Author(s): Ruta Sepetys

Teenagers

Trapped by an evil dictatorship, will Cristian be forced to betray his family or will he risk everything he loves to resist?

A powerful YA thriller, inspired by real events, from a Carnegie Medal-winning author.

Cristian has lived his entire life in the grip of a repressive dictatorship. The country is governed by fear. When the secret police blackmail him, Cristian has an impossible choice. Save the life of his sick grandfather by informing on his family, or risk his life - and all of theirs - by resisting?

At 17, Cristian dreams of being free but doesn't know where to turn. In this climate of constant suspicion, can he trust his best friend, his girlfriend or even his family?

Closely based on the real events of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, this is a powerful, heart-breaking thriller from the award-winning YA author of Salt to the Sea.

CONSTANT READER STAFF REVIEW - CLAIRE

Oh, how I was impatient to get my hands on a copy of this book! Ruta Sepetys absolutely nails historical fiction every time, revealing the malleable nature of stories we are told about the past through her deft reshaping and broadening of their perspective. Even as an adult reader it never ceases to amaze me what a treasure trove her novels are, illuminating corners of history largely unacknowledged or forgotten. I Must Betray You is a gripping thriller which walks a tightrope of Orwellian tension; a story of deception and treachery you find intriguing until hit by the realisation that the depicted violence and disintegration of personal privacy closely resembles the lived experience of millions in the years surrounding the Romanian Revolution. Resonating with the memory of muffled screams finally rising up, it exposes fear as a powerful force in the manipulation and domination of the human spirit, and casts light on the privilege of true physical and mental freedom we so often take for granted.