Patron Saints of Nothing

4.5/5

[cw: death, drugs, abusive parenting]

i have mixed feelings about it. very enjoyable read overall but i definitely need a lot of thinking and maybe a few re-reads to properly construct an opinion.

for now i think i would've liked this better if it wasn't so ya-ish. i get that jay's young and that inferred to the way the story worked but i feel like some of the narrative had been held back because of the writing.

in some parts, i feel so disappointed. but maybe it meant that the storytelling is believable? jay believed in jun's goodness and the betrayal was felt as we continue to see the truth.

another thing about the reveal is that it's too convenient. honestly, a lot of things in this book is TOO CONVENIENT to happen in my opinion. like, with how the book made it seem like Jun's story has more to it, just like how jay had been pointing out, but at the end out of all the possibilities they just had to pick the most obvious yet disappointing one.

we didn't explore much of jay's real struggles but the whole thing about how he died and the circumstances around it is so convenient. like the author just picked it because its the path of least resistance and its easier to tie all the plotpoints if that's all that happened. i also think that all that word-vomit about the ejk and drug war lost its sense because of this choice. like, if you're going to choose that plotpoint as jun's background, at least make it convincing and establish it better.

i honestly keep on thinking, dude wouldn't even get away with all the stuff he had done if he isn't a. a man and b. a foreigner on vacation.

(but god, so many plotlines are left open, i feel so confused.)

also, i think what irked me the most was the inclusion of the loveline because i think this book will work without that. especially with a loveline has people migrating to countries to be with a person they only met for about a month and cheaters.

I love books that take me on a journey. This one did just that. I was sucked in from the first few paragraphs, and my eyes were opened to a world I knew nothing of before picking up this book. And yes, there were tears. Real tears. What a memorable experience, reading this book. Hence, the 5 stars!

This is an interesting perspective that I'm glad I took the time to read. This story follows high school senior Jason, born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, on a journey of discovery. After he finds out his cousin has been murdered, Jay takes it upon himself to return to the Philippines and investigate. Though this is a work of fiction, the political backdrop of Duterte's drug war is all too real. And this landscape is the one that Jay must try to navigate in his search for the truth. Social justice, complex family relationships, and the interplay of grief and guilt are all main themes of this novel. Obviously it's not the happiest of stories, but it's also not all doom and gloom. A solid addition to YA lit.

absolutely phenomenal. this spoke to my experience as a filipino-american more than anything else, amplifying the importance of the existence of this book.

but the real core value of this book is showing the world the philippines that they cannot see. this shows the world our culture, our love, our families, our food, our soul, and also all of our ugliness. i know there are so many bad things going on in the world, but turning a blind eye will do no one any good. educate yourselves and lift up the voices of those who can tell you more. please immerse yourself in this beautiful, gripping, and tear-jerking story, i promise it is worth it.

thank you, randy ribay, for everything that this book is.

In The Patron Saints of Nothing, Jay, a Filipino-American teenager, learns that, back in the Philippines, his cousin Jun has been killed. No one will speak of Jun's death, his family didn't give him a funeral, and even though Jay is a fairly typical self-involved teen thinking of not much more than video games and what college he'll attend, he knows this isn't right. He and Jun had been closer when they were younger, communicating regularly through letters, but over time, Jay had stopped writing. Against his parents' wishes, he goes to the Philippines to visit his distant family and to see what he can learn about what really happened to Jun.

This story touches on some deep topics. The lengths to which family will go to protect their secrets or maintain control of a situation. How difficult it may be to really know even those closest to us. The harsh reality of Philippine President Duterte's war on drugs. It was enlightening, as I'm not familiar with the culture of the Philippines or events occurring there.

I felt for Jay, trying to get to the bottom of a puzzle his family (both in the U.S. and the Philippines) didn't want him digging into. Mr. Ribay does a good job illustrating the conflict Jay felt at various times, the conflict of going against his family's wishes, of trying to maintain calm under his uncle's domination, of figuring out what really matters in life.

Thanks to BookishFirst for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Truly excellent and should be up for more awards beyond the National Book Award come YMA season! My only tiny quibble is on one page his phone was dead and then 2 pages later it magically was working, but that's beyond minor. A unique story and perspective that was elegantly and emotionally written. Moving and thoughtful, I'll be thinking about this book for a while and recommending it to everyone I talk to!

Jay Reguero, a Filipino-American teenager, travels to the Philippines after the death of his cousin. His aunt and uncle are not at all willing to talk about what happened, leaving him to piece together the mystery of how his cousin died, what the country's going through, and how that all connects to his identity.

Content/Trigger Warning: Drug use, addiction, death, death of an animal, human trafficking (discussion of).

FIRST OF ALL, I am not Filipino, so therefore I am unable to speak about the issues addressed in the book. I recommend you search for ownvoices reviews about this book, because it deals with a very real and current and intense issue, which I do not have much knowledge of it. But I did absolutely love and adore this book, which is why I wanted to review it and talk about it.

I LIKED how the book took me along with Jay – I could feel myself sitting in the same room as him, felt his pain, shared his feelings about Jun. And that's always a way to tell if a book is a favourite – if I am able to be in the same place as the character, if I feel what they feel. I liked seeing the Philippines, I like seeing new places and this book also deals with having to claim your identity, who you are, and what all that means. And while I can't exactly connect with all of that, I can try to understand it.

JUN was definitely my favourite character, I did really like Jay, but the letters Jun wrote to Jay just took my heart and ran with it. There was so much of Jun that I absolutely loved – his personality, his way of speaking, the way he looked up to Jay, how he started to look at the world as he grew up. And the letters, oh my goodness, I could literally go on for about hours about the letters he wrote. Jun had so much going for him and I think one of the reasons why I like him so much is because this is a case of the character having a lot (to do in their life or a lot to look out for etc) and then by circumstances (whether they be beyond their control or social-environmental); those plans begin to fall apart.

THERE'S this trope – well, it's sort of a trope but maybe more like a subgenre, or a subject if you will – I like (and I think I usually come across it in movies and series) where the kids/teens get justice or try to get justice. Like they see something's wrong and they try to fix it. It's probably because I grew up with Enid Blyton and all her books about kids solving mysteries. And this is important because so often we see things happen and adults do nothing about it and it's the kids who decide to take action, it's the kids who see something wrong and want to fight for the right thing. And especially now – in a world where people try to put kids or teens down because

JAY – oh my goodness this boy. I felt so much for him and he just needed to be held!! Like just let someone hold him. He wanted to know more about his family and the culture and what's all going on. And that even though not everything in his family might be good or that the country has its wrongs and faults, he still wants to claim that identity. He still wants to learn more.

I ALREADY mentioned I spoke about the letters, but I'm going to speak about it again. I loved reading Jun's letters to Jay. They're little parts of him (Jun) and then you get to see Jay's reactions to the letters – rereading them, and how he feels about Jun now and everything going on around him and it's so good. They deserved to spend more time with each other and I'm sad they didn't get to do that.

This is an impactful and a very important read. I love this so much and one of the reasons is because I'm very much familiar and can relate to a lot of things mentioned in this book. I can also fully understand the topic of the story and it hits close to home. It saddens me that even the story of Jun is fictional, the thing that caused his death is not, and a lot of victims and their families suffered the same way. This is an absolute eye opener on how the war on drugs in the Philippines is not a solution, but rather a fuel added to the fire.