Brandon Hobson Knihy

FINALIST FOR THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARDA KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF 2018NPR'S CODE SWITCH BEST BOOK OF 2018A SOUTHERN LIVING BEST BOOK OF 2018WINNER OF THE 2018 READING THE WEST BOOK AWARDLONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARDSet in rural Oklahoma during the late 1980s, Where the Dead Sit Talking is a startling, authentically voiced and lyrically written Native American coming-of-age story. With his single mother in jail, Sequoyah, a fifteen-year-old Cherokee boy, is placed in foster care. Literally and figuratively scarred by his mother’s years of substance abuse, Sequoyah keeps mostly to himself, living with his emotions pressed deep below the surface. At least until he meets seventeen-year-old Rosemary, a troubled artist who also lives with the family.Sequoyah and Rosemary bond over their shared Native American background 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.

"Steeped in Cherokee myths and history, a novel about a fractured family reckoning with the tragic death of their son long ago--from National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson"-- Provided by publisher

From National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson, a kaleidoscopic middle-grade adventure that mixes the realism of a Cherokee boy's life with the magic of Cherokee lore Ziggy has ANXIETY. Partly this is because of the way his mind works, and how overwhelmed he can get when other people (especially his classmate Alice) are in the room. And partly it's because his mother disappeared when he was very young, making her one of many Indigenous women who've gone mysteriously missing in recent times. Ziggy and his sister Moon want answers, but nobody around can give them. Once Ziggy gets it in his head that answers may be found in a nearby cave, there's no going back. Along with Moon, Alice, and his best friend Corso, he sets out on a mind-bending adventure. His story is tied to all of the stories of the Cherokee that have come before him... and his searching may lead him to Nunnehi, wise and playful spirits who help Cherokees in need. Ziggy might not have any control over the past... but if he learns the lessons of the storyteller, he may be able to better shape the future... by shaping how the past is told.