Patron Saints of Nothing is such an important story.

After 17 year old Jay after finding out that his pen pal & cousin, Jun was killed by the police in the Philippines, Jay returns to the country he's barely even thought about since visiting 8 years prior to try and uncover what really happened to his cousin.

Patron Saints of Nothing is about family. It's a social commentary. It seeks to teach. It's a mystery. It's a coming of age. It's everything I could have ever hoped it would be and more.

Whether you're Filipino, American, both like Jay, or even neither, you need to read this book.

A really powerful look at the Philippines through the eyes of a Filipino-American teen.

I absolutely loved this novel. This is a novel that I think everybody can appreciate. This was such an emotional read as it deals with the topic of death. The story starts out with Jay finding out that his cousin Jun has been murdered in the Philippines. The two were pen pals, but as Jay grew older he stopped responding as frequently to Jun's letters and eventually stopped responding at all. Jay is heartbroken over the loss of his dear cousin but when he finds out Jun had run away from home, and had somehow gotten murdered Jay is determined to solve the mystery behind Jun's death. The majority of this story takes place in the Philippines and I feel like this novel was very informative without being info dumpy. I feel like I learned a lot about the Filipino culture and the Philippines current events. This book mainly revolves around the current, "War on Drugs," that has been taking place there for the last several years. I think the authors main goal was to shine more light on this particular current event and he did an amazing job. This book was heartbreaking. Randy Ribay's writing style was amazing, he just made the characters so endearing. I felt like I was also mourning the loss of Jun along side his family as a read this book. It was a really heartfelt and touching read. 5 stars and I will for sure be recommending this book to everybody.

This is a coming-of-age story about struggling with identity and belonging. The main character, Jay, must learn to cope with the senseless death of his beloved cousin, while also coming to terms with how his own decisions may have played a role in the unfortunate series of events that led to the tragedy. It is also a story of the many ways people can surprise and disappoint us. For better or worse, our family and friends do not always live up to the image we have of them in our heads.

The writing style of this author is very similar to the writing style of Kelly Loy Gilbert. The first person perspective feels very authentic, and you very much feel like you are inside the head of the main character. This book didn't emotionally gut me the same way that Picture Us in the Light did, but it is similar in that the story touches on some very heavy topics and reveals some very painful truths about Jay and his secretive family.

The cover art for this book is absolutely stunning. If I had not needed to read this book for a mock Printz committee, I probably would have picked it up simply for the cover art alone. Both front and back incorporate beautiful colors and symbolism.

This is a great book about 17 year old Jay Reguero learn his Filipino cousin & best friend Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs when he flies to the Philippines to learn more.