Baltic heritage and passionate about telling global stories. She has written several best-selling, award-winning historical fiction novels for teens that also have crossover appeal for adults. Explaining her genre of choice, Sepetys said: “Through historical fiction, we can give voice to those who will never have a chance to tell their story” (Ruta Sepetys, n.d.-a). When not speaking at events or schools around the country, Sepetys lives in Tennessee with her family.

Critical Evaluation

What Sepetys achieves in I Must Betray You is breathtaking. It’s tender but gritty, hopeful but heart-wrenching. Through her beautiful writing, Sepetys helps readers feel Cristian’s dark, cold, cramped world up close and struggle and ache with him through all his impossible choices. The book is perfectly structured to build incredible tension throughout the story and paced to reveal plot twists at just the right time. Characters are complex, and very little in the world of the story is black or white. Most importantly, I Must Betray You opens an important window into the painful realities lived by the people of Romania, whose history is remembered and honored here.

Creative Use for a Library Program

photo source (all): pixabay

It would be interesting for a library to create a multi-media, interactive program for youth centered on Romania’s cultural and geographic riches—its folk art, historic castles, the Carpathian mountain range, and more—and put that into context with its struggles throughout history, leading to the Romanian Revolution featured in I Must Betray You.

Speed-Round Talk

17-year-old Cristian knows there must be more to the world than the harsh, bleak life he lives in 1989’s communist Romania. Forced into impossible circumstances where he must choose between his own conscience and the people he loves, Cristian must find the strength to fight – for himself and for Romania.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

People may object to such heavy subject matter for this age group; I Must Betray You has depictions of poverty, death, deceit, starvation, as well as brutal beatings and torture (including of children). The historical photos, author’s note, and detailed list of research and sources at the end of the book provide a persuasive defense of the book; Sepetys justifies the realities of what she has written, including that children the readers’ ages experienced them firsthand. The book’s Discussion Guide could also help adults talk with youth about difficult themes and scenes presented in I Must Betray You.

Reason for Inclusion

It’s unlikely that most teens today have experienced anything close to what Cristian’s character experienced in I Must Betray You. It’s important for teens to read about lives that may feel like a world away from their own – either in time, place, or circumstance – to help broaden their perspective and create empathy for others. It’s also important for teens to know more about hard historical realities to give better context into who and where we are today.

All Books by Ruta Sepetys: