There are also references to drugs, but like the sex trafficking, it happened in the past and is not described in detail. Praise For Patron Saints of Nothing…. Celebrate Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans' history, culture, and achievements in this collection of fiction and non-fiction novels.
If you have something to say, you should say it. Patron Saints of Nothing is stunning form page one. It was so heartwarming to finally hold a book and say, "Yes, this is me! " It was hard to put down and even harder to move out of. Assemble your dream cast! At the time of his visit to the Philippines, she is 15 years old. These two women represent the activist in all of us - one the idealistic youth with dreams of saving the world, and the other the seasoned vet who knows they can't fix all of it, but they can still make a concentrated impact in their lane all the same. Jay himself is a brilliant character to follow throughout the novel. I felt excited going into it and after reading it, I had to put it down and take it in. I would also recommend it to someone who wanted to read a deeper exploration of the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and how they can become unhealthy.
The story is a reality – Jumping into this book, I knew it would be talking about the current president, but it also tackles the reality that many foreigners tend to not mention the Philippines. Overview: When Jason learns that his cousin in the Philippines was murdered, something doesn't feel quite right. Every year our airports are filled with overseas Filipino workers and the balikbayan boxes. Yet while I loved this book, the saddest part about Patron Saints of Nothing is that it is not a fictional book I can cry over, close, and then leave on my shelf. As Jay points out, the United States doesn't have an education system where you learn much about other countries. "I created [Patron Saints of Nothing], ultimately, as a way to confront that question: What's my role as a Filipino American who is at once connected, but also an outsider to what's happening in the Philippines, " Ribay says.
Patron Saints of Nothing is told from the point of view of Jay Reguero, who lives in the States with his Filipino immigrant father and American mother. He explores this question through the novel's main character, Jay, whose cousin is killed as part of the drug war. He begins to realize that people aren't just one-dimensional. Jay's struggles with his self-identity and future resonated with me. The discussions about culture, particularly the difference between Filipino and American, between Jay and his family was so interesting to read and really made me think about what makes us who we are. There is also really interesting character development for the main character's cousin (who has just died), because we see him through the main character's eyes first from the perspective of a child and then as a full, nuanced man by the time the story has ended. Author's note) (Fiction.
Or something deeper, darker than anything Remy could have imagined? It's tender, full of memories and stolen moments. Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. But with its first line of Patron Saints of Nothing captured the essence of my mornings here in the Philippines. » See also 6 mentions.
And so I kind of had this moment where I was like, "Well, what right do I have to speak on this topic kind of as an outsider? TRIGGER WARNINGS: death of an animal, loss of loved on, subtle racism, drug use, grey area cheating, talk of guns, police brutality, human trafficking. At my end it's kind of a matter of doing the research and trying to get the facts right.... [And] considering how the differences between us might lead to different perspectives, and justify those different perspectives. And of course, there is Jun himself. She is a journalist. A few days after hearing news that his Philippine cousin Jun has just died, high school senior Jay travels to Manila to stay with family. "There isn't much representation for the Filipino community in books, " she said. What events created renewed interest in the Classical period and its art forms? The overall thing however that I just didn't like about Maning is that he was the sole contributor to his own son's death. Typing "Philippine President Duterte" into a Google search this morning, the first article I came across, after the Wikipedia entry of course, was this one from three days ago. Auli'i CravalhoCast Your Vote. Ribay has a way with characters that will charm and move you – whether it be with their antics and decisions, or with their heartbreak and dilemmas. I hope this book will teach its readers that inaction and silence are just as cruel.
It may seem like a trivial thing compared to things happening in the book but Jay's immigrant experience tells us a lot about the Filipino diaspora. Page Count: 416. Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016. It was a beautiful experience to read a book that knows the Philippines and its people completely; to be able to read about my self without any stereotypes or judgment was freeing. National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) Freeman Book Award Winner.
This protagonist of the novel is also its first-person narrator. Seventeen-year-old Jay Reguero searches for the truth about his cousin's death amid President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs while on an epic trip back to his native Philippines. Perfect for: Readers looking for an introduction to Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs in the Philippines. I also would have liked to see Reyna, who played a minor role in the story, to have played a bigger role in the book because her character was very interesting. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal's innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. The mysterious death of a cousin beckons us to the hot, humid streets and countryside of the Philippines, where the country is politically divided by President Duterte's controversial war on drugs. She is Jay's sister. His character is perhaps not my favorite, but the most interesting because of his struggle between caring for his son Jun and being a police chief in the Philippines who believes in Duerte. There is much love there, but there is also pain, stubbornness, secrets, defiance, intimidation, and fear. Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he'd supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. It showed us that though we are scared, even in the quiet we can take action! A National Book Award Finalist. Loading... No current Talk conversations about this book. Hardly not now, either.
Mia, who was a secondary character who helps Jay throughout his journey, wasn't really a fleshed-out character to me. This section contains 2, 755 words. Ugh, I wish I could have read something on that! After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead.
Von FloresCast Your Vote. Write what you think each word means, but be aware that not all words mean what their word parts indicate. He's also a high school English teacher, reader, gamer, watcher of great TV, husband, and father of two dog-children. This isn't to say that Jay isn't Filipino at all, but being away from his country had him idealizing the country beyond recognition. Kirkus Reviews expresses that the book is "part coming-of-age story and part exposé of Duerte's problematic policies, this powerful and courageous story offers readers a refreshingly emotional depiction of a young man of color with an earnest desire for the truth. " "In books, there aren't even minor or secondary characters that are Filipino. Plot- or character-driven? After all of that, you still denied your son, a proper funeral, a proper time for mourning, and erased his existence from your own household.
Jay is overwhelmed with questions about Jun's death, but his family remains tight-lipped with shame and resignation. Jay's Aunties were two of my favourite characters, as were his cousins and Jun's sisters Grace and Angel, and a certain character who ends up helping Jay seek out answers. Told in alternating timelines, Thelma and Louise meets Gone Girl in this twisted psychological thriller about the dark side of obsessive friendship. Randy Ribay's prose strips down impersonal news reports into a palatable YA story, much like Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give does with the Black Lives Matter movement. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. Before reading this book, I knew very little about the war on drugs in the Philippines, and like Jay, I had no idea about the number of people that have been murdered under Duterte's promise to rid his country of drug crime.