Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu realizes that "a lie is like a snowball. It rolls, becomes bigger, heavier, and eventually, it's difficult to lift." Cristian is attempting to carry a lie that has the power to destroy lives and, as he'll soon discover, he isn't the only one. Ruta Sepetys (The Fountains of Silence) delves into the dark world of 1989 Communist Romania, passionately telling the harrowing story of Cristian and a nation near its breaking point.
Cristian is a typical teenager with aspirations (he dreams of being a writer) and a secret crush--if only he could happen upon Liliana Pavel, then he could walk her home. But the rest of life isn't typical for him or for other Romanians. They have very little to eat, have access to electricity and water only sporadically, must stand in long lines for everything, and spies lurk everywhere. The informers are just waiting for an opportunity to catch fellow citizens unfaithful to despot Nicolae Ceauşescu. But when Cristian is blackmailed into spying, he decides it's time for the world to know what's happening in his country.
Sepetys keeps readers riveted to this vivid, heartbreaking and compelling novel, locked into every meticulously researched detail. I Must Betray You demands a full investment from its audience--through poetic writing, sympathetic characters, revolutionary plot and pacing, it grips the heart and soul and leaves one breathless. --Jen Forbus, freelancer