#patronsaintsofnothing

I never thought I'd find myself obsessing over a mandatory reading for school, but I wish I was kidding when I said I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book ever since I opened it.

This book touches on topics about the drug war and other issues in the Philippines as well as life growing up as a Filipino abroad (specifically in the Americas), amongst other things. The main character himself is a Filipino-American struggling to connect with his native culture and understand their mindset throughout the conflicts he's put through throughout the book, and while I would say I'm much more connected with mine as he is with his, I found myself very heavily connected to both Jun and Jay and the way they struggle with how their core values misalign with the traditional Filipino one. While this might be considered a mystery book due to the plot, I think my favourite aspect about it has got to be the realistic depictions of how someone with a Westernized mindset would approach these issues in the Philippines and how it severely contrasts with the mindset of those who may actually be living there.

While listening to the other students' discussions about this book in class, I came to the same realization as Jay did somewhere in the beginning of the book. None of them will ever understand what it's like to grow up around adults with this seemingly absurd mindset about nationalism and pride within the family's honour.

If I'm going to be honest, I'm kind of upset at the ending. I suppose that's just because I really did want everything to be wrong for Jun's reputation's sake, but I know that's not how real life works. What Jun had to go through is the very unfortunate truth for most people both in and out of the Philippines.

I am genuinely confused at how this book isn't more popular. The plot is great. The writing is very easy to consume and read. The themes are significant and the experiences depicted authentic (in my opinion). I mean, this is definitely my favourite school reading over the years, and I'm kind of upset none of the other kids really care for it- but then again, they don't care much for books to begin with..

I think all Filipinos who grew up abroad and found themselves feeling somewhat disconnected to their culture should read this book because I've genuinely never felt myself more indulged and interested in learning more about my background since reading this.

4 Stars for Randy Ribay’s Patron Saints of Nothing

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. 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. Hoping to uncover more…