I have been searching for good historical fiction books that deal with what life was like living under a communist regime but that are also suitable for my teenage daughter (so not to graphic). That may sound like a strange thing to be searching for but we have covered the USSR under Lenin and Stalin and the Cold War as her IGCSE history topics so I wanted something that she could read that would give her a deeper understanding of everyday life. I tried a few books but I could not find a book that struck the balance between the nitty gritty of everyday life without totally terrorizing her. And then I discovered this one – I Must Betray You and Wow, I was sucked into the story and blown away with the details they included. And now after finishing it I must say I wish all teens could read this so they could understand what living in those conditions were like.

The story is set in Romania in 1989, and is covering the period of time when a number of the former Eastern Bloc countries rebelled against communism. Now we actually don’t cover this in our Cold War module that we studied but the author does such an incredible job of describing life in a communist state that it makes this story so worthwhile for anyone learning or just interested in this period of time. They really push home how you are living in a state of constant worry, worried about being spied on, worried that someone might betray you, worried about food, about medical needs, really just worried about absolutely everything. 

The story revolves around a seventeen year old boy and his family, we get to really join the family life as he even explains things like how a family of 5 are managing to live in a small one-bedroom apartment, he talks about things like the fact that the electricity is constantly going out so no-one uses the lift in their apartment block in case you get stuck in there for hours, how they all take turns waiting in lines for food and often waiting for 3 hours can result in only getting a can of beans, a can that expired 2 years ago. He covers their barter system (a bribe system), how they sneak around to watch illegal films and try and find illegal books and articles to read, how listening to a radio is their one way of finding out what is going on, and the constant fear that everything they do will be discovered, even the small act of drinking a can of Coke would get them in trouble. The author really does an excellent job of weaving all these everyday realities into the story.

Okay the actual plot, Cristian (the main character) ends up being blackmailed and forced to become an informer, and while he is living through this (he really struggles with that he has to do) he realizes that there are more than one other person informing on him, in fact he discovers that someone in his family is informing on him, but who it ends up being is a twist that I honestly did not see coming (really well written, kept me guessing about his family members). Christian turns out to be an amazing character and a truly inspiring one who does have a happy ending (I think it would have been a bit to much if he had died).

This is truly one of the best teen books that I have read in a LONG time. The writing was brilliant, the plot was excellent and all the historical facts and events that were woven in really does make this one of those MUST READS for all teens.

I found this book after searching through lots of lists, and some trial and error reading, it is NOT linked to any publisher, in fact we got our copy from our library but all of that said, I want to say I really do RECOMMEND this book, read it, give it to your teens to read and then please have a good discussion with them so that our teens can learn from what happened.

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