Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay Summary

Patron Saints of Nothing follows Jay Reguero, a 17-year-old Filipino-American teen from Michigan who travels to the Philippines to uncover the truth behind his cousin Jun's death during President Duterte's drug war. The novel explores themes of grief, guilt, cultural identity, and the moral complexities of seeking justice when Jay discovers his cousin was killed as part of the government's brutal anti-drug campaign. Through his investigation, Jay confronts his own complacency and reconnects with his Filipino heritage.

Randy Ribay is a Filipino-American author and high school English teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in the Philippines and raised in the U.S. Midwest, Ribay is a two-time National Book Award finalist whose work explores hyphenated identities and cultural belonging. He dedicated Patron Saints of Nothing to the "hyphenated," reflecting his own Filipino-American heritage and desire to address the real-world impact of Duterte's drug war through young adult literature.

Patron Saints of Nothing is essential reading for young adults navigating cultural identity, particularly those from immigrant or diaspora communities. It appeals to readers interested in social justice issues, contemporary global politics, and coming-of-age stories that tackle difficult moral questions. The novel is also valuable for anyone seeking to understand the Philippine drug war's human cost, Filipino-American experiences, or the complexities of family, heritage, and speaking truth to power.

Patron Saints of Nothing is absolutely worth reading, earning recognition as a 2019 Freeman Award winner and National Book Award finalist. The novel appears on best-of-2019 lists from NPR, Kirkus, and the New York Public Library, demonstrating its literary merit and cultural significance. Randy Ribay crafts a powerful narrative that balances personal grief with political urgency, offering readers an intimate look at the Philippine drug war while exploring universal themes of identity, complicity, and the courage required to seek truth.

Patron Saints of Nothing explores several interconnected themes: the dangers of silence and complicity in the face of injustice, the complexity of Filipino-American identity and cultural belonging, and the process of grieving someone already lost to emotional distance. The novel examines how governments justify extrajudicial violence, the moral ambiguity of the drug war, and the courage required to challenge family authority and systemic injustice. Jay's journey represents both personal growth and political awakening.

The title "patron saints of nothing" represents Jay and Jun's shared identity as people who don't fit into clear-cut, specific categories. In Jun's letter to Jay, he questions which saint he would be the patron of, concluding he doesn't know—making him the "saint of nothing". This metaphor captures both boys' in-between status: Jun never fit in at home and chafed against his father's authority, while Jay struggles with his cultural identity as a Filipino-American, ultimately proudly claiming this undefined identity for both himself and his cousin.

Jay Reguero and Jun were cousins who maintained an active pen-pal relationship for years despite only meeting a few times. They bonded through letters until Jay became "too lazy to write," creating guilt that haunts him after Jun's death. Jun was thoughtful and sensitive, someone Jay remembers fondly but had already let slip away. Their relationship represents lost connection and the difficulty of maintaining bonds across cultural and geographical distances, with Jun's preserved letters serving as the primary window into who he truly was.

Patron Saints of Nothing directly confronts President Rodrigo Duterte's real-world drug war, which authorized extrajudicial killings of suspected drug users and dealers. Jay's research reveals gruesome images of victims shot on sight, and he struggles to reconcile these brutal methods with his memory of Jun as a thoughtful person. The novel challenges simplistic narratives about drug war victims, with characters like Grace asserting that being a user or pusher doesn't make someone's life worthless, emphasizing the humanity and complexity of those caught in the violence.

• "How do you mourn someone you already let slip away?"
• "Silence will not save you"
• "Just because he was a user, a pusher, it doesn't mean that his life was worthless"

Randy Ribay uses Jay's journey to examine the complexity of being Filipino-American, particularly the experience of feeling caught between two cultures. Jay struggles with his status as an outsider in the Philippines despite his heritage, representing the "hyphenated" identity Ribay dedicated the book to. The novel explores how diaspora youth navigate cultural belonging, family expectations, and the responsibility to engage with homeland issues. Jay must reevaluate his heritage and confront his own Americanness while seeking justice for Jun, ultimately finding power in his in-between identity.

Randy Ribay employs a first-person, introspective narrative from Jay's perspective, creating deep empathy and insight into his evolving understanding. The novel incorporates epistolary elements through Jun's letters, which provide direct windows into his character and serve as crucial plot devices symbolizing the lost connection between cousins. Ribay uses vivid sensory details and juxtaposition, contrasting the Philippines' beauty with harsh realities of poverty and violence, while immersing readers in the landscape through rich descriptions of sights, sounds, and smells.

Patron Saints of Nothing won the 2019 Freeman Award from the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia and was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The novel was also nominated for the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel and appeared on multiple best-of-2019 lists including NPR, Kirkus, and the New York Public Library. It was additionally a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, CILIP Carnegie Medal, and 17 state awards, establishing Randy Ribay as a significant voice in young adult literature.