Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

17 reviews

aphrochilds's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Emotional abuse

heidifuglevand's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Vomit, War, Death, and Stalking

theliteraryagenda's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Grief, Gun violence, Death, and Emotional abuse

Most of the gore and violence content comes in the last half of the book, once the revolution begins. It is easy to skim over if necessary.

nairam1173's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A masterful book. This is what historical fiction should be: a door to the unseen and forgotten, and a reminder of how human they were, and how human we are.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Death, Excrement, War, and Grief

kimveach's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a fascinating story of Romania in the late 1980s under the dictatorship of Ceausescu.  Under Ceausescu's system, many people became informers.  It was a country where no one could be trusted, including your friends and family.  We've heard about the orphanages, but this young adult story tells more about what happened to the rest of the people living there.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Genocide, War, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

mattythebookworm22's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

padawan17's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Excrement, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cursing, Suicide, Antisemitism, Addiction, and Child death

autumnal_moon's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, War, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Violence

ashylibrarian's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Ruta Sepetys does it again with an amazingly crafted historical fiction, uncovering the hidden history of Romania. I wanted to cry, laugh, fight, and escape while reading. 

I reread this book for a work book discussion I host with one of our high schools, and it was even better the second time around. I Must Betray You is haunting, heartbreaking, and powerful. The characters all have such important parts to the plot and are each uniquely their own with their own secrets.

As a book discussion group, we were able to talk with a teacher who had been living in Romania under the communist regime as a teenager, and she said that this book is 100% accurate to the events that occurred. It was horrifying to hear that, but I am also always so impressed with the research, detail, emotion, and perspective that Sepetys puts into her novels. She easily remains one of my favorite authors of all time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Classism, Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

dark informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and War

Minor: Antisemitism, Deportation, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia