Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

12 reviews

bringmybooks's review

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

One more finished for my #12BooksRecommendedBy12Friends challenge and the further we get into the year the more amazed I am that I haven’t already read some of these books - especially this one.

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

This was a stunningly researched and unbearably heartbreaking book based on the grim reality of decades of oppression felt by the Romanian people during the latter half of the 20th century, and while it was hard to read, it also felt really necessary.

I was familiar with a bit of Romanian history prior to reading this book, but after reading this I realized just how much I didn’t know. I have such an appreciation for well researched historical fiction novels because they not only give me an idea of what was happening throughout the time periods & locales they are written in, but also the urge to do research on my own to learn and understand more (and absolutely ALL of Ruta Sepetys' books have done just this).

This book reminded me of Salt to the Sea in that it had short chapters, some choppy (on purpose) sentence structure, and once you were invested (happened at about 50pgs for me), you’re not going to put it down until you finish. (Unlike Salt to the Sea, this book only had one POV.)

100% recommended by me and now maybe I should read Fountains of Silence??? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Death, War, Police brutality, Murder, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Rape

addyruth17's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book reminded me of the way I got sucked into Ally Carter books in middle school, with a delicious extra Les Mis flavor to it. I'm upset I didn't know this history before; I'm so glad Sepetys is sharing it in such an accessible and engaging way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Police brutality, and Blood

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Confinement, Excrement, and Sexual harassment

readingwithkaitlyn's review

dark emotional medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Death, Torture, Murder, War, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Violence, Police brutality, Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Excrement

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Classism, and Alcohol

hazel_t23's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gun violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Genocide, Murder, and Death

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Terminal illness, and Gore

Tread carefully with this book, as with most of the content of Ruta’s book. Deffo be in the right headspace to read it though, because it needs to be read.

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

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

nora_knight's review

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Ruta Sepetys writes some of the most beautiful and important books I've read, and this novel is no exception. Sepetys crafts a haunting yet inspiring story of Romanian suffering under communism and the incredible courage of their young people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Death, War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Genocide and Terminal illness

oceanwriter's review

dark emotional informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

I Must Betray You is the second book I've read by Ruta Sepetys and, my goodness, I was not disappointed.

Following seventeen-year-old Cristian, we are brought into the communist regime in Romania during the late 1980s. After being caught accepting a gift of American currency, he's forced to become an informer, mainly focusing on the American family his mother works for. He has to choose between friendship and his life as well as his family's.

The story has a strong focus on friendship and the difficulties of maintaining relationships in a place where nobody can trust anybody, even their own families. Cristian's grandfather speaks more openly about the corruption he's seen, causing extra worry about listening devices and agents breaking into their own. Cristian already suspects someone close to him has been informing on him given how much the agent who recruited him seems to know.

Through his American friends, Cristian is able to get an honest look at life in America rather than the lies the government has been feeding them. He realizes they have fridges full of food, wait in lines voluntarily, and is mystified by the existence Disneyland. What's more, is that he finds a photograph of Nicolae Ceaușescu visiting this place. Meanwhile, Romanians are being forced to suffer and live in isolation and fear. Cristian starts to think that maybe he can start to use his role as an informer to his advantage in an act of resistance.

This is an emotional, twisty, action-filled story about a time so overlooked in history. I thought I was well-versed in the Cold War, but this book has taught me otherwise. I never knew they suffered so much as a nation. The end of the book has a number of photographs and quotes from this time which added a lot of context to the story. And though it was fast-paced, it didn't miss a beat in terms of plot or being able to connect to the characters.

I loved this book as much as I loved The Fountains of Silence if not more. I'm looking forward to reading more from Ruta Sepetys. I'm officially hooked!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Grief, War, Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Cancer

abby_reads_books's review

challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Police brutality, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Antisemitism, War, and Terminal illness

tays_books's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death, and Genocide

Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness

Minor: Excrement and Sexual assault