Where the Dead Sit Talking Summary
Brandon Hobson

Where the Dead Sit Talking Overview

Brandon Hobson's novel, Where the Dead Sit Talking, is a stark and unrelenting look at the lives of lost and cast-off kids. Fifteen-year-old Sequoyah is of Cherokee descent. His father is long gone, and his mother has been imprisoned. After spending time in various detentions and homes, Sequoyah is sent to live in a foster home with Rosemary and George, as well as two other foster kids under the care of Harold and Agnes Troutt. Referred to as a "coming-of-age" novel, the story describes the inner thoughts of Sequoyah, an easily-manipulated teenager searching for his identity. The book culminates with the death of Rosemary and the role of Sequoyah in her questionable suicide. The book deals with themes of identity, gender, displacement, homelessness, fear, isolation, manipulation, fear, depression, and suicide as all three adolescents deal with their own issues. Dreams and birds are recurring motifs.