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createandchaos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Patron Saints of Nothing is a poignant novel, tackling Duterte's war on drugs, how it affects those left behind, and reconciling with the ideas that made it happen when you are practically a foreigner yourself.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Police brutality
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
ghoulomatic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
kalmia31's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Alcohol
jht5791's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Police brutality
bookishbaddie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Violence, Murder, War, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
mysterymom40's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting
jamies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
the_reading_seal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Trafficking
dkayayay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Trafficking, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Pedophilia
sammiesshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This story follows Jay, a half Filipino teen who was born in the Philippines but raised in America. He finds out that his cousin, Jun, who he used to be pen pals with, has died at the age of seventeen under mysterious circumstances that the family doesn't want to talk about, and so he asks to spend his spring break in the Philippines to get to the bottom of what is going on.
Patron Saints of Nothing is a beautiful story that not only criticizes the drug war started by Rodrigo Duterte but also details what it is like to be an outsider in a country and a family that is supposedly your own. Jay is repeatedly criticized for his lack of knowledge of his birth country and Tagalog, and it is quite hard for him to reconnect with the family he hasn't seen in eight years. It is also hard for him to reconcile his Americanized reality with the reality in the Philippines. Seeing this already tense situation unfold on top of the fact of his family's refusal to acknowledge his cousin's death, the tension is palpable.
The writing in this book is also beautiful. There is an abundance of lyrical quotes that make you feel transported into the mind of Jay and depict his emotions in a way that no other words could.
Overall, this was a beautiful novel about what makes a person good and asks if there is any real justification for murder. With morally grey characters, it makes for a complex and riveting story.
Graphic: Death, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Trafficking