Now, Jay proudly claims the title of “patron saint of nothing” for himself and for Jun. Jun never fit in at home and chafed against Tito Maning’s authority, and Jay has struggled with his cultural identity as a Filipino American. Ribay splits your heart in shock and grief, but he also heals it, and we are enriched for having traveled with him on the journey.

Ribay’s arresting narration and knack for characterization drive a story that is unlike anything else you’ll read this year. In Patron Saints of Nothing, Randy Ribay's intense, poignant story explores questions of identity, homeland, family, and the complexity of truth. Jay has felt adrift throughout this novel, but in this passage, he claims his own in-between identity by suggesting that he and Jun are both “patron saints of nothing.” In other words, neither boy fit into a clear-cut, specific category (like the highly specialized saints do). Randy Ribay is an American writer of middle grade and young adult fiction. Patron Saints of Nothing is the real deal, a unique and intimate look into the extrajudicial murders in Duterte’s war on drugs in the Philippines. Product Details About the Author Read an Excerpt Product Details About the Author Randy Ribay was born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest.

This fits in with Jun’s overall interest in the lives of others. As gripping as it is lyrical, Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity. This is a pretty mature outlook, and it demonstrates that Jun wasn’t only interested in the “truth” about God and religion, but rather in understanding why people turned to religion and how it helped them. But Jun still supports people praying to those saints, because the act of prayer might be what someone needs to feel better. Tito Danilo was right that his answers didn’t convert Jun into a believer in this letter, Jun demonstrates disbelief in the less-important saints. This is an example of what Tito Danilo was talking about at Jun’s funeral: Jun always asked astute questions about religion. A Universe Where People Do Not Die for Doing What is Right.

Randy ribay patron saints of nothing