Where the Dead Sit Talking

Written by Brandon Hobson

Narrated by Eric Michael Summerer

With his single mother in jail, Sequoyah, a fifteen-year-old Cherokee boy, is placed in foster care with the Troutt family. Literally and figuratively scarred by his unstable upbringing, Sequoyah has spent years mostly keeping to himself, living with his emotions pressed deep below the surface—that is, until he meets the seventeen-year-old Rosemary, another youth staying with the Troutts.



Sequoyah and Rosemary bond over their shared Native American backgrounds and tumultuous paths through the foster care system, but as Sequoyah's feelings toward Rosemary deepen, the precariousness of their lives and the scars of their pasts threaten to undo them both.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Feb 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781681689517

Brandon Hobson

Brandon Hobson is the author of the novel The Removed as well as other books. His novel Where the Dead Sit Talking was a finalist for the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction. He is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation tribe of Oklahoma.

Reviews for Where the Dead Sit Talking

[Hannah May · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So I don’t want to be too hard on this because it was pretty good. It just seemed like there was a lot more potential here than what ended up being executed. I don’t think the book did a great job describing Sequoyah and rosemary bonding over shared native backgrounds. And the ending was just like any other page of the book so we don’t know what ends up coming of Sequoyah and it makes it hard to understand the lesson of the overall book and whatever the point of building up all these characters and situations is lost to the ending. It was a great story idea though!

[yobs2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Despairing, grim story about a half native-American foster kid whose last foster home felt like home despite the tragedy there. Ended too soon. I’d like a follow up to this character.

[bibliophageoncoffee · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Loved the writing and really enjoyed the beginning, but I couldn't stay engaged with the plot.

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Where the Dead Sit Talking is the strange, ambiguous story of Sequoyah, a Cherokee teen stuck in the Oklahoma foster care system circa 1989. Sequoyah, who has gender identity issues, develops a strong connection to Rosemary, a beautiful but deceitful girl who lives in the same foster-care home. After her suicide (this is not a spoiler; the circumstances surrounding Rosemary’s death are announced in the first paragraph of the novel), Sequoyah has a hard time leaving her memory behind. The question is, how far did he go in subsequent years to assuage his grief? I believe there is evidence that he became a serial killer.

This novel would make a good book club selection. There is plenty to think about and discuss here.

[muddyboy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of a Native American boy whose mother is in jail and he has been shuttled to different foster families over the years This novel begins as he enters a new family with two foster kids already. He develops a close relationship especially the girl who is two years his senior. The novel focuses all their struggles to come to terms with the bad hands they have been dealt in life. These characters are very real to me and Mr. Hobson is a wonderful writer. I can see why the novel received all the acclaim that it did.

[cdyankeefan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sequoah and Rosemary are two Native American teenagers residing in the same group home. The book begins with the revelation of Rosemary’s death and works backwards in describing the events leading up to her passing.sequoah and Rosemary develop a relationship in which Rosemary exerts an almost Svengali like influence over Sequoah. He in turn finds it impossible to resist anything Rosemary asks of him even though her requests frequently go against his better judgment. Slowly but surely Rosemary reveals her pain leaving Sequoah devastated. This is a wonderful story of the joys and difficulties growing up in the foster care system.

[beth.clarke · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read a lot of Native American fiction, but this was certainly unexpected. Sequoya is a foster child with many issues. The author puts us deep inside his head to the point where I won't soon forget him. I don't mind a dark narrative when it's written in such a way that I'm connected to the characters. This is not a light read in anyway; it's for readers that want an experience as Sequoya goes through heartbreaking challenges.

[msf59 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in rural Oklahoma in the late 1980s, we are introduced to Sequoyah, a fifteen year old boy, of Cherokee heritage. He has been placed into the foster care system, after his mother's imprisonment. He is a troubled, unstable kid, who can't seem to fit in, but he is eventually sent to live with the Troutt family. A kind couple that have taken foster kids in for many years. There is also a seventeen year old girl living here, also of Native American extraction and they begin to form a bond.
This is an unsettling read, as it deals with drugs, bullying and suicide, as these kids try to navigate forward, with the scars of the past, nipping at their heels.
This is a pretty good read, by a solid writer, but I was hoping for a moment, when the story would really take off and deliver on a higher level. It never quite reached those heights. I recently read Don't Skip Out on Me, also about a young Native American man, in similar circumstances, but that one, ended up more satisfying.

*I read this as a Edelweiss galley. It was released in February.