In short, I loved this. Thank you to @bookishfirst and @penguinteen for an early copy of this!
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Synopsis: In 1989, Romanians are struggling to live in a brutal communist dictatorship, hearing by illegal radios that other communist regimes are falling and wondering when they will also be free. 17-year-old Cristian gets bribed by the secret police to be an informer, and has to balance the safety of his family with his desire to really affect change in his country.
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This was pretty short, and very quick to get through, but so incredibly powerful. Everyone is suspicious of everyone, including family members, especially when some people are informing on others out of a sense of duty, whereas others like Cristian feel they have no choice so they can protect their loved ones. For a YA novel, it was really heavy, teens were certainly not immune from the horrors of the regime.
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I liked the scenes with Cristian and Dan, the son of an American diplomat, which revealed the difference in how each viewed the world. Even living there, Dan doesn't truly understand what Romanians face, and thinks nothing of giving Cristian a Twinkie, whereas Cristian knows accepting a gift from a foreigner is illegal.
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I didn't know much about the Romanian communist regime, and what conditions were like there at that time, so it was fascinating to read this perspective. This book is eye-opening, thrilling, and heartbreaking all at the same time.
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Synopsis: In 1989, Romanians are struggling to live in a brutal communist dictatorship, hearing by illegal radios that other communist regimes are falling and wondering when they will also be free. 17-year-old Cristian gets bribed by the secret police to be an informer, and has to balance the safety of his family with his desire to really affect change in his country.
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This was pretty short, and very quick to get through, but so incredibly powerful. Everyone is suspicious of everyone, including family members, especially when some people are informing on others out of a sense of duty, whereas others like Cristian feel they have no choice so they can protect their loved ones. For a YA novel, it was really heavy, teens were certainly not immune from the horrors of the regime.
*
I liked the scenes with Cristian and Dan, the son of an American diplomat, which revealed the difference in how each viewed the world. Even living there, Dan doesn't truly understand what Romanians face, and thinks nothing of giving Cristian a Twinkie, whereas Cristian knows accepting a gift from a foreigner is illegal.
*
I didn't know much about the Romanian communist regime, and what conditions were like there at that time, so it was fascinating to read this perspective. This book is eye-opening, thrilling, and heartbreaking all at the same time.