I Must Betray You

By: Ruta Sepetys

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Ruta Sepetys

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A gut-wrenching, startling historical thriller about a young man in communist Romania who dared to resist the spy network that devastated a nation, from the award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray.

* "Sepetys brilliantly blends a staggering amount of research with heart, craft, and insight in a way very few writers can. Compulsively readable and brilliant."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL

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: either 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?

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.

Critic reviews

Praise for I Must Betray You:

Winner of the Josette Frank Award for Fiction ♦ An NPR Best Book of the Year ♦ An Amazon Best Book of the Year ♦ A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year ♦ A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year ♦ A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year ♦ A Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Year ♦ A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year ♦ A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year ♦ A YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults pick ♦ A Goodreads Choice Award nominee ♦ An Indiana Elliot Rosewater Book Award nominee

“As educational as it is thrilling...[T]he 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.” –New York Times Book Review

★ "Sepetys brilliantly blends a staggering amount of research with heart, craft, and insight in a way very few writers can. Compulsively readable and brilliant." –Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "Sepetys once again masterfully portrays a dark, forgotten corner of history." –Booklist, starred review

★ "Sepetys’s latest book maintains the caliber readers have come to expect from an author whose focus on hidden histories has made her a YA powerhouse of historical ­fiction…Sepetys is a formidable writer, and her stories declare the need to write about global issues of social injustice. For that reason and her attention to detail, this is a must-read." –School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Cristian’s tense first-person narrative foregrounds stark historical realities, unflinchingly confronting deprivations and cruelty while balancing them with perseverance and hope as Romania hurtles toward political change." –Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A master class in pacing and atmosphere." –BookPage

Outstanding

Just loved it. Great story and learned how bad it was during that time in Romania. Also , the narration was very good. He was able to convey the emotion of the characters

Stunning!

Such an important read and beautifully performed. As a Texan raised in the 90's, I'm still learning more and more about how lacking our educational system is. it's despicable that we've all allowed that to continue and in fact get worse and worse. Novels like this are one enjoyable way for us to get past our own ignorance and see the world for what it truly is. The perspective, humor and writing style made this quite an enjoyable read for me while helping me to better understand the plight of anyone in these citizens positions. I highly recommend it to every person on the planet.

Wonderful read

I enjoyed this performance and learned so much about a people I knew nothing about. Beautifully written and a wonderful performance. It is full of meaning and emotions

Eye Opener

This book opened my eyes to the horrors of what went on in Romania. It was a book I couldn’t quit reading and I can’t stop thinking about.

Capturing a Moment in History

I visited Romania in December 1990. This was exactly one year after the Revolution. You captured the soul of this nation. Well done! Thank you.