Welcome to Litsy!

I read this as a team book for a readathon this month. I had never heard of it, and learned some things about the Philippines I wouldn‘t have otherwise.

By pure coincidence - I swear! - #6 on my list is my first book of 2024 that I just finished. 🤯 #BookSpin
I love books that get me to care about the characters *and* teach me something about the world that I didn't know much about. This book does that for the Duterte Regime's “War on Drugs“ in the Philippines, which included a wave of extrajudicial killings - no arrests, no due process, no rehabilitation for substance users. It was heartbreaking.

@TheAromaOfBooks @PuddleJumper

Loved it! I didn't expect such powerful writing about such a delicate and sad subject. A pick! April #Roll100 pick.

And since it is almost end of May, here are my other “accomplishments“, all picks:
- Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu: May #Roll100 pick;
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: another April #Roll100 pick;
- Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger: May #BookSpin and Feb #Roll100 pick

and 2 bingos 😁

It strikes me that I cannot claim this country‘s serene coves and sun-soaked beaches without also claiming its poverty, its problems, its history. To say that any aspect of it is part of me is to say that all of it is part of me.

This was a great read!

#SaintsDay #NovemberNarrative @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Books, cats, and hammocks. Savoring the last few weeks of quiet before school starts.

What a fantastic book. I was reading this because we are updating our world literature summer reading materials, but I found this story amazing and so happy I read it. A great coming-of-age tale in the Phillipines as a teenager tries to navigate loss and family.

March 2022 #Roll100
This month‘s books are 5: Patron Saints of Nothing and 28: Confessions. I‘m going to start with the audiobook of Patron Saints of Nothing because it‘s available now from the library! Thanks @PuddleJumper

Patron Saints of Nothing delves into the life of 17 year old Filipino American Jay Reguero. Currently in a mix of superficial relationships focused on video games and college, Jay feels alone with his big emotions. That being said, we learn of his one true friend and cousin, Jun, in which honesty and compassion are the centrefold of their relationship.

I loved this book, it had the perfect amount of action but still used lots of emotion to really keep you drawn into it the entire time. The novel follows Jay Reguero in the spring of grade 12. He planned on doing nothing but family disaster back in the Philippines takes him on another path. I would recommend this book to enjoyers of books with compassion and courage, like Concrete Rose of The Hate You Give.

This novel offers an effective look at one boy's process of self-discovery and identity in the wake of his cousin's death in the Philippines. It looks at the various reasons why people keep secrets and the consequences of making assumptions and not allowing for people to be more than just one thing. Somewhat simplistic in style with straightforward messages (as I expect from YA but always hope for more), but it gets the job done.

I‘ve been so indecisive lately about what to read next. I have a poll going in my classroom to have my students choose for me 😂 But I‘ve just been in a slump again. Going to try out October‘s book club book next. I also wrote my first blog post in a year (link in bio!!), so maybe I‘ll get back to book reviews again!? I love writing but always forget to post anything 🙃

This book was exactly what I was looking for, right form the start it was playing with heart strings. It follows Jay Reguero in his last semester of high school where he plans to play video games for the remainder of the year when a tragic family event hits him a little bit harder then everyone else in the family. I would recommend this book to just about anyone especially if you enjoyed the books of Angie Thomas.

Loved this so much. It‘s so hard seeing so much misery on the streets, spesh when you‘re a kid, and you genuinely care. Adults tell you there‘s nothing you can do, and altho you get de-sensitized eventually, deep down you know that there‘s something seriously wrong in the world, maybe with people.

I loved this book so much. It was so relatable, so well written, and so diverse. Wish I had read it sooner!
#2021 #Faves #YA

@cjbooklover insisted I read this book. It both educated and moved me. It‘s an important book, and I probably wouldn‘t have picked it up without her prompting! #Libby #audiobook

#SpringSentiments Day 25: The book cover does look slightly #Austere - but the cheesecake baklava is the shiznit.

#OppositeDay 8: #Cold fruits for dinner! Yay!

#OppositeDay 6: A lot of #Lies are being uncovered in this gritty novel.

#SpringSentiments Day 5: I predict that daughter and I will feel a great deal of despair and #exasperation as we read this novel depicting a teenage Filipino-American‘s quest to discern the truth behind Duterte‘s war on drugs - but in reality is a war on the poor and the defenseless. 😭

#OppositeDay 5: The #poor and social class and classism are definitely portrayed in these two novels. Beach reads.

This is the book I‘m reading aloud to my tenth graders this quarter. We read All American Boys and Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter last semester. #ProjectLit #TeachersofLitsy

I decided on #thenerddaily and #2021popsugar challenges with the added caveat that titles must come from my #tbr

I had never heard of the Philippines Drug War and situation. While I was aware of the slums and extreme poverty it felt dislocated from the life I'm living. To sell or give away your children (with good intentions or bad) because you can't support them.... to take drugs not because you want to but to help you feel less hungry, knowing the drugs are cheaper than food... all of this floored and educated me in a way I didn't know I needed. Wow.

I didn‘t gel with this book, but this was my fault as I didn‘t look into the age range. It‘s YA, and while I don‘t particularly love it, I think it‘s important for other people to read. I would like it to be a replacement for the well tread school novels.

I think it would have served me better growing up, letting me know in a practical way that I‘m not the be all end all of things, good or bad.

I am off track BUT the tagged book just got added to to my library after I‘ve requested it and I‘m so excited to read it!

#integrateyourshelf

Another good quote that hit way too close to home...

Patron Saints of Nothing opens the door for critical thinkers to explore the information presented in the narrative further and that‘s a positive thing. It exposes young readers to a world beyond their own and, ultimately, we all need to be reminded of the struggles that do not belong to us, no matter what age we are.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3527328293

I‘m only a few pages in but the book has made me feel very doleful. It reminds me so much about myself. Having lived in the US for so long, I‘m only able to see Philippines from a social media standpoint. Knowing that I have friends and family there during the drug war makes me worry about them, and I‘ve done absolutely nothing to help the cause. To my Filipino/FilAm friends who have lived in the US for so long, this book is a nice wake up call.

“How do you mourn someone you already let slip away? Are you even allowed to?”

“We can only handle so much truth at any given moment, I suppose.”

This book started off boring, but I stuck with it. It could have been a great story had it not been full of unnecessary information. There were many minute details that could have been left out. I was like just get on with it.

I absolutely adored the main character Jay, and learning about the war on drugs in the Philippines. This was part mystery, part coming of age, part social justice novel. The ending was not predictable but satisfying and I would totally read a sequel if one was written!

"... all of us are flawed. But flawed does not mean hopeless. It doesn't mean forsaken. It doesn't mean lost. We are not doomed to suffer things as they are, silent and alone. We do not have to leave questions and letters and lives on answered. We have more power and potential than we know if we would only speak, if we would only listen."

" I wonder at our hidden depths. We all have the same intense ability to love running through us... But for some reason, so many of us don't use it like he did... We bury it until it becomes an underground river. Until we barely remember it's there. Until it's too far down to tap. But maybe it's time to dig it up. To let the sun hit the water. To let it flood."

"Maybe you haven't developed a passion yet because you've spent your entire life doing what others wanted you to do."

"There are moments when sharing silence can be more meaningful than filling a space with empty chatter."

"We are bound to family by blood, but there's no guarantee any connection exists beyond that."

"We are bound to family by blood, but there's no guarantee any connection exists beyond that."

My. Goodness. I couldn‘t put this one down 📚This is the first book I have ever read about Filipino history, and the current war on drugs. While it is a story centered around grief, mourning, and guilt, it is a powerful story of family, justice, truth, and forgiveness. 💚this has by far made my top 10 of 2020 YA reads 🤯

"It's a sad thing when you map the borders of a friendship and find it's a narrower country than expected."

My spot to read for the couple of days.

"We can only handle so much truth at any given moment, I suppose." #truth

Litsy, I haven't reviewed a SINGLE BOOK this year, or entered anything into my book challenges. I don't know how that happened. Apologizes in advance for posting a bunch.

This book is heartbreaking in so many ways. A Filipino-American teen goes to his uncle's home in the Philippines to find the answers of his cousin's death as he grapples with identity. A different kind of "coming home" story.

#pop20 #bookwithatleastafourstarratingongoodreads

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 60 #bookstoread #tbrpile #bookstagram

A boy learns about his family and also his country and the behind the scenes horrors.

I love young-adult lit that exposes readers to other cultures and to a world outside their own. This book has all kinds of heart and soul. #YAL

The last 40-50 pages should be required reading for families having to face tragedies.

Just when I thought I couldn‘t love this book any more, my favorite indie bookstore (the one where I bought the book!) gets a shout out in the Acknowledgements at the end. So meta.
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This book is equal parts coming-of-age, family drama, mystery, travel journal, history lesson, and social commentary. Plus the pacing is perfect. Highly recommend!
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BTW hicklebees.com ships nationwide
#ya #bookclub #shopsmall #AAPIHeritageMonth #teachersoflitsy

This is getting very interesting now, as I barrel toward the halfway point of the book ... but I‘ll tell you what, all these references to “Tito” takes right out the story and to my life as a 10-year old boy cheering on Tito Santana in the WWE!

Shaping up to be a good coming of age story! 🤓😱😇🤪😎👍

Randy Ribay liked this nbd 😳