ISBN 978-0525554912
Published by Kokila, 2019
Genre/Format: Contemporary Realistic Fiction/ Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Awards and Honors
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2020
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2020
National Book Award Finalist, 2019
Freeman Book Award winner, 2019
NPR Best Book of the Year, 2019
Reading Level: Grade 9 and up (NoveList)
Plot Summary: Jason (Jay) Reguero is a Filipino-American teenager living in Michigan with his Filipino father and white mother. He only has a few months left of high school and spends most of his time playing video games or hanging out with friends. His biggest concern is which university he will be accepted to. Then his father breaks the news that his cousin, Jun, in the Philippines was shot dead by the police in Duterte's War on Drugs. Jay and Jun used to be close but lost touch over the last few years. Still, Jay can't reconcile Jun's violent death with the childhood friend/pen pal/cousin he knew. Wanting answers, Jay gets his parents' permission to spend spring break in the Philippines; he plans to stay with Jun's family in the hopes he can get some answers about Jun's life leading up to his death. But Tito Maning, Jun's father, won't reveal any information, so Jay feels compelled to dig and what he uncovers is beyond what he could have imagined. In doing so, Jay learns more about his Filipino family and finds a place of acceptance for himself. He uses this knowledge to change his direction in life.
Author Background: Like Jay, the protagonist of Patron Saints of Nothing, Randy Ribay has one white parent while the other is Filipino, and he was raised in the Midwest although born in the Philippines. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and teaches high school English (About).
Critical Evaluation: Patron Saints of Nothing highlights what it's like to live as a mixed raced Filipino in the heart of the U.S. Furthermore, as most of the plot takes place in the Philippines, we learn a great deal of the political situation under Duterte and what it's like to live with the threat of the war on drugs. Jay tells a compelling story as he both searches for his cousin's history while also tapping into his own story as a Filipino. That said, some of Jay's thoughts sound like they come from an adult who wants to get a certain message across. Regardless, Jay's unique voice is one that Young Adult novels need more of and I look forward to reading more of Ribay's work from his singular point of view.
Speed-Round Book Talk: Filipino-American teenager Jay is determined to find out the real cause of his cousin's death. Will sleuthing in the Philippines over spring break bring Jay the answers he needs or will he just unearth more unanswerable questions?
Library Program: This book would be perfect to highlight during Filipino American History Month which occurs every October. Filipino history in the U.S. is not widely known so it would be useful to celebrate this month highlighting Filipino voices including Patron Saints of Nothing.
Potential Challenges: This book deals with mature themes such as drugs, street life, extreme poverty, human trafficking, and violence against the poor. However there is nothing gratuitous and indeed there are very realistic portrayals of life in the Philippines. There is nothing in this book that isn't found on nearly any shelf in any library.
Reason for Inclusion: Patron Saints of Nothing portrays Filipinos in our community who don't often see themselves represented in novels, especially YA novels. They are part of the fabric of our country and it's important that their stories be read and talked about by everyone.
"This novel made me weep – a simultaneous feeling of anguish and release. In Patron Saints of Nothing, Randy Ribay has added – in his beautiful and creative way – his voice against the cruelty and inhumanity of Duterte’s war on drugs. He has rescued the story of the victims from the hands of their executioners and given it back to us with all its soul, longing, pain and humanity."
~Senator Leila de Lima, a fierce Duterte critic, has been detained in a facility at the
Philippine National Police headquarters for nearly 3 years over what she calls trumped-up
drug charges.(Click here to read the entire essay.)
References
About. randyribay.com. http://www.randyribay.com/about.html
De Lima, L. (2020). A Personal Reflection: Reading Randy Ribay’s 'Patron Saints of Nothing'.
Rappler.com. https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/leila-de-lima-
reflection-randy-ribay-patron-saints-of-nothing
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