Randy Ribay - Patron Saints of Nothing Intro
Edgar Award Winner for Young Adults
Patron Saint of Nothing is an incredible depiction of what it is like to grow up as a first generation American. We follow Jay Reguero on a journey of discovery as he sets off to the Philippines, hoping to uncover the truth behind his cousin’s death. This book is able to put the trauma, love, and joy of feeling split between two places and never feeling quite enough of either one. Jay’s character navigates the challenges that come with trying to fit in as a first generation American. Throughout the story Jay realizes that he changes himself without realizing it so he can blend in. When he decides not to do that anymore, he realizes that some of his friendships are not as secure as he once thought. He faces the similar challenges when he goes to the Philippines, being told time and time again, “you didn’t grow up here, you will never understand. You can’t come here and expect to fix it.” While this story focuses on Jay’s growth, the biggest part of it is uncovering the truth behind his cousin Jun’s death. He was told that Jun was shot by the police for selling drugs. However, Jun was Jay’s best friend and he doesn’t believe that to be true. During his visit we see Jay grapple with varying stages of grief and we see tension build between Jay and his uncle, who is a police officer and huge advocate for Duterte and his harsh anti drug policies.
This is a book that I could not put down. From the very start, I felt that so many of my students could relate this this story. When I taught high school English, we did an entire unit on culture and what culture is or means in society and on a personal level. One of the poems we read discussed the feeling of never quite being enough of something. This book is honest about this feeling, but also celebrates the journey of rediscovering your roots. We see Jay become more at piece with who he is and he ultimately decides to defer his college acceptance to take a year and go back to the Philippines to reconnect with his family, learn the language and discover more about himself. Patron Saints of Nothing could be used in many incredible ways. If this book had been written when we taught the unit on culture, I would have included in 100%. I think this could inspire people to write about their own personal experiences with reconnecting with a country they might not have grown up in, but is such a part of who they are. Another important aspect of this story is how disconnected Americans tend to be from what is going on around the world. This story could be used as a resource in a world history class and could inspire students to research what is going on in other areas of the world. Randy Ribay goes into detail about Duterte’s rise to power and his rigid, militant drug laws. He provided characters that both supported the president, as well as those who were completely against his policies. This book could open up a excellent conversations regarding dictatorships, balance of power within a government, and drug policies around the world.
