As I somewhat mentioned earlier, the speed helps mitigate the pain of remembering that though this precise story is invented, the details really are not. Cristian is made an informer by probably page 5, so there’s really not much waiting around for tension or mystery or suspense. There’s also a very quick pace to this book. The atmosphere of the book is captured perfectly. I absolutely would have been the boy revealing his secrets in the classroom under stress. At times I was so overwhelmed that I thought wildly, WHAT IF EVERYONE IS A SPY! so I cannot even begin to think of how it felt to live in that time. Much like Cristian, I had no idea who to trust. The gravitas felt somewhat limited at times, and while that made it a less taxing read, the feeling of the situation is critical for me. To be honest, it was almost a bit strange that this book wasn’t harder to read considering it’s topic. Still, the story carries on forward, and just like life won’t stop for horror in one’s own life, neither does the story.
The hardest parts for me to read were when characters discussed the awful things done in the prisons, which would definitely need some sensitivity if reading this book in a classroom. I was so curious about the woman who dubbed so many western films, and found a name to start my own research into her some more.Įven though the Romanian revolution was violent and the rampant fear and tension is evident, the story itself is not too painful. After finishing reading this, I really appreciated the notes at the back with details about references within the book. It really shows in the details of the story how Ruta learned about Romanian’s lives. But what is the cost of freedom? ThoughtsĪs are all of Ruta’s young adult historical novels, this is very thoroughly researched in many different ways, from conversations with people who lived during the time to artifacts from it to written works about it and so much more. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. 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.Ĭristian 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. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream they are bound by rules and force.Īmidst 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. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe.
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