Reviews with content warning for Death - Patron Saints of Nothing

im known around my friends for being the relentless optimist, and it shines most when contrasted against subject matter like this.
i dont often get to read about my actual culture as a fil-am kid, so this was an amazingly intimate read for me. this book represents a real filipino family, and i am so glad to be a witness of it. the mood and atmosphere was captured beautifully, and ill definitely be looking into ribay's other books.

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l_arand's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

randy ribay’s patron saints of nothing follows the story of jay, a biracial filipino american in his senior year of high school. once he’s told about his cousin jun’s death and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it, he uses his spring break to travel to the philippines in hopes of finding the truth about jun and his death.

i need everyone to read this book. not only does it provide insight into the drug war and duterte’s policies, it also shines a light on the way americans sensationalize what’s going on in foreign countries.
i think a line of bo burham’s how the world works can put this into words better than i can, “why do you rich fucking white people insist on seeing every socio political conflict through the myopic lense of your own self actualisation? this isn’t about you.”
this can be aimed towards jay, our narrator, by his family members in the philippines, especially grace and tito maning. jay gives us an interesting perspective because he was naturalized in the states. more specifically, the midwest. he’s dealing with an identity crisis over his birthplace and race while being told by his white peers that “you’re basically white.” jay is self aware and is incredibly conscious of how american ideals have been ingrained into him, but he can’t help but think that some of the things going on in his home country would be different if they too functioned based off of said ideals. the exchanges between him and grace (his cousin and jun’s younger sister) are quite eye opening and serve as a commentary on national and cultural differences.

that wasn’t an incredibly eloquent review and it was hard to put my thoughts into words, but i hope that doesn’t discourage anyone from reading it. ribay also has sources with information pertaining to the drug war at the end of the book, and ways one can support the fight against it from afar. just, please read the book.

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vcords_'s review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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carterhoward's review

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Brilliant.

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mandkips's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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jamies's review

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

i don't have the words to explain how stunning this book was, i saw myself through the eyes of jay as i am also a filipino living abroad that wants to learn about their culture, i had other similarities with him but i won't expand on it anymore. it was an amazing read and i think more people should read this book right now!!!

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marissasa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I knew this book would hit hard the moment I read the dedication page "For the hyphenated" and realized it meant to all the Filipino-Americans, children of immigrants like myself, but wow did this story break my heart on a deep level. The portrayal of family in this book is so damn accurate, from the way adult family members dance around talking about uncomfortable topics to the way that Jay's cousins interacted with him. The characterization felt so realistic with Tito Maning's machismo and his Marcos apologist beliefs, Tita Chato and her partner, Jay's Lolo and Lola, and the (absolutely hilarious) fact that Grace met her girlfriend online through a Yuri on Ice fan forum. I loved the use of letters from Jun as a way for us to learn more about the memory of him that Jay had and nothing compared to the emotional payoff towards the end when Jay reads out loud his final letter to Jun that he never got to send. I love that this book doesn't shy away from the reality of drug usage in the Philippines and reiterates that those who use or push aren't any less deserving of their lives because of it, that it calls out the corruption of the Philippine government but understands the valid reasons more people experiencing it don't speak out about it, and that it hits home the message of "none of us is one thing." I want every Fil-Am to read this book because I truly think there is so much to identify with in Jay and that so much of his story, although maybe not along the exact same lines, resonates with Fil-Am identity and with navigating the line between the two countries.

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dkayayay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

An extremely important book that sheds light on the Drug War in the Philippines and focuses on the victims that have been harmed or have lost their life due to an ill-educated society about drugs. Doing drugs is not something that a human being should ever be killed for. This book explores the inhumane acts that Duterte has done and has implored others to do, leading to an innumerable amount of innocent lives lost. All this is told through the perspective of a 17 year old Filipino teenager, who lives in America and is shocked to find out one day that his cousin in which he lost contact with, died a sudden death. No one will tell him about it, so he decides to take matters into his own hands and tries to figure out what happened. It was such an enlightening read and one that more people should read. It also had really great representation of Filipino teenagers living overseas and grappling with national identity as well as the connection between oneself and their country. Such a beautiful book.

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