Reviews tagging Violence

I Must Betray You, by Ruta Sepetys

64 reviews

ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

challenging informative tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

mfh's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

hazzy_'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.

kennyscoffee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

4.0

Not my favorite book by this author but still stunning, sad, and raw just like her other novels. It pulls back the curtain of a country that the West continues to pass over during a horrible time in its past. 

The book becomes violent at 75% of the way through but the tense, stiflingly environment the characters live in is clear from the start. I thought the main character was good and gave a good POV to follow through the confusion and struggle of 1980's Romania. The plot twists/information reveals had me gasping several times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Death, Gun violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Excrement, Mass/school shootings, and Blood

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

katrinaburch's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

More like 4.9 But while I did give it that, I understand why the author did it. I really enjoyed this so much. I was young when the revolution happened and part of my family is from Romania. So getting a historical fiction work about the revolution was great. I enjoyed Fountains of Silence more but this is an excellent book.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture, Blood, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, and Injury/injury detail

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

maidmarianlib's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Engaging and rich with the historical setting.  Heartbreaking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, War, Torture, Police brutality, and Murder

mvilter'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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, War, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Grief