I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

 I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (336 Pages)

Synopsis: Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe. Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom? 

Opinion: This is a Gateway Award Nominee. I'd give this book a solid 3/5 stars. I read this book in one sitting. I appreciated the intricacy of the side characters. I specifically, really enjoyed the epilogue as it confirmed my suspicions from the beginning of the book. However, I didn't always appreciate Cristian's voice as a character. This may just be a me thing, but he was just annoying. Also justice for the side character I can't talk about because I don't want to spoil the book. Overall, I liked learning more about the history of Romania and getting to know the side characters, but the main character and his arc did bring down the book for me a bit.