Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

7 reviews

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

This hit close to home as my heritage has a lot of similarities with Filipino culture and the Philippines as a whole. I related heavily with being an outsider in a culture that is your own but not your own at the same time and trying to navigate what/how/how much you can criticize. When people told Jay he had no right since he doesn't understand and that he's looking at it from a very America lens, it reminded me of things my mom has said to me. 
This made me cry.
I loved this book, and I will read more from this author. It is heavy in many ways so def check trigger/content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Death, Drug use, Grief, and Mental illness

kalmia31's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Classism, Genocide, Grief, Colonisation, and Death

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Violence, Homophobia, Racism, Murder, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Misogyny

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

bookishbaddie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Classism, Violence, War, Murder, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual violence, Trafficking, Rape, and Sexual assault

vcords_'s review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Drug use, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Trafficking, Homophobia, Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

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.

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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

tofutofutofu's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This would have been a terrific book, if it had been narrated by Grace. The narrator is annoying beyond measure, and nobody needed this book to be translated through the eyes of a privileged American who stomped in there to play white savior. I was surprised to see that the writer was not, in fact, a high schooler, but instead an adult who committed too much to the juvenile voice. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Trafficking, Slavery, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

azyef's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Classism, Drug use, Death, Trafficking, and Abandonment

Minor: Infidelity, Homophobia, and Sexual violence