Sito

"[A] gut-punch personal narrative with broader societal implications." 

"Sito is a harrowing, impactful account of a teenager caught in a cycle of violence and the juvenile justice system that failed him."

“Ralph tells his story well. He avoids sentimentality. Nor does he pepper his prose with the kind of opaque language that so often dogs academic writing. … “Sito” is a readable, empathic portrayal of a Hispanic teenager whose promising life was cut short because of failures in the criminal justice system and violence in the streets.”

"[T]he story is at once...a sociological academia, an account of a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco, and an intimate look into generations of a close-knit family pushing against the stronghold of gang violence...The book, Ralph's third, follows two other ambitious nonfiction works...but "Sito" is his most personal yet."

"Sito is Laurence Ralph's most intimate, most searching, and most liberated work yet. Following the murder of a teenage family member, Ralph explores this gutting loss through the eyes of fathers and mothers, brothers and friends. Moving seamlessly from living rooms to court rooms, he forces us to recognize that there are no easy answers when it comes to vengeance, healing, and justice. With depths beyond depths, this profound book is a memoir and a sociological analysis; it is a critique, a confession, and a prayer." 

"Laurence Ralph ruminates on gang violence and our decadent criminal legal system through the life and tragic murder of his 19-year-old loved one, Sito. The blend of intimacy and authority, of self-and-structural reflection, of despair and expectation make for a profoundly affecting and edifying book. Sito is a triumph." 

“With great care, skill, and nuance, acclaimed anthropologist Laurence Ralph tells the tragic story of nineteen-year-old Luis Alberto Quiñonez. Drawing on his pioneering research on race, policing, and violence, Ralph takes the reader on a powerful and moving journey that unveils the failures of the criminal justice system in the United States. While there is much to despair, Ralph leaves readers with a deep sense of hope—that the failures of the past can be corrected and that we can build a more just and equitable society where young people like Sito can survive and thrive.”

“Sito is an extraordinary story of murder, grief, revenge, and the possibility of healing.  With this beautifully written account, Laurence Ralph takes us to a place that is, at once, intimate and revealing.  He calls into question his own ideals and scholarly conclusions as he confronts his family’s loss and grief.  And, in the end with the Orishas guiding his tongue, he offers a prayer that we all need to hear.  Heartwrenchingly complex. Sito is a powerful and moving book.” 

"SITO is both a deeply moving work of remembrance and a powerful indictment of our racist judicial system. Once again, Ralph proves that he is a brilliant ethnographer and expert storyteller. His sensitive prose gives us heart wrenching insight into a young life that ended too soon and a grieving family’s search for truth, justice, and forgiveness. This book sets a new standard for social science writing in the 21st century."

"Ralph draws on family experiences and his research into justice-impacted youth to paint an honest, heartbreaking, and enraging picture of his 19-year-old family member Sito’s life and death."

"Through a heart-wrenching study of a youth’s murder, Ralph reveals a larger picture of social decay, despair, and violence."

"For these young men, there are rarely second chances. This ultimately is the lesson Laurence Ralph takes from Sito’s short life…. Sito invites us to regard the Sitos of the world with a bit less judgment and a good deal more humility.”