*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kokila through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

This was a beautiful work of love. This was heart-breaking and hopeful at the same time.

As the daughter of parents that immigrated from Colombia to the United States, some of the sentiments and some of the conflicts where familiar to me. This story follows Jay, who travels to the Philippines after hearing about the death of his cousin Jun. Jay's father immigrated the United States from the Philippines and Jay feels a bit disconnected from Filipino culture during the majority of the book. This is something that first generation Americans can relate to and I feel that Randy Ribay described this so well. It's the classic issue of not being American enough to be an American, but also not being Filipino (or in my case, Colombian) enough to be a "real" Filipino.

I loved that Jay's descriptions of the Philippines are so full of love and appreciation. At times I found him a bit too quick to judge, but his character did develop over the course of the book. This book truly made me reflect on how much I really know about what's going on in Colombia, and how little effort I have put forth to stay connected to my country. I loved Jay's journey of self-reflection and it has inspired me to be more proactive about how often I keep up with current events in Colombia.

I also enjoyed the underlying mystery to the plot. I enjoyed following Jay as he uncovered more and more information about Jun's life and the events that led up to his death. Obviously, the plot is so much more than uncovering the mysterious circumstances of Jun's death. It's also about the political environment of the Philippines, which I know very little about.

Overall, this book was a journey. It was hard to read at times, but completely worth it. I think that this would be especially impactful for readers who are first generation Americans.

Seventeen-year-old Jay Reguero was born in the Philippines but has grown up in the United States. His father moved the family to suburban Michigan when a Jay was very young seeking a better life and opportunities. Jay has maintained a relationship with his cousin Jun via writing letters even though email and messaging would be faster and easier. Jay and Jun’s story is told in first person narrative and through these hand written letters.

After Jay learns his cousin has been killed, he begins to search for the truth about how and why Jun was killed. This is all amid President’s Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. The news of Jun’s death shocks Jay out of his senioritis repose. He is more than shocked to learn his cousin was killed by the police in the Philippines for presumably using drugs, Jay makes a radical move to spend his spring break in the Philippines to find out the whole story. Jay had not corresponded with Jun in a very long time even though Jun’s letters arrived like clockwork. This fact leaves Jay wracked with guilt for ignoring his beloved cousin and now he’s is gone forever.

Jay is of mixed heritage (his mother is white) and his father a Filipino immigrant. Jay even though he is considered “a spoiled American” bravely visits his native home and family left behind. The dialogue is believable and the cast of characters is strong as this author weaves a deeply emotional story about family ties, addiction, and the complexity of truth. The tender relationship between Jay and Jun is heart warming and heart breaking.

I enjoyed learning the culture of the people of the Philippines and found myself down the rabbit hole several times as I googled terms unfamiliar to me.

(Fiction. 14-18)

Thank you Netgally and Penguin Young Reader’s Group for the privilege to read this ARC.

Jay is a Filipino-american youth with one semester left of high school when he finds out his cousin in the Philippines has been killed. He convinces his parents to send him back to his aunts and uncles so he can try to figure out what happened.

Before you think this is a white savior narrative (it really isn't), I must say I was impressed by how the author used this story of a somewhat uninformed teenager to tell this story. Like many immigrant narratives, Jay doesn't feel he belongs in America, especially when coming home every day feels like coming home to the Philippines in food and cultural expectations, but then his family has insisted he learn and speak English, so in other ways he isn't Filipino enough. Traveling back to Manila he hears frequent protests that he (and his father) are the "ones who left," meaning they can't know what it's like there, and also shouldn't be making any judgments.

Since Jay and his cousin Jun are close in age, it's like getting to examine the same life if he had stayed vs if he moved away. And things obviously didn't go well for his cousin, who seems to have suffered unfairly because of President Duterte's war on "drugs" that also seem to be taking out poor, homeless, and other passersby on the side. Jay has to work hard to uncover the truth, all while living with family members that are more on board with the current administration than he ever could have expected.

This is a YA novel, but the stakes are real stakes and the main character has a lot to work out between the various conflicting opinions in the family, the true dangers he confronts while trying to find the truth, and his own grief. There is also the family and friends he left at ... home? He isn't even sure where home is. I felt the ending was meaningful and realistic.

This was an amazing book. It is realistic fiction and deals with current events in the Philippines, where the president is fighting a war on drugs by allowing the police to kill suspected drug dealers and users.

Jason is a Filipino-American who grew up in America but has family back in his home country. He finds out his cousin, Jun, was killed because he was involved in drugs, but there will be no funeral or memorial service. Jay lost touch with his cousin over the years and decides to go back to the Philippines to find out what happened, and ease his guilty conscience. What he finds out when he gets there is full of twists, confusion, and understanding.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jay hasn't visited his father's hometown in the Philippines in 8 years, and he hasn't spoken with his cousin Jun in nearly 4 years. Despite being best friends, life got in the way and Jay feels guilty that he quit responding to Jun's letters. When Jay hears that Jun is dead, he decides to travel to the Philippines to uncover the secrets surrounding his death.

I liked the mystery element of Jay's journey and the growth that he experiences. I found the writing to be less accessible than Ribay's other works, and this will be a harder sell for my readers.

PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING by Randy Ribay is excellent and I am highly recommending this newly available title. The publisher, Kokila, is a Penguin Random House imprint "dedicated to centering stories from the margins with books that add nuance and depth to the way children and young adults see the world and their place in it." They have certainly succeeded with this coming of age novel which centers on a high school senior, Jason/Jay who was born in the Philippines, but raised in the United States by his Filipino father and American mother. As a roughly 10-year-old child, Jay (with his parents and siblings) had visited family in the Philippines, where he developed a special relationship with his same age cousin, Jun. That young man and his younger sisters, Grace and Angel, led a privileged life due to their father's role as a police chief. But conflicts erupted in the family, causing Jun to run away and live on the streets, eventually being killed by anti-drug vigilantes sanctioned by President Duterte. The sad news has a strong impact on Jay and he decides to spend his spring break returning to the Philippines, trying to learn more about his cousin's death. In its starred review, Booklist says, "By deftly weaving key details into Jay's quest for the truth, Ribay provides a much-needed window for young people of the West to better understand the Filipino history of colonization, occupation, and revolution." PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING also received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal; the latter described the novel as "Part mystery, part elegy, part coming of age, this novel is a perfect convergence of authentic voice and an emphasis on inner dialogue around equity, purpose, and reclaiming one's lost cultural identity."

Because of the ties to World History, I have been actively encouraging Sophomore English teachers to consider adding PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING to the curriculum. Hopefully, the publisher will be able to support this effort with a discussion guide and other teacher resources. NPR recently posted an interview with the author, Randy Ribay.

Links in live post:
https://global.penguinrandomhouse.com/announcements/penguin-young-readers-to-launch-new-imprint-kokila/
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/17/727649223/patron-saints-of-nothing-is-a-book-for-the-hyphenated

Did I buy this book for the library ? Yes. Will I use it in bookclubs? Yes. Will I push this into student and teachers hands? Yes.
This is an absolute must read. I admit I knew nothing about the Philippines & President Duterte's war on drugs. So obviously I found it pretty shocking. My 15 year old son read this before me and just said, Mom you need to know this, please read it. And this is what I will be telling others when I hand it to them. When an American teen (or adult) can look outside of their lives and their privelege, it can only broaden their world view.. We can't always travel to understand it so I am so grateful for books like Patron Saints of Nothing that can help illustrate world problems .

This is one of those books that needed some time to digest after I finished reading. I personally know very little about the Philippines and even less about the drug war there. This book gave me an opportunity to learn more about the pride and traditions of Filipinos while also exploring the world of an American immigrant, the desire for something more and what they leave behind by coming to this country. It was well-written, and I was easily drawn into the setting and conversation between characters. I look forward to recommending this story to my high school students.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kokila/Penguin Group, and the author for the advanced reader copy.

This is an important book. As an own-voices novel, it provides a perspective that is honest and powerful. The emotions fly off the page and hit you every time, hard. Jay's search for the truth and closure keeps the reader deeply invested, as we try to understand what happened to his cousin and why. It's a big why, that has a lot of political, class, and racial connotations, and that is what lifts this story up beyond the surface level. It brings you into a world so seldom seen in today's literature, even in our news, through the eyes of someone who is torn between worlds, between cultures and identities. It brings a needed humanizing effect to Duterte's war on drugs in the Philippines through the lens of a character who not only has a personal connection, but has to come to terms with the privilege he has received growing up in America. The hard look at privilege is a valuable narrative that should not be missed.

Even before I begin this review, let me say that all of you need to read this book. Having said that, Patron Saints of Nothing is not an easy read either. You will need some tissues, a heart ready to take in some raw emotions, and more than anything, a mind open enough to learn, know and understand a life and experience so different from your own. Patron Saints of Nothing is an important book, as an immigrant narrative, a fine representation of the Filipino community and a powerful exploration of the consequences of the war on drugs in Philippines.

Jay is Filipino American, and his story is both a narrative of an immigrant kid who rediscovers his identity through a journey to his parents’ country, as well as an honest and heartbreaking look at the way the war on drugs has impacted the beautiful country. I can already see this book being compared to The Hate U Give and/or Darius the Great is Not Okay for those above reasons. I can totally see the similarities, and would recommend this to anyone who loved either of those books – especially Darius. But let me also say that it is very easy to group all minority experiences into one and claim that they are the same, but each experience is different, and to reduce them into one monolith is both a disservice and very problematic.

Patron Saints of Nothing is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. It is also honest and does not hold back anything. It does not sensationalize it, nor does it try to present a solution. In fact I loved how Jay was no American saviour. I was also reminded of my 2016 visit to Philippines, and it made me miss all those memories and my friends. Philippines is such a beautiful country – granted I only saw Manila in my two week trip – but I have such fond memories of the place, and it felt so great to revisit those through Jay’s journey in the book.

Jay’s narrative is so powerful and important, that I will absolutely recommend this book to everyone. More and more YA books are travelling out of the US and/or representing lesser explored Asian countries and communities, and I could not be more happier. Please add Patron Saints of Nothing to your TBRs, preorder the book, read it and recommend it to everyone in return.

TW: loss of a loved one, mentions of animal death, talk of human trafficking, talk of rape and assault, drug abuse, grey area cheating, police brutality

I can speak two languages and two local dialects but I still don't have enough words to express just how important this #ownvoices book is to me. Patron Saints of Nothing is not perfect but it's one of the books that I will never forget in this life. This is truly one of the best books I have read this year and you should read it too.

5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD READ PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING BY RANDY RIBAY

• Ribay isn't afraid to talk about difficult issues

Patron Saints of Nothing is an eye-opener. It talks about colorism, privilege, ethnocentrism, drug addiction, religion, and even gives insight on Filipino politics. Some of these subjects are considered as taboo (especially in the Philippines) but Randy Ribay handled them so well.

"The high-rises of downtown Manila are behind us, but the billboards persist, advertising shampoo, fast-food restaurants, new housing developments, local politicians, cell phone plans, and anything else it’s possible to sell. Almost all the models have skin as light or lighter than mine."

Seeing my country through Jay's eyes was enlightening. I am a full-blooded Filipina yet I sometimes feel like I'm still a stranger to my own country. I haven't yet seen the full scope of my country's current state with my own two eyes. This is hugely because I've been sheltered most of my life in a peaceful town where we are able to breathe unpolluted air. I haven't even been to Manila so it seemed like I was also traveling with Jay as he trudged through the city to uncover the truth about his cousin's death.

Patron Saints of Nothing revolves around President Duterte's war on drugs and I can't even begin to describe the accuracy of how Randy Ribay portrayed just how much Filipinos glorify this president in the way Jay's Tito Maning seems to treat him like an otherworldly saint. It pains me that most Filipinos put Duterte on a pedestal and ignore his problematic behavior (saying rape jokes and misogynistic comments, objectifying women, cursing the church). I JUST CAN'T FATHOM WHY PEOPLE TURN A BLIND EYE ON EVERYTHING. It's my heart's wish for every Filipino to read this book to realize that there are a lot of negative repercussions to Duterte's seemingly honorable policies.

• The prose is lyrical and thought-evoking

This might be one of my most-highlighted books of all time. Randy Ribay has a way with words that makes you hold on to every letter until your soul soaks it up completely. Patron Saints of Nothing also includes letters from Jay's cousin. I especially loved the letters because Ribay established Jun (Jay's cousin) as this dreamer and idealist. I just couldn't help but hang on to his thoughts and reflect on his opinions.

"People are sick and starving to death in our country, in our streets, and nobody cares. They worry instead about grades and popularity and money and trying to go to America. I don’t want to be another one of those people who just pretends like they don’t know about the suffering, like they don’t see it every single day, like they don’t walk past it on their way to school or work."

I may have sobbed a hundred times because of the beautiful writing. Here's one of my favorite passages from the book to convince you that Y'ALL SHOULDN'T SLEEP ON THIS BOOK:

"I am not truly Filipino, so I don’t understand the Philippines. But isn’t this deeper than that, doesn’t this transcend nationality? Isn’t there some sense of right and wrong about how human beings should be treated that applies no matter where you live, no matter what language you speak? I’m alone in this. Somebody needs to clear Jun’s name, even if nothing comes of it. We failed him in life. We should not fail him in death."

• ‎The characters are relatable

I guess I could relate to all the characters in some degree but I can especially understand Jay with his college struggles. I know it's not a major plot point but it's one that truly resonated within me. I will be going to college in a few months and boy do I have a thousand doubts. WHAT IF I CHOSE THE WRONG PROGRAM? IS MY CAMPUS GOOD ENOUGH? WHAT BOOKS SHOULD I BRING TO MY DORM???

Me asking all the important questions ☝☝☝

• ‎It accurately shows Filipino life

My heart just about bursted while reading this because Filipinos hardly get the right representation in the traditional publishing industry and Randy Ribay gave it to us thank you very much. Patron Saints of Nothing accurately portrays Filipino culture from the complexity of our families to our love for karaokes.

Not to mention that this book also made me appreciate my country's history and culture more than I ever thought was possible. This book depicts the positives and negatives of Filipino culture without sensationalizing anything. These words from Jay really punched me to the gut:

"It strikes me that I cannot claim this country’s serene coves and sun-soaked beaches without also claiming its poverty, its problems, its history."

• ‎‎It educates without coming across as preaching

There are a lot of things that you can learn from Jay's short-yet-life-changing vacation to the Philippines, most of which I will encourage my rusty brain to remember. This is a very powerful book that enlightens readers without coming across as preaching. For one, this book gives emphasis on the importance of spreading the truth and speaking up which really made me do a sudden self-evaluation. This is the kind of book that will make you stare at the wall and think long after you've finished reading it.

It's been a while since a book hit me this hard. It reminded me of how little I can know about a thing, how easily I can fall into a research hole, and how ultimately people are all the same no matter how different we appear. The chapters breeze by, and I rushed through it in three days.

This book is about a Filipino American teen who goes to visit family in the Philippines following his cousin's death, and it really highlighted how little I know about the Philippines. I knew vaguely about Duterte, having seen some of Daniel Berehulak's Pulitzer-winning photos at the Newseum (these photos are alluded to in the book). Our narrator Jay doesn't know a whole lot about the Philippines either, and Ribay does a good job of both exploring the internal conflict that creates and providing context for American readers not familiar with the culture. There is a scene where Jay is being shown around a Filipino History Museum, and it definitely made me look up the country on Wikipedia to learn more about the American and Japanese occupations.

The plot is nuanced and ultimately falls along similar lines to John Green's Paper Towns-- we have to imagine other people complexly because they are much more than what we imagine them to be. Even the book's main antagonist is ultimately shown in a complex light, and several of Jay's family members give logical explanations as to why citizens might support Duterte.

Overall, A+. Unexpected, well written, and from a perspective I haven't ever seen before. If you're looking to add diverse books to your library/reading list, this is definitely one. In addition to being the only YA book about the Philippines I'm aware of, there are also several LGBTQ characters (and their LGBTQ status is in no way part of the plot, it's just a character trait).

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher as part of a blog tour. Since I received an ARC, my quotes from the book are tentative.

I just want to preface this review by saying this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Like the main character of this book, I am half Filipino and half white. Seeing myself represented in literature means the world to me. I also want to say that I’ve never been to the Philippines so I can’t speak to anything in that regard.

Wow. This book was everything. I don’t even know where to begin.

First off, all the Filipino culture was amazing to see. I’ve never read a book with this much Filipino culture. Every time I saw something, I was like, “Yeah, that’s my culture right there!” By the way, that happened a lot throughout this book.

The blurb on the back of the cover compares this book to Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give. That was likely a marketing ploy, but in a way I do see merit to that comparison. There’s something about Randy Ribay’s writing that reminds me of Angie Thomas’s. They both like to bring up big points in subtle ways. If you’ve read my review of THUG, you’ll see some examples. In this book, one example is when the author casually brings up the American human zoos. Tito Maning says to Jay, “Do you know the Americans stole entire villages and then displayed them in your country as I they were animals in a zoo?” (pg. 153). Yes, that really did happen. Just google, “1904 World’s Fair filipino.” I only just learned about that when I was in college.

I thought that the author did a great job describing the President Duterte’s war on drugs in a multifaceted way. He showcased different viewpoints on it and shared actual accounts, like the story of Kian delos Santos, who was unjustly shot and killed by the police.

As for the plot and what happened with Jun, there was a lot of gray areas, which made it feel realistic. Things aren’t so clear cut which is what happens in real life. I appreciated that approach.

Basically, I just want to thank the author for writing this book. Not only does this book successfully highlight the biracial Filipino American experience, but it also shines a light on a lesser known social injustice.

To end, I want to share a quote that really hit me:

“It strikes me that I cannot claim this country’s serene coves and sun-soaked beaches without also claiming its poverty, its problems, its history. To say that any aspect of it is part of me is to say that all of it is part of me” (pg. 227).

Patron Saints of Nothing is a beautiful and emotional read. Jay’s experiences feel complicated and real, and I felt such a connection to him as he begins to understand his family and his heritage. I will definitely be recommending this book to others.

I really wanted to like this but it just wasn't happening for me. It didn't grab me from the beginning and it just was a flat story after that. Plus it has a subject that is pretty violent. I can usually deal with fictional violence but this is about true things going on in the Philippines right now. The readers were supposed to care about Jay and his cousin Jun but I didn't feel much towards them or about them. I'm glad that other people are liking this book but it just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc of this book.

Interest Level: YA

If you found out that your cousin had been murdered would you do anything in your power to help bring the murder to justice? What if your cousin was murdered in another country by the government and police? Jay Reguero lives in the United States, is at the end of his senior year, and planning on going to the University of Michigan in the fall. His biggest worry in life is what video game he is going to play when he meets up with his best friend. Jay is a Filipino-American but he knows very little about his dad's Filipino history. The only real connection he has is being a pen pal to his cousin, Jun, who still lives in the Philippines. Jay gets too busy with his American life and lets several letters go unanswered before Jun finally quits writing. When Jun is killed because of the president's war on drugs, no one in the family wants to talk about it. Jay is determined to make his absenteeism up to him by getting to the bottom of his murder. Jay convinces his parents to let him go visit his family that still lives in the Philippines during spring break. Visiting his family is actually a ruse to just to get him over there. His plan is to get justice for his cousin's murder, but is he going to be ready for what he finds? Will Jay find out the truth of his cousin's life and death? Will Jay's family receive him with open arms or will he be shunned? Will Jay ever make it back it back home to America or will his snooping cause trouble for him? Read this powerful coming-of-age story that is full of grief, guilt, and a resilient love that only family can give.

This book still gives me goosebumps even days and weeks after I have read it. This is an incredible story about a boy that starts on a journey due to guilt, but he ends his journey full of love. Jay learns early that trying to sweep something under the rug is not what is best, even if it means angering family members. This was an amazing book that everyone should read! Don't miss it!!

So many reasons to read this book...
Family matters.
Secrets suck.
History is taking place right before our eyes.
Just because it's not happening to you, doesn't mean you shouldn't get involved.
Did I mention, Family matters?

Jay takes a giant leap into the world during the break before graduation.
His eyes open to the enormity of growing up and how he wants to fit into the world.
A world he realizes he wants to live in and make a difference.
Sheltered no more.

I give authors high praise when they draw me into their stories immediately - but when I can open my "window" and see a world I never knew existed (and am embarrassed I didn't know), I will shout this praise from the rooftops.

Ribay writes about Jay, a Filipino-American who kept in touch with his Filipino cousin, Jun, by snail mail. Until Jay stopped. Much later, so did Jun.

When Jay gets word Jun is dead, he sets off to his homeland to find out what really happened. When he arrives, he discovers living in the Philippines is very different from living in America. His American ego does not serve him well. Bunking with different family members, getting introduced to the culture, and seeing first hand the cruelty of "drug wars", Jay leaves the Philippines a different person - and may have found a purpose he didn't know he had.

This is a powerful coming of age book about a boy taken from is heritage when he was a baby, only to start questioning it again in his teens after the policia in the Philippines kill his cousin over drugs. Jay just doesn't understand, so he gets his parents to send to to his aunt and uncles under false pretenses for a visit so he can investigate without anyone's knowledge what really happened to his cousin. But what he finds might not be what really wants to know.

This is a powerful book in many diverse ways, not just Jay's coming of age, but how Jay is also coming to terms with his Filipino side and the side that kind of ditched his cousin Jun when he might have needed him most, not to mention the social injustices going on in the Philippines right now. The characters and the plot are so good in this story, not to mention the action and suspense, you won't want to put this book down.


Will appear on my blog on June 18

Patron Saints of Nothing spoke to me as a insightful look inside the male teenage mind. Shame, grief, anger, and frustration are feelings that many young men are forced to deal with on their own. There is also a firm desire to 'fix' things and to know the 'truth,' as if this will automatically bring about closure. This hard stoicism and emotional restraint compels many youths to push their feeling inside and never reach a maturity the are capable of.

Jay is a Filipino-American who is about to graduate from high school. He is resigned to the fact that he will be attending the University of Michigan; he feels he will eventually find something he's interested in, study it, and find a career, just like his parents want him to. His life becomes upended when he finds out the his Filipino cousin Jun been killed. He knows it's connected somehow to President Duarte's campaign against drugs and crime. Jay can't get a straight story out of his father, and with Spring Break the following week, he convinces his parents to let him go to the Philippines to visit his his father's side of the family for the first time in many years. As the son of an American mother and Filipino father and lacking the language and cultural knowledge of a native Filipino, he anticipates friction, but going home is more difficult than he thought.

Armed with Jun's letters and an anonymous ally, he has ten days to find the truth. In the face of his scary uncle and his cousins who themselves hide truths, he plays many roles and is accused of many more: bystander, traitor, enemy, confidant, and mourner. Ultimately, it is a wake up call for Jay to the bigger things in life, past college goals and his mundane everyday life.

This books discusses what it means to understand a culture, language, misbegotten families... A story of a young man who feels he’s not allowed to grieve in his own way, yet is still trying to discover what they really is. The pacing was perfect as the reader gets to know Jay in his home in the United States and then is thrust into a situation where he is thrown off at every turn. His parents wanted him to be Americanized and haven't told him much about Filipino culture or of the political upheaval in that country. And this conflict between the parents' teachings and a son's naïveté clashes with his desire for truth brings about an honest tension that drives much of the narrative.

Patron Saints of Nothing is a welcome exploration into a young man's mind and a family's struggle to come to terms with a member's death. Ribay has written a story that is immediate and now. I will happily recommend this book to my students and my librarian friends.

5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kokila Books, and the author for an advanced copy for review.