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While jay was reading his letter to Jun at the memorial he referred back to the moment where the puppy died and how Jun actually felt that what he did wasn’t just for comfort. (310)

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There was a lot of screwed up relationships like Grace, but only because her secrets and then Tito Maning

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On Pages 292 and 293, Jay and Grace are both shown grieving about Jun. This helps him create a stronger relationship with Grace because they are both feeling the same way about Jun. In the end they decide that they will hold a small ceremony with just family to honor his memory.

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In the beginning Tito Maning makes it hard for everyone to grief and he is very closed off and stern, but at Juns memorial “Tito Maning leaves his place by the back door and makes his way to her. Everyone’s surprised, but it’s clear by his face he means no harm” (Ribay 301) This shows that he’s changing and starting to be more open and want to comfort his family and help them to finally grief.

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During the book, Jay progressed to think for himself more. He began by just following the high school to college path that he assumed he should take, despite not knowing what he wanted to do. By the end of the book, he thought for himself more and decided to spend a year in the Philippines before going to college, as it was something he wanted to do

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“Sometimes I feel like growing up is slowly peeling back these layers of lies.”

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Jay made it a point to come to the Philippines because he wanted justice for his cousin and didn’t want to leave until he knew the real truth

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When Tito manning came to the funeral too honor Jun, it was the only time he ever really showed that he is hurting deep down and that he realized that he also deserves to be empathetic.

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“Jun is gone. I will always carry the grief of that loss and the regret that I let him slip out of my life too easily. Nothing will ever change that. But there are good things I can hold on to and there are other things I have the power to change. My family, myself, this world—all of us are flawed. But doesn’t mean hopeless. It doesn’t mean forsaken. It doesn’t mean lost… We have more power and potential than we know if we only speak, if only we would listen. (318)

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Randy Ribay shows the theme of family and relationships by Jay going on an investigation of his own to find out the truth of his cousins unexpected death. The result of this investigation leading back to the Philippines, his roots in a way, not only lead him to the truth but also lead him to self discovery and he learned and bonded with his family. He learned about his cousins secret lives, he dug through the shielded lies of Tito manning, and he built stronger relationships with his family after going through this whole adventure with them by his side. Even when he has come home from the Philippines, his relationships at home with his parents also shifted. His relationship with his dad shifted from awkward, isolated, and closed off, to closer and more understanding.

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At the beggining of the book, Jay is a very immaute kinda kid and throughout the book he became more mature given due time

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So throughout the book we see Jay slowly and exponentially grows closer to his distant family in the Philippines. As he searches and retraces Jun steps he gets closer to his family.

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Jay finds out the truth about Jun and who Jun really was and what he really did.

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In the book, Jay constantly feels as though he doesn’t belong in the Philippines. An example of this is how out of place he felt around Tito Maning, who constantly belittled him for not knowing more about his family and culture

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“And it sounds stupid to say but i feel like I’m home” (Ribay 226). At home jay didn’t really have that bond with his parents and didn’t get to experience his culture has much as he did until now. His family is very welcoming in the Philippians and accepting and he feels like he belongs for once

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“The words, the stories spill out of me. At first, Dad seems shocked at the sheer volume of it all because I don’t think I’ve ever spoken so much to him at one time in my entire life” (Ribay 317).

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Not every relationship in a family is good. For example Jays dad and tito maning’s relationship.

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“She’s not all that different from Tito Maning. Though her words were delivered with more compassion” (Ribay 173-174). Upon Jays arrival to his aunts house, he finds out a lot more information behind Jun’s story and Tito Maning, he realizes his aunts aren’t entirely different from their brother.

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“But after five or six years-she doesn’t remember exactly-your Tita Chato’s organization rescued her”(Ribay 206).

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“It can be my graduation present,” I say. Mom says, “what about the new computer?” “I don’t need one. And this trip costs less.” (Page 45)

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“Meet me out front, he says. I’ll brew a pot. Then I’m going to call the hospital to tell them i need the rest of the day off” (Ribay 318). Jay came home from his trip and began to tell his dad everything that happened with Jun regarding his death and his father was shocked. I think this was an eye opener for his dad because in beginning of the book, his father saw him as a slob and un motivational person. Now you can see that this was an eye opener for his father and he decided to spend time willingly with jay for once.

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Throughout the book, people have different views on if something is justice or an injustice. An example is Jun’s death, with most of Jun’s family seeing it as an injustice, but Tito Maning and people in support of Duterte would see it as a justified killing for his cause

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“‘Tell me, Jason Reguero, are you willing to die to find out what happened to your cousin?’…’Yes,’ I finally say, trying to imbue the word with the heaviness of the conviction I feel in my soul (Ribay 195).”

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“As if summoned by her sorrow, Tito Maning leaves his place by the back door and makes his way to her”(Ribay 301). Tito Maning felt empathy for once in the book. He put himself in the situation and realized what he should do.

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“Are you f***ing kidding me? Says Mia”
“What? I ask”
“He left her, Mia says, mad”
“He must have had a good reason, I say”
“Maybe another women, Mia says with the bitterness of someone who’s been replaced before.”
“Jun wouldn’t have done that.”
“She shoots me a withering look. “You haven’t noticed a pattern?”
“He’s a runner, Jay, its obvious. Things get hard, and he leaves.”(Ribay 213-214)

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“But Jun didn’t think it was safe and came here whenever he could. He helped her find a spot to live, he brought her food and water, he helped her ask around for work.”(Ribay 209)

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Jay realized that he finally begins to feel like he belongs when he’s visiting his family

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Randy Ribay shows the theme of Identity by having the main character, Jay go on an important adventure to find the truth about his cousins death. On his adventure he not only ended up finding the answer he was looking for, but he ended up finish more about himself. He grew from the experience, he learned new things about his culture and he learned about what he didn’t know about it. This caused him to make the big decision to have a gap year and go back to the Philippines to learn more about his culture and where he came from, and to learn their languages. His culture is his identity.

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During the road trip to his grandparents’, Jay experiences, “A wave of guilt washes over me as I yet again think about never writing him back, about how even now I’m failing to find any tangible way to bring his memory justice. And beyond that, Tita Chato shared this tiny piece of Jun with me freely, while I’m hiding enormous portions of his life she knows nothig about” (Ribay 246).

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“And he kicked you out just like he did his own son?
Tito Manning said he gave Jun a choice…
Tita Chato shakes her head. My brothers is a liar.” (Ribay 166)

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‘You? I ask, even though the answers obvious.”
“I’m sorry, she says, and starts to cry. It is not the shaking sobs, runny nose kind of crying, it is soft and quiet.”
“My anger melts in place as sorrow arrives.”
“I loved him so much, so she’s as our heads touching.”
“Me too, I say” (Ribay, 261)

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Jay shows that he wants to get justice for Jun when he decides to go to the Philippines and try to find answers about what happened and if he was wrongfully accused and killed. Jay says “I feel like I have an opportunity to do something that matters. Something real. Something for Jun… I need to go to the Philippines.” (Ribay 43) Proving the point that he sees how important this all is and he knows Jun deserves better and deserves Justice.

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Ribay makes sure to remind the reader that Jay is not truly Filipino. Jay says “I am not truly Filipino, so I don’t understand the Philippines.” (174) This quote says how Jay’s mixed ethnicity brings confusion to him about what country he really belongs to.

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“It was not the first goat I saw slaughtered. So I do not know why this time it affected me so. But it did. I felt really sad watching it. I thought, what if that goat had a wife and children?” (Ribay 258)

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“So nephew, what did you do to anger my brother? Not that that is a very difficult thing to accomplish.”
“My brother is a liar. Just  like the government that he serves. Never forget that.”
“The first part us true— maning found the drugs in Juns room”
“But the second part is a lie—he gave jun no choice. Maning made him leave immediately.” (Ribay, 166)

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“This is my life and I want my family to understand it in a way none of us truly understood Jun’s” (Ribay 317). Jay and his father open up and bond in a way that they never did.

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“It’s really crowded now and everyone’s got their arms around one another, swaying with the tune” (Ribay 222). During this moment, everyone is just enjoying the moment and each others company. Some of them don’t even know each other and are still conversing, singing, dancing, etc.

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“You do not live here. You do not speak any of our languages. You do not know our history. Your mother is a white American...” (Ribay 160)

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“‘It’s not your fault,’ I say. ‘People are good at hiding things from one another. Especially in our family’”(Ribay 290).

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The author Randy Ribay shows the theme of maturing throughout the book Patron Saints Of Nothing by having the main character Jay go through a difficult adventure to find the truth about his cousins death and he learns about his family and himself. The beginning of the book jay was extremely irrational and through his journey he learned a ton of lessons that helped shape him and helped him to mature. By the end of the book he had learned a lot about his cousin, himself, and his family, and this adventure helped him think more about his future in a more mature way. He ends up deciding he wants to have a gap year and go back to the Philippines, this was a large and mature decision.

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“She said that Jun was very considerate, very sensitive. He probably knew how to act properly because Reyna was not the first reduced girl that had stayed with Tito Chato as she had” (Ribay 207)

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“I unfold it and angle it so that I can read by light that’s spilling into the room from the hallway behind me. My breath catches. I recognize the handwriting immediately. It is one of Jun’s letters. One of my letters”(Ribay 257). Grace and Jay’s relationship changed right here. Jay found Jun’s letters in Grace’s bag and realized why.

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“My anger melts. In its place a shared sorrow arrives. The cousin I’ve been mourning is the brother she’s lived with for 16 years. I put the letters aside, slide next to Grace, and wrap my arms around her. ‘I loved him so much.’ she says, our heads touching. ‘Me too,’ I say” (Ribay 261). Jay and Grace are both very upset. Jay is able to accept the fact that he isn’t the only one who misses Jun and forgives Grace for taking his letters. They both mourn his death together and are there for each other.

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“And it sounds stupid to say this, but I feel like I’m home”(Ribay 226).

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When Jay was reading his letter to Jun at the memorial, he referred back to the moment of the dog dying (310). Jun actually felt what Jay felt, and he wasn’t just doing this for comfort. Jun genuinely felt sympathy for his cousin, and I think that moment is one of the most cherishable, hence why Jay referred to it in the letter.

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“No. You saw my pain for what it was, recognized it as if it were your own, and gave me the love I needed to heal (Ribay 299).”

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Throughout the book, Jay matured as the person that he is at the end of the book. In the beginning, he did not know what to do with his life and did not want to go to college. However, he realized that he wanted to take a gap year to learn more about the Philippines.

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“She sighs. ‘I know. But I still wonder.’ The she asks, ‘how are you, Kuya Jay.’ I hesitate. ‘Honestly? I have no idea.’ ‘What are you feeling?’ ‘Confused.’ ‘Why?’ ‘I don’t what to think anymore, Grace,’ I say” (Ribay 290). Grace and Jay are able to help each other kind of accept Jun’s death and support the other.