Patron Saints of Nothing

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!

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.