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finnft4's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Wow, this was incredible. This book immediately grabbed my intention based on an interesting premise and a main character I could relate to. I've never really seen a protagonist so similar to me. Like Jay, I'm also half-Filipino, my mom is white, my Filipino father is moderately disconnected from his family, I feel disconnected from Filipino culture but alienated in the majority white US, and I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. A few differences, of course. A good chunk of my Filipino relatives live in Florida, and I've never been to the Philippines. Like other Americans, I'm guilty of generically seeing it as a third-world country less fortunate than my own. I'm happy to say this book changed my perspective on it.
Onto the actual novel. Randy Ribay is a master of imagery and characterizations. Everything feels so alive, from the characters to their problems to the world they live in. Even though I've never been to the Philippines, it almost felt like I visited while I read. I was able to find recognition and relate to the long parties, the food, and the confusing mess of not knowing Tagalog. There was not a single character that felt fake or two-sided, representing a simple figure to love or hate. Even ones who the main character dislikes are not simply villains. There are shades of gray. I really love how complex the characters are and how Ribay humanizes all of them.
Oh and, like Jay, I had absolutely no idea about the drug war that only recently died down in the Philippines. I was completely oblivious to anything going on, including having no idea who President Duterte was. Like the American I am, I don't know much about the affairs outside of what is immediately around me. This novel has encouraged me to work on that.
I felt like I was experiencing the story right with Jay. His reactions to grief felt so relatable and real to me. I understood his desperation, his determination, his despair. As the story continued, the cousin's death changed from a mystery into a genuine tragedy. Jun's death was always sad, but seeing the care his family had, beneath what Jay thought as apathy, was so powerful. Jun's immediate family, who both Jun and I were convinced simply did not care about his loss, had so many raw emotions right below the surface.
GOD it's devastating. I was reading the end of this in my Spanish class and had to tilt my head up to stop crying. The memorial and eulogies absolutely destroyed me. Seeing how the grief affected everyone was unbelievably powerful. Writing true, realistic grief is so difficult to accomplish without the product being trite. This is one of the most successful examples I've seen.
Patron Saints of Nothing is a beautifully multi-faceted story that I highly recommend.
Onto the actual novel. Randy Ribay is a master of imagery and characterizations. Everything feels so alive, from the characters to their problems to the world they live in. Even though I've never been to the Philippines, it almost felt like I visited while I read. I was able to find recognition and relate to the long parties, the food, and the confusing mess of not knowing Tagalog. There was not a single character that felt fake or two-sided, representing a simple figure to love or hate. Even ones who the main character dislikes are not simply villains. There are shades of gray. I really love how complex the characters are and how Ribay humanizes all of them.
Oh and, like Jay, I had absolutely no idea about the drug war that only recently died down in the Philippines. I was completely oblivious to anything going on, including having no idea who President Duterte was. Like the American I am, I don't know much about the affairs outside of what is immediately around me. This novel has encouraged me to work on that.
GOD it's devastating. I was reading the end of this in my Spanish class and had to tilt my head up to stop crying. The memorial and eulogies absolutely destroyed me. Seeing how the grief affected everyone was unbelievably powerful. Writing true, realistic grief is so difficult to accomplish without the product being trite. This is one of the most successful examples I've seen.
Patron Saints of Nothing is a beautifully multi-faceted story that I highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Animal death, Death, Addiction, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Racism
kshertz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Excellent book. This narrator finds himself by going to the Philippines and finding out the truth about how his 17 year old cousin, that he used to be close with, died. It’s a coming of age with commentary on our biases, our differences, our similarities, our assumptions, and what really the truth can be. It started slow for me but became very intense and reflective toward the end. It’s a serious and sad coming of age story, but one we should probably all read to reflect on how we too can do and be better so 17 year olds are not suing the way his cousin did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, Murder, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Drug use, Addiction, Death, Racism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Police brutality
jesthemess's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
marissasa's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Classism, Cursing, Animal death, Murder, and Death
dkayayay's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Trafficking, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Pedophilia
jai_martin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
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? No
5.0
This book truly has left me speechless,it is so beautifully written and touched me in such a profound way I’m not sure anything I can say will fully convey it.So instead I urge anyone who reads this to immediately read this heartbreakingly beautiful beautiful book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, and Drug abuse
redbookpanda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Police brutality
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