Tag Archives: ruta sepetys

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

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I Must Betray You is a historical fiction novel, encompassing the struggles of a 17-year-old boy, Cristian Florescu, living within the communist regime in Romania, who is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer on the American family his mother cleans for. Feeling trapped and overwhelmed by his anxiety, Cristian captures his oppressive life through expressive poems within his personal journal. Soon, he chooses to use his role as an informer to his advantage and fight in the revolution to overthrow the communist dictator.

The main developer of the plot of this novel is the nuance of relationships that Sepetys establishes between Cristian and several other characters. For example, Cristian’s relationship with his older sister Cici marks the development of his anxiety and the major theme of betrayal within the novel. Throughout the novel, Cristian suspects the people who surround him to be informers just like him; however, through doing so, he virtually creates an emotional distance, isolating himself and jump-starting an overflow of anxiety. Cristian never suspects Cici as he sees her as the only person he can trust and has always been there for him. Unfortunately, Cristian soon uncovers striking deceptions in Cici’s character that cause him to shun their relationship.

Cristian’s discovery regarding Cici highlights this book’s most impactful message: in a world where you can’t trust anyone, it hurts the most when you are betrayed by those you did trust. Even the strongest relationships can fall apart, but ultimately, it is the truth that sets you free.

Not only does this novel unveil an inspiring moral, but it also sheds light upon a chilling and emotional aspect of European history not often acknowledged. The 1989 period of violent civil unrest in Romania is captured in the development of Cristian’s character as a teen boy who succumbed to a life of confinement to a young adult who fought for a liberating future to pursue his dreams as a passionate writer.

I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy historical fiction novels and readers who don’t. Its fast-paced storyline and escape into a fantasy that incorporates real historical events create a highly intriguing reading experience that I believe readers of any interest will enjoy. Through heartbreaking revelations and action-packed moments, Sepetys truly captures the inspiring impact that teenagers can make upon their society.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

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I have always struggled to find a book suitable for teens. Having little interest in whimsical, fantasy books and heavy-themed adult novels that I had trouble relating to, Ruta Sepetys’s Out of the Easy was the novel I had been waiting to discover. Her nuanced themes within her writing create intriguing and relatable characters and plotlines in her book. The most captivating aspect of her novel is the main character Josie Moraine. Through this character, Sepetys encapsulates the aspiring and anxious mind of a 17-year-old girl coming of age.

Set in the 1950s, Josie Moraine lives in the shadows of her mother’s notorious reputation as a prostitute. Josie longs for a life outside of New Orleans to cut the ties with her mother and fulfill her dream of attending an elite college, miles away from her haunting city. However, these dreams of escape begin to tremble at the news of a mysterious death in the Quarter. Torn between an investigation that might help her discover who she is and working to raise the money to leave New Orleans, Josie struggles to find the balance between what decisions will shape her future for the better. Undergoing the pressure of her reputation tainted by her mother, Josie’s important relationships, such as with her best friend Patrick and her lingering love interest Jesse, begin to falter. Josie’s strenuous search for her true identity causes everything she worked for to crumble, leading her to push away the people she needs and loves.

When Josie is in this state in the novel, Sepetys perfectly captures this pivotal moment as a teenager, when you feel like everything and everyone is against you and you begin to lose sight of why it is that you try. However, this feeling sheds light on the importance of knowing when to hold on and how to let go. Soon in the novel, Josie finds her strength and rediscovers her identity, not in her mother’s ignorance, but in the people who have always been there for her. Josie lets go of the murder investigation, which caused her to question the existence of her father and how the discovery of him could tell her who she is. But Josie no longer needs that reassurance and finds it, instead, in the future of who she will become.

Out of the Easy is one of those books whose structure makes you feel like you’re in a movie. The novel’s realistic dialogue and nuanced characterization enthralled me into Josie’s world and allowed me to have a haunting peek at what it meant to be a teenage girl in this period. I can’t wait to read this book again and unveil any details I may have missed.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Analysis: The Fountains of Silence by Reta Sepetys

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A fascinating historical novel written by Reta Sepetys takes place in Madrid, Spain in the 1950s. The Fountains of Silence is a novel that delves deep into the strict regime of General Francisco Franco and his iron-tight rule. Our narrators are Daniel Matherson and Ana Torres Moreno. They both come from very different backgrounds, giving us an in-depth perspective on both sides.

Daniel Matherson is an American tourist who is the son of a big oil executive. His father is trying to secure a big deal in Madrid. Living in Texas for all of his life, he is a Texan through and through. From his strong Texan accent to the cowboy boots and jeans, it’s a sharp contrast to locals milling around the setting. His mother grew up in Madrid and immerses him in Spanish culture. Shortly after graduating high school, they decided to take a family trip to Madrid fulfilling both his mother’s dreams of returning and his father’s need to guarantee a drilling deal in Spain. This also was a trip that his father hoped would convince Daniel not to pursue his dreams of photography and instead join him in the oil business. Another factor is money. Daniel simply doesn’t have enough funds to support himself through journalism school. By going to Madrid, Daniel has the opportunity to take unique photos to showcase in a competition to win a scholarship. During the entire plot of the story, he remains stagnant as a character, and his defining characteristics stay as those of a naïve tourist.

Ana Torres Moreno is a maid who works at the Hilton Hotel that Daniel and his family are staying at. She is one of the characters who has a deep backstory that readers unveil over the course of the story. The hotel she works at one of the biggest parts of the story. Characters that are entangled in the intricate hotel network develop the story as we learn what happens behind the scenes. She slowly evolves as a character as she gets closer to Daniel. Daniel introduces her to many American things which is against the hotel policy for maids or any workers to get closer to their clients.

The Church is a big part of the story as well, a lot of the characters in this story go there to repent of their sins in the confession booth. The confession booth may be where we learn one of the most crucial pieces of information ever. Here we learn more about Ana, her brother, and Daniel himself.

To conclude, this book is one of the most influential books about the history of General Franco’s rule. It dives deep into the horrific backstory and how the Church may have been involved in serious problems that were popping up. Definitely a great read!

The Fountains of Silence  by Ruta Sepetys is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Review: Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

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In the historical fiction novel Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys, 15 year old Lina Vilkas, along with her mother Elena and younger brother Jonas (who is 10 years old) are arrested and abducted by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police) in 1941 Lithuania. They are stuffed into a tiny train car with many others, but the direct link between them all is unknown. The train car has horrible conditions, and Lina’s father Kostas was taken too, but he and the other men are in a different train. The book narrates the story of Lina, Elena, and Jonas’s journey as prisoners of the NKVD. The entire time, Lina, Elena, and Jonas are trying to find word of where Lina’s father, Kostas, could be.

This book has multiple settings. It begins in Lithuania in 1941, and Lina, Elena, and Jonas are first taken to Siberia and then taken back down to a labor camp in Altai where they are forced to do hard tasks in horrid conditions and minimal food. After that, they are taken on a ship back to Siberia, where they work to build for the NKVD.

The most obvious, main conflict is that Lina, Jonas, Elena, and Kostas have been taken by the NKVD, and so have many others, with no clear connection (in the beginning). This is an external conflict; however, each character also experiences their own internal conflicts. The story is told from Lina’s point of view, and she has many flashbacks of her life in Lithuania. The author very cleverly implements the flashbacks so each time, they get closer and closer to the present until they suddenly fit together like a puzzle and explain what led up to Lina’s family being taken (which I will not spoil!). 

As a 15 year old girl, and a wonderful artist, Lina draws what she sees, especially people, as a means of recording and expressing herself. She is the narrator of the story, and as a teenage girl her descriptions and emotions are very interesting to readers. Lina’s internal conflicts are specific to the mindset of a teenage girl, and it ranges from missing her father to being protective over her younger brother.

I think that the most influential character in the book is Lina’s mother, Elena, who is the rock for her children. Without Elena, Jonas and Lina would lose hope and motivation very quickly, and may even be separated from each other. Elena wonderfully symbolizes the theme of motherly protection, and it’s a delightful theme to see in such a story. The way she handles everything with kindness, but at the same time stays strong and does not tolerate anything unfair against her children is amazing. Her importance is especially seen since the entire mood of the book is a reflection of her. Lina is the narrator, and she often uses her mother’s facial expressions or posture while describing conditions. This shows the influence and love Lina has for her mother.

My favorite character in the book is Elena, since she is very protective, emotionally strong, and kind to those around her. I really loved the way Elena’s disposition shapes the novel, since Elena has such an impact on her daughter, Lina, who is the narrator. 

Jonas is a 10 year old boy, and is shown at the beginning of the novel to be obedient, sincere, and innocent. Young boys are famously known for being playful and mischievous. The horridness that people suffered during the time of the novel is very starkly shown through Jonas, since he is a young boy stripped of his childhood and being captured and forced into the workcamps. His presence makes the conditions of the book much more sad.

There was one event in the novel that may seem small but was very significant. In the train car, one of the people trapped in the same car as Lina was a boy named Andrius. During the train ride he found an oval stone with quartz and other crystals inside. At first, Andrius kept it, but then gifted it to Lina, who gifted it to Jonas, and the stone cycles through characters like this. It is always given as a gift because the person who is giving it wants the other person to feel better. The stone symbolizes luck and lifts the spirits of the captured people as soon as it is found. If the stone had never been found, the characters’ morale would have hurtled at a downward slope. The stone gave short, simple happiness, and throughout the story happiness and hope is what keeps the characters going. 

I would personally give this book a 10/10. This book was very interesting, and I finished it very quickly. It had wonderful characters, character development, and suspense. It incorporated themes of motherly love, the importance of family, and youthfulness. I usually do not like historical fiction books, but this book was very amazing and informative. The best part was that it did not seem distant and simply informative; the characters seemed so relatable in age and their emotions were easy to empathize with, making the book very powerful. People who enjoy mystery, suspense, the theme of family, and history would love this book. I think that this book is especially powerful, and a person who just likes one of the previously mentioned qualities would definitely enjoy this book.

-Ayati M.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.

Authors We Love: Ruta Sepetys

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Ruts Sepetys is one of the most well known young adult historical fiction authors ever! With historical fiction being my favorite genre, I consider myself proud to say that Ruta Sepetys is my favorite author of all time. I have read all of the books she has written and I consider every single one of them to be some of my favorite books. 

Unlike many historical fiction authors, she doesn’t exclusively write about one event in history. With a setting like New Orleans, Barcelona, and Siberia, Sepetys takes us into a plethora of historical events, with different time periods, people, and settings. 

One specific thing I love about historical fiction is you learn something along the way, and all of Ruta Sepetys writes about overlooked events in history. These aren’t things you learn from your history textbook, they’re much more than that. Her books take you on a journey through events like the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that took 10 times the lives the Titanic did, and is the biggest maritime disaster of all time. But for some unknown reason, nobody talks about it, except for Sepetys.

Not only does she shed these huge historical events to light, but she does also these events justice. Although what she writes is fiction, the historical events they’re based on are all too real. Sepetys does an amazing job of research. In her most recent novel, The Fountains of Silence, the back of the book offered more details about her writing and research process, as well as pages of her notes. Sepetys do years and years of research for just one novel, and by reading the books you can tell how much effort was put into them. 

As for her World War Il novels, she has interviewed countless figures, both strangers and family, that were involved in those events, and based some of her books off of real events her family has gone through. 

Another part that I really love about her books is her writing style. With short and quick chapters, the writing allows you to be constantly engaged. The constant point of view switches keep you on your toes and makes every single one of her books a page-turner.

Between Shades of Gray (2011): Not your everyday World War 2 novel, Between Shades of Gray shows the dark side of Polish deportation and labor camps. With a knowledgeable protagonist and a family trying not to fall apart in the face of war, this brutal novel is a must-read. My Rating: 9/10

Out of the Easy (2013): Out of the Easy is a novel describing the life of the daughter of a prostitute longing to be free and live her own life outside of the bustling city of New Orleans. When a customer at her bookstore is found dead, she finally finds the escape she’s been looking for. My Rating: 7/10

Salt to the Sea (2016): The biggest maritime disaster, and the long path refugees are forced to take to flee Germany, this story tells the tale no one wishes to tell about World War 2.  In this novel, everyone has a secret to tell, and with them come guaranteed tears. My Rating: 10/10

The Fountains of Silence (2019): the Fountains of Silence tells the unknown story of how the Spanish people recovered after their own civil war. Told through the eyes of a photographer tourist from Texas, and a hotel employee who works hard for every penny she earns. This novel shows the trials and tribulations of most families during the reconstruction, but the star of this novel is truly the romance. Greatest of all, you get to learn about what’s really happening with the Spanish government behind closed doors. My Rating: 9/10

-Asli B. 

The works of Ruta Sepetys are available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. They can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

Book Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

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between_shades_grayBetween Shades of Gray is not your everyday World War II book. For example, Hitler and the Jewish people are not the main characters. Instead, this novel focuses on Joseph Stalin. Before reading this book, I knew nothing about Stalin. I thought that Hitler was the only thing going on during this war. Maybe you thought so, too. If so, this is a fantastic historical fiction novel which provides another side of the conflict. It was not only Jews who were affected during this time frame.

The story follows Lina Vilkas and her family through the hardships they face after being deported from Lithuania. After months of travel, in a crowded train car, they are brought to a place much different than Lithuania, and here they are forced to work every day, with a small piece of bread as their payment. After some time, the family is again transported. However, this time to a much harsher climate, where surviving is even more difficult. They face disease, severe weather, the deaths of close ones, and brutal treatment from almost all of the NKVD guards. Through it all, Lina keeps track of what happens in journals and drawings, in hopes that she might one day contact her father again.

This novel is very touching. I would not recommend it if you are sensitive to the somewhat graphic treatment of death in this novel. Stalin’s repressive measures against his people and the imprisonment and execution of “enemies of the Soviet people” were heavy themes throughout the book. Nevertheless, I learned a lot about this important part of history.

My favorite part of the novel was the very end. You’ll have to read it for yourself to understand, but the epilogue was a perfect conclusion to this novel.

-Leila S., 9th grade