Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

"We can only handle so much truth at any given moment, I suppose."~Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

The world too often is quiet about things that should set off alarms.

Horrible things happen. Articles, buried deep in the newspaper, or a flash of video and a few spoken words on the screen, mention countries we don't know and perhaps don't care about. The people and their suffering are real but they are 'other', foreign, from countries where dictators rule or rival factions destroy, while we are cocooned in comfortable homes and easy lives.

Until it gets personal. Then the news is a clarion bell to wake us.

The Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay wants to wake us to the realities of life under a dictatorship that placates citizens with free birth control while suppressing journalism and truth, through his profoundly moving and beautifully written novel.

With early acceptance to the University of Michigan, Jay can coast through the rest of his senior year. But learning that his cousin Jun in the Philippines was shot by the police as a drug dealer turns Jay's life upside down.

Jay visited his father's Filipino family when he was ten. He and Jun became fast friends and were pen pals for years until Jay's teenage activities and concerns took precedence and he stopped responding to Jun's letters.

Racked with guilt, Jay wants answers. Jun was a good person. What happened that caused Jun to run away from his home? He wouldn't have done drugs. Why was Jun murdered? Why won't anyone tell him the truth?

Jay becomes obsessed, learning all he can about the Philipines and life under President Duterte. Determined to find answers, Jay proposes a trip to visit his Filipino family and learn about his heritage.

Staying with his father's siblings' families, Jay comes to understand that people are not always who we think they are and how growing up and learning the truth engenders more questions than answers.

Although YA fiction, Ribay's novel will speak to all readers. He is a master of his craft.

I received a book from the publisher through Bookish First. My review is fair and unbiased.

Sometimes I feel like growing up is slowly peeling back these layers of lies."~Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

Patron Saints of Nothing
by Randy Ribay
Kokila/PenguinTeen
$17.99 hardcover
Jun 18, 2019
ISBN 9780525554912

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

In Michigan, one is never more than 6 miles from a lake or 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes. It's the Water Wonderland--the Great Lakes State. When we go on vacation, we go to the lake. We have cabins and we rent cabins. We go camping, we stay at a resort. But there is usually water involved.

Lake Pentwater, MI

Once when we were camping along Lake Michigan, I went into town to see the 'tourist trap' stores. I remarked to a teen working at the marina, "what a beautiful place to live!" I got a scowl.

About ten years later my husband's work took us to that small resort town. And I understood. There were usually under 250 students in the entire K-12 school, the town closed down at the end of August, and the locals were much poorer than the summer folk at the marina and the summer 'cottagers'. They worked hard four months of the year when the rich came to play.

marina in Pentwater, MI

How could someone know you better than you knew yourself? Especially if they really didn't know you, not at all? from The End of the Story by Sarah Dessen

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen takes place on one lake with two communities: the upscale tourist resort Lake North and the working class North Lake with its ramshackle cabins.

Lake St. Helen, MI 

Emma Saylor's mom came from North Lake; her dad was a summer sailing instructor at Lake North. Their marriage ended in divorce, and then Emma's mother died. Emma's father doesn't talk about her mother's roots.

Circumstances bring Emma to stay with her maternal grandmother in North Lake for three weeks during the summer. Her grandmother and cousins are strangers to Emma. But the Calvanders know all about her--Saylor.

Over the summer, Emma becomes Saylor, learning her mother's history, growing to love her mother's family, and taking the risks she has avoided all her life. You can make your life, or life can make you, she learns.

Lake Michigan during a storm

This was a nice summer read with great characters and lake ambiance while touching on deeper themes of class, anxiety issues, alcoholism, identity, and self-determination. Plus, there is a touch of romance. The hard-working, hard-partying teenager world is well developed, and a crisis brings a happy ending.

I won a copy of the book in a giveaway on The Quivering Pen run by David Abrams, author of Fobbit and Brave Deeds. My review is fair and unbiased.

The Rest of the Story
by Sarah Dessen
Baltzer & Bray
$19.99 hardcover