Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Product Details
Web ID: 11772940Fantastic Real-World Mystery
I loved this story about Jay, who flies to the Philippines during his senior Spring Break, to try to find out what happened to his distant cousin, Jun. Though they used to be close, the cousins have lost touch and Jay's parents have been informed that Jun was killed for being a drug dealer, part of President Duarte's cutthroat measures to fight the War on Drugs in the Philippines. There is a truly compelling mystery at the heart of this novel, which kept me turning pages and seeking answers. But what I loved the most about this book was Jay's experiences visiting different part of the Philippines, meeting up with family he hasn't seen in years, and connecting with an aspect of his culture from which he has become separated. I felt like I was in the Philippines with him and I gained a real sense of the culture, politics and people through this reading experience. I recommend this book to my students regularly and it tends to be popular. A great YA title!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Pulled my heartstrings!
What an amazing story! The characters pulled me right into this thrilling and heartwrenching adventure! My heart ached in all the right places, and I'm so pleased with how this book gave such great Filipino representation! The characters each felt so real, and the author's settings were really realistic and shaping. My mind was whisked to another world (Well, the Philippines, to be exact) and I was sucked along right into the plot. I felt as if I was really there experiencing everything the characters did. The ending was really something. It was satisfying, to say the least. I loved how the story ended, even if it didn't end in the way that I was expecting. In all, I'm very pleased with this book and would recommend it to absolutely any teen!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Identity, Loss, Multidimensional, and Honest
Patron of Saints is one of the only novels I have read, that has offered such a complete and accurate storytelling of the Filipino-American experience. By weaving a murder-mystery into the plot, Randy Ribay explores identity, grief, political and societal issues, and reminds the reader that there is nuance and complexity surrounding every individual--and country. I highly recommend this novel for Filipino-Americans or anyone looking for a solid, but compelling investigatory and informational read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Enjoyed this!
I have really been in the mood for young adult stories with heartbreaking moments. I’m so glad I came across this book and got around to read it. This has such great representation on Filipino-American like in the United States. This story also deals with the use of grief and loss. Also shows how to move on and why that’s very important. I absolutely loved how this story had a different culture and how heartwarming it was. I really enjoyed every single moment in this story. I don’t typically read coming of age book, but I’m so glad I got around to reading this one. It’s definitely out of my comfort zone, but I really did enjoy it. I really would like to read more stories like this one. I loved it so much that I already want to read it again. I’m only knowing it down to a 4 star because I felt that some moments were a bit overboard. However, I would highly recommend this!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Family drama
I really enjoyed the preview of Patron Saints of Nothing. Jay is a Filipino American in his senior year of high school when he receives word that one of his cousins in the Philippines has died. At one time, Jay was pen pals with Jun, but it had been years since Jay had reached out to Jun. Jay feels a great deal of guilt about not keeping in touch and has many questions about the circumstances surrounding Jun's passing. With so many questions and no answers from his parents, Jay decides that he wants to go to the Philippines and found out what lead to Jun's death. This is where the preview stopped. I am looking forward to reading the entire novel when it is released.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Beautiful and Heartwarming
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Jason (aka Jay) is a young American Filipino teen. When he finds out that his favorite cousin has died, he travels to the Philippines to find out what happened. His uncle is a strict and angry man and refuses to help Jay what happened to his son. Throughout Jay’s journey he gets to know his family and makes new friends and eventually learns the truth of the young man his cousin had become. Jay is a kind and empathetic character that you can’t help but want to succeed. His development over the course of the book is profound, as is the growth of the other characters. I love how the relationships between the various members of the family progress. Even though the death of his cousin is sad, the book is overwhelmingly heartwarming. I thought it was beautiful.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Current event must Read
At the heart of this book is a story about grief but there are also other layers; discussions of how Americans often turn a blind eye to issues in other countries, how immigrating from one’s home country can affect your relationship with your family and your culture, discussions of homelessness, and poverty, and substance abuse, and racism. As I read, I was amazed at how well this story showcased both sides of the argument when it came to the War on Drugs. It’s clear what the author’s message about the issue is, and yet he creates characters who are convinced both ways and argue well in either direction so that the subject is never presented as black and white, or easy to solve, and you’re allowed to see the reasoning behind people who support it. In comparison to such a great and multi-layered story, I couldn’t help but feel that the writing was a bit lackluster. Although it did fit Jay’s perspective as a teen boy, it seemed to me too obvious when it was summarizing rather than blending and flowing the way I wished it had, and there were several spelling and grammar errors that could have been easily fixed. So much goes on in this story, and there are so many layers to the conflict, that there would have been no easy way to end it. The conclusions that we’re given are somewhat open-ended, which seemed to me to be the only reasonable option, but also ended up a bit hasty. My least favorite part of this was the romance aspect. Although I liked the romantic interest as a character, it seemed an unnecessary part of the story and felt somewhat incomplete. I wouldn’t have minded this so much, however, if the decisions and conclusions at the end of the book weren’t admitted to being at least partly because of this romance. I can believe, due to age and what we know about the characters, that that’s plausible, but with all the other important commentary it’s definitely not the best note to leave the story on, and not the greatest message to send to young readers. I rated "Patron Saints of Nothing" 4 out of 5 stars. Fans of "The Hate U Give" might like this.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fantastic! Loved it!
This book is SO GOOD! I felt so much and learned so much. The characters are deep and complex, and they will stay with me for a long time. There are no easy answers and yet, there are profound truths revealed at all the right moments. The writing is incredibly readable, modern, and beautiful all at the same time. I feel like a better person having read this book and at the same time, I am aware even more of how far I have to go and how much suffering that is going on in the world that I know nothing about it. Jay's journey is one we all need to go on, most especially Americans, to discover how we are patron saints of nothing. Yet, we can all be the light, we can all change, we are all human and complex, not all good or all bad. I received this free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com