Typically, when schools talk about the War on Drugs, they talk about the United States’ effort since the 1970s to control drug abuse. However, there is a much more recent War on Drugs — one taking place in the Philippines since 2016, led by President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a speech shortly after his inauguration, Duterte urged citizens to kill suspected dealers and addicts. It is also believed police regularly perform extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and drug addicts. This ongoing War on Drugs has claimed anywhere from 5,100 to 12,000 lives,

This real-life drama is the focus of the novel “The Patron Saints of Nothing,” a 2019 finalist for the National Book Award.

“The Patron Saints of Nothing” follows a half-Filipino, half-American boy named Jay, whose cousin Jun was killed by police because they believed him to be an addict. Jay tries to reconcile the version of Jun he knew with the addict and runaway everybody is saying he is.

“He wants to know the real reason he died, so during his spring break he goes to the Philippines,” says freshman Ellie Endres, who is reading it in her English class. Once there, Jay tries to get to know the family that he hasn’t seen in years and learn the foreign culture and language.

Endres says she likes “The Patron Saints of Nothing” because “I thought the book took on an interesting point of view.” She also said she thinks the novel is inspiring because Jay “realizes he had to do something for Jun even if he doesn’t know what.” Freshman Ivy Loentz agrees, saying “It’s a very powerful book.”

Erika Eckart, an English teacher at OPRF, says the book “makes our community more informed about the world outside our borders, and how it connects to our lives.”

Loentz said her class uses “The Patron Saints of Nothing” to talk about “themes such as family, love, and truth.”

Eckart says her class talks about “how Randy Ribay (the author) establishes greater human truths throughout the novel, gathering evidence as we go.” Eckart’s class also had a Filipino exchange student as a guest speaker in class.

“It’s really important to learn about places we don’t really focus on in school or aren’t super represented in social media,” said Loentz.

“The Patron Saints of Nothing” has beautiful writing, a valuable message, and brings awareness to an under-covered current event. “My class learns about different countries, their stories, and how they differ from the dominant narrative,” Loentz says.

Eckart says the most valuable lesson she feels people could learn from the book is “that no place or person is as simple as you initially believe them to be.”