by Ruta Sepetys, 319 pages, Grades 8 and up.

Cristian is growing up in Romania in 1989 when the Communist dictator Ceaușescu was in power. In this place and time people are struggling to get the most basic necessities, and while they struggle their leaders live in luxury and pretend to the rest of the world that they have created a stable country. The dictator’s government keeps its people from exposing their lies by spying on everyone; in fact every person you meet might be a spy for the government, so you cannot trust anyone. Everyday people are compelled to spy on one another when government agents threaten to arrest family members based on false evidence of crimes (and most people arrested are never seen again) or convinced to spy in exchange for food or medicine people desperately need to keep their family members alive. Cristian has the opportunity to meet the American Ambassador to Romania. He sees how differently this family interacts and begins to hope there is a better life out there, or maybe a better future for his country.  Cristian secretly wonders if he might be able to finally get the truth out about the conditions in his country, but what if someone finds out he spoke up? Will they hurt his family? Will they arrest him? How can he make the truth plain to the Americans without risking his family’s safety?

Check here for this book's availability.

If you enjoy historical fiction Ruta Sepetys is a master and has written several others you might like as well: Salt to the Sea (WW2), Fountains of Silence (1957 Spain under Franco)  and Between Shades of Gray (1941 Lithuania).

Tags: Romania, historical fiction, suspense, betrayal, family, friendship