Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

10 reviews

befrazzledenby's review against another edition

read the trigger warnings first y'all whew

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Cancer, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, War, Child death, Genocide, Medical content, Body horror, Sexual violence, Death, and Confinement

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

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

quirkyaquarian's review

dark informative tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Not as good as Salt by the Sea, but I still learned a lot about Romania and was captivated enough to finish it in 4 hours. Characters could’ve been more fleshed out and some of their relationships were rushed. It also felt overly dramatic (but that’s fine for a YA book) and I genuinely disliked most of the characters unfortunately. The tension created was immaculate though and I enjoyed the varying writing formats. I’m very curious to know the truth contained in the files.

Spoiler

Cici was done so dirty though. Cristian is incredibly hypocritical and yet he never has to answer for it? It’s very clear she paid the price with her body and yet only a sentence is dedicated to acknowledging that trauma?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Police brutality

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Cancer

Minor: Excrement

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

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

unforgivenparrot58's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Grief

Minor: Excrement, Torture, Sexism, and Pregnancy

emeraldelephant's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

shesreadthat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Genocide, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Antisemitism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Violence, War, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gun violence

jessgreads's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Title: I Must Betray You

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Bucharest, Romania

Month Read: February 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2022

Publisher:  Penguin

Pages: 336

TRIGGER WARNING- 

Murder / Illness / Genocide / Hunger / Abuse (there are more, but these are the bigger ones)

"WILL YOU REMEMBER ME? A boy with wings of hope.

Strapped to his back.

That never had a chance to open, denied Forever knowing,

What he could have become. What we all could have become."

No Spoiler Summary:

I Must Betray You is a historical fiction book about the Romanian Revolution in 1989. You follow Cristian, a 17 year old who is blackmailed into helping the Government against his will, and he decides that the only way in which he can survive this morally corrupt act is to burn it to the ground from the inside. 

Review:

I'm blown away by how good every book Ruta Sepetys writes is.  Every time I pick one up, I think that this can't be as good as the last novel, and every time I am speechless once I have finished because she has done it again. 

I went into this book barely knowing where Romania is, never mind having any slice of historical knowledge about the country. I think it is absolutely wild that school in the United States barely touches on the Iron Curtain, and the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1900s. How several countries were filled with dying, starving, walled off communities similar to what I assume we're being told is happening in North Korea nowadays. 

This book is dark, but the moments of hope are such bright spots, and I think the love story subplot was absolutely necessary to keep you from being so incredibly sad the entire book. I think Cristian is SUCH a great character, and an amazing narrator for this novel, in particular, and I was also THRILLED to see Nick Van Dorn (a character in her previous novel, Fountains of Silence.) 

If you love, or even like, historical fiction- this is for you. If you want to know about a history you've likely never heard of, this is a great book to learn from. It's technically billed as YA, but her books can 100% be read by adults. This book is fantastic. I'd also listen to her on the podcast: The Book Review by the New York Times. It was a great 20m or so of listening to her talk about this book, and also touch upon some of her others.

See more reviews at:  https://jessgreads.wixsite.com

"Sorrow. Anger. An expanse of emptiness that takes form as a separate entity living inside of you. It digs, takes root, and dwells there. And somehow, you know that even if it worms its way out, there will be no relief. If it leaves, there will be nothing left but charred remains, like the inside of a house torched by fire."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Stalking, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Child death, Torture, Grief, Death, Confinement, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infertility