Reviewed by Amber on
Prior to reading Patron Saints of Nothing, I knew very little about what is going on in the Philippines right now. I cannot express how happy I am that I picked up this book, as it encouraged me to learn more about the situation.
I can’t speak to the accuracy of the book and the events that happen in it, so I would suggest checking out other people’s reviews. From what I’ve seen from friends on Twitter, though, this book has really hit home and is saying some powerful things.
Patron Saints of Nothing follows Jay, an American boy whose father is from the Philippines. Jay is struggling to connect with that side of his roots, and it’s not until he hears about his cousin’s death that he wants to travel to the Philippines and figure out what went wrong.
There was a lot of abuse – both emotional and physical – in this book, and it was difficult to read about. There are other dark themes, such as murder and drug use, and to be honest it was all really quite sad.
As usual, I didn’t care for the main romance in the book. It’s not just because I don’t like romances, it’s also because there was some low-key cheating in there too. Not a fan. That said, there was some (some) LGBTQ+ rep in there, which I appreciated.
Overall, I think Patron Saints of Nothing is a fantastic book, and the fact that a lot of bloggers from the Philippines are praising it so highly means it’s a hit with me.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 20 June, 2019: Reviewed