Patron Saints of Nothing

Reviews

1. 

   A & K – August 9, 2024

   Powerful story of family, secrets, and growing up
   This book was one that surprised me on how much I felt it in my soul. It was a complex story of grief, loss, learning, family, culture, world views/history and overall one of a deep personal growth. I think this book showed complex characters and made them truly human with aspects of greatness and downfalls. How beauty and humanity can live within even the most unlikely places. The growth of the main character on his quest to find out the truth of his cousin’s death was one that started out as childish but turned into one of enlightenment and almost a coming of age. Beautifully written and a book I would recommend to a reader of any age as the story is one I think we all need to hear.

2. 

   Frederick W. Benner – August 9, 2024

   Great Item For The Price
   Item arrived on time and intact and was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you

3. 

   erin – August 9, 2024

   Great Read!!
   This was such a tender story and brought light to such an important issue for all of humanity. Highly recommend!

4. 

   Doug W. – August 9, 2024

   A beautiful story filled with all of life’s complexities
   I finished this book a few days ago, choosing to let it settle.On its face, there is much that is typical of this stunning YA book. There is a possible romance. Family drama. Relevant social issues. A young male protagonist on a search for identity. Secrets. A bit of a mystery surrounding a death. A best friend. An emotionally restrained father.From a dispassionate view, this book might be entirely expected. What it does so beautifully is undermine all of these expectations to create a story of complex characters who are always more than just one thing. Ribay probably did not intend his dedication page (“For the hyphenated”) as a hint to this, but every character is a study in the hyphenated. The main character, Jay, who is a traditional hyphenate Filipino-American, but every character has many different aspects of their personalities that show how strong a writer Ribay is, and how artfully written this book is.You can read the summary above, and in other reviews. What I think is useful to know is that Randy Ribay’s third novel is a stunning achievement. Complex characters living in complex circumstances. An engaging mystery that upended my expectations over the course of the story. A story of identity for those who must straddle two races, ethnicities, languages, countries, heritages, etc.More than anything else, Ribay knows how to pack a punch with his poetic words. Each chapter ends with a gut punch of a phrase that left me in awe of the authors’ skill and craft. This is a book not to be missed. This is a book that might be easy to dismiss if you don’t read closely enough. This is a valuable book for now, for everyone.

5. 

   thereal_TOEBEANS – August 9, 2024

   Fundamentally changed my perception and world view, should be required reading
   It’s an adventure, but really it’s a serious look at individual and cultural racial identity, hatred, death and grieving, love, and growing up as a minority in one place, and suddenly finding yourself as the majority in another.This book is a SERIOUSLY good read. Everything’s probably been said, but this book pretty much changed my life. I’m a white kid growing up in California, and I was raised around all kinds of kids, not just those that looked like me. Still, this book gave me a massive amount of insight into other people and places and made me think in ways I’m not used to doing.Kids reading this: this book is some quality stuff. It’s not boring, it’s a banger. Get it.Adults reading this: this book will make your kids better people.100/100 on all fronts.

6. 

   Natako – August 9, 2024

   A really beautiful and informative story about grief, guilt, family and politics.A sweet and relatable main character, who’s smart enough to know how to change his views on things.Jay will certainly leave an impact on all readers.And look at that powerful cover !

7. 

   Thunderbolt – August 9, 2024

   An excellent book exposing and detailing the dark underbelly of life in the Philippines under dictator Rodrigo Duterte. A compelling read for anyone from a later teen to an adult.