Reviews tagging 'Grief'

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

51 reviews

darumachan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

This is one of those rare books that does everything it sets out to do-- it is at once a gripping thriller, a thoughtful political commentary, and a moving coming-of-age story. Check out the author's note for insight into the connection between historical research and writing a work of historical fiction. I also appreciated the use of Romanian language in some of the dialogue and the chapter headings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Grief

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

befrazzledenby's review against another edition

read the trigger warnings first y'all whew

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Content Warnings

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

elizabeth_lepore's review

dark emotional informative 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

ktame001's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

sarahflanders's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and War

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

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

machenn's review

emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

adverb17'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, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

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

Minor: Confinement, Excrement, and Sexual harassment

_p0ssum_'s review against another edition

dark emotional informative tense medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail