Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

8 reviews

ghoulomatic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book was beautiful and moving. Each sentence was meticulously crafted... Each word was purposeful. The love and care the author, Randy Ribay, put into the book practically floods out of the pages. This is a beautifully crafted story about so many things. It's certainly a book worth reading again and again and again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Drug abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

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

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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

jamies's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i don't have the words to explain how stunning this book was, i saw myself through the eyes of jay as i am also a filipino living abroad that wants to learn about their culture,  i had other similarities with him but i won't expand on it anymore. it was an amazing read and i think more people should read this book right now!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Sexual assault, Animal death, and Trafficking

the_reading_seal's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

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

egmamaril's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Drug use and Murder

Minor: Addiction

noskills's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Reflecting on reporting on Palestine, writer Nathan Thrall recalls a colleague feeling “so sick of having to perform tragedies in order to be humanized.” The sentiment is familiar to many oppressed groups in the United States, but also to those around the world. Patron is the story of an American teen confronting this tension as he uncovers his familial roots.

Filipino-American Jay is in a disaffected malaise as he heads towards the end of his senior year in high school, but the unexpected death of his cousin Jun jolts him awake and drives him back to the Philippines to uncover what really happened. The story is broadly about Jay and his family’s grief, but to process this the teen must embrace both the rich connection of being a descendent of this land, as well as accept the complicity of being an American in a space colonized by the United States. Grief and cub journalism make this homecoming a deep dive with an ending well worth the ride.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Racism

Minor: Physical abuse and Rape

lyricalreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow. This book. Please read it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence