Instead, I found Patron Saints of Nothing to be absolutely lyrical. I knew to expect some eloquent lines here and there having read An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes, the author’s debut, before. While Ribay doesn’t fail to present cold, hard facts about the drug war that looms over this story, he also doesn’t hold back on making every single word he writes as powerful and meaningful as possible. Everyone was realistic and genuine and flawed and totally and unapologetically Filipino. Moreover, the depiction of Jay’s family left me completely engrossed. Even though I could not relate to his video game references, I felt his love for his cousin (my own cousins are like sisters to me) and his guilt falling out of touch with Jun (wow hit me so hard why don’t you) and just his raw grief.

I really loved the main protagonist, Jay. I was SO ecstatic that Patron Saints of Nothing had a map of the Philippines.

What are the odds that a contemporary novel will ever have a map inside? That’s only ever seen in fantasy books and even then not all books in that genre get maps still. Finally, authentic Filipino young adults get to grace the cover of a book! And come on, the red background, the yellowish lighting, the blue/white highlights all scream PINOY!! Patron Saint of Book Maps And then again when I saw the whole jacket cover til the back. I think I teared up a little when I saw the book cover of Patron Saints of Nothing. Just hearing the title brought me back to growing up studying at a Filipino Catholic school, where I was made very familiar with a whole lot of saints. Okay, I really love the book title! I think it’s incredibly distinctive. In particular, the: Patron Saint of Awesome Titles But despite the unholy topics it covers, I believe Patron Saints of Nothing has been blessed by all the saints. In an age where people turn a blind eye against the atrocities happening in our world, Randy Ribay’s latest novel offers an echoing voice calling out humanity for what is happening and what must be done. Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth - and the part he played in it.Īs gripping as it is lyrical, Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity.

But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story. Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay Published by Kokila on June 18, 2019Ī powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin's murder.

Patron saints of nothing book cover