When Romania finally fights back, Cristian finds in herself depths he did not know were there, and he stands with the revolutionaries. Ultimately, however, Cristian does not need to wait for someone else to save him. He spends each day wondering if anyone really cares about what is happening. He dreams that the world might take action. But still, Cristian hopes that the world knows about Romania’s plight.

It is undergoing physical examinations so the state can see who is getting pregnant for the “good of the nation.” It is knowing that one does not have a choice in one’s own life. It is knowing the electric and the water will go out. It is waiting in line for food one might not even get. He and his fellow Romanians know the truth of what it is like to live under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. As a teenager, Cristian has grown up knowing little else than poverty and fear. Though set in 1989, I Must Betray You feels eerily topical. I Must Betray You celebrates the resilience of the human spirit to seek for truth against the odds. Still, he finds brief moments of freedom when he dares to write down his real thoughts in a hidden notebook the government might control his life, but they cannot control his mind, or limit his creativity. Cristian is a Romanian teenager who has grown up fearing to speak aloud even in his own home, which could be bugged by the government, and knowing that even his closest friends could report him to the police for breaking the rules.

I Must Betray You is a heart-wrenching look at life under a communist regime, where free thought is forbidden and everyone could a traitor.

I must betray you ruta sepetys