A review by kautaru
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

5.0

My initial reaction to this book is, such a unique book! Or maybe its only unique for me, considering the other books I have read. To be honest, my rating is closer to a 4.5 stars rather than 5 stars, but considering everything this book stands for, I thought I would just round it up. As someone who knew nothing about what's happening in the Philippines (the corrupt government, the civilian killings, the war on drugs) this book was very eye-opening and insightful for me. Also, I related to and understood many of the themes this book covers on a deeper level- being an immigrant in the west; disconnection from your origin; lack of connection with the extended family; the power of language; etc. Very powerful stuff. I've read a few stories that had immigrant characters, but none depicts the experience as accurately as this one does, so I especially applaud this book for that. I also loved the story and plot; somehow this book incorporated many aspects of murder mysteries while remaining realistic, which is an incredible feat. Other than that, it was just soo entertaining. This is definitely also thanks to the writing style, which is very easy to read, but whenever I finished a chapter I found myself wanting to read the next right away. Another aspect of this book is Jason's character development. Say what you will about him, but there's no doubt that he is the character who has changed the most throughout this book, and for good reason. Seeing how his discoveries affected his behaviour was such a rollercoaster, but one that I wouldn't mind riding again and again. The ending felt slightly underwhelming, which is one of the reasons I initially wanted to give this a 4.5 stars, but maybe that was intentional. Definitely is in line with one of the messages of this book, which is nothing is as it seems. The romance was a little weird, I wouldn't say its unrealistic or disrespectful, I mean, we're talking about teenagers here, but I did feel like it was a little pointless. Why include it if nothing comes out of it? But again, maybe that's purposeful. Overall, I do think this book is deserving of 5 stars.