I had high hopes from this book after reading the premise, but it failed to deliver what my expected.
- I wasn't able to connect to the main character as I wanted. I wasn't able to see the much character development.
- I believed there would be main focus on mental health, but it was barely present there? There was a lot of scope for showing mental illness. I wish it was handled properly.
- It was interesting though, to see how the author incorporated ghosts in the story. Probably that was only the interesting aspect.
- The side characters weren't handled well. They were not on integral part of the story, they were just there for the sake of it?
- The plot flow was little off in my opinion. Some things seemed to be out of place and random.

In short, I did enjoy a few aspects of the story, but I wish the plot and characters were handled properly.

Had a hard time connecting with the main character. But i liked Asliey and Sonnet. But some places it all felt rushed and i didn't get the feeling that the character had some sort of development through the book. But it was interesting to see how the author added ghosts into this story though.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. The premise of this book was promising. I work in mental health, and expected to really enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the characters or story line. The writing seemed choppy and at times incomplete. I would have liked more character development so I could either root for or hate the folks in they story. Instead, I just didn’t feel anything for them. I give this 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3.

This book is an emotional mine field, from the first few pages, you know you are in for it, the tears, the pain, the works.

Fast paced and emotionally laden, this book is well written and has a powerful message, that we are never truly alone, even when we are at the end of our tether, when we can't see anything good to look forward to, there is always someone there for us.

Korrian is struggling with the passing of his friend, since then he has been having some trouble with school. He’s also getting picked on by some bullies at school. One day he gets suspended from school for fighting.
This book is one that deals with a lot of teens issues and I think that’s what had drawn me to the story in the first place. There is talks of guilt and depression also the other emotions that go along with that.
I think this book is one that everyone should read because it is a great book, but also because of how real it had felt. It is a very reverent book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this novel. I felt it was in turn whiny and disjointed. It's basically the story of Korrian, a teenage boy dealing with the aftermath of losing his best friend two years before. Yet, other than that, and his beef with two bullies, I am not sure what the focus of the novel should be. His friendship with Sonnet. a ghost? HIs budding relationship with Aisley? HIs job at the music store? His relationship with his parents?

There isn't enough balance in this story to make it strong. It bops from one topic to the next without real focus, and after a certain point, it's simply frustrating. There is potential for a decent story, but it's buried under all the whining.

Whisper at the Top of My Lungs by Jeremy j. Simmons is a novel that follows main character Korrian in his struggle with mental illness. This touches in on very hard and important subjects in a way that sheds a much needed light.

Personally, I had a hard time with the structure of the novel and found it hard to follow at times but overall found it to be a good story.

I was given an early access copy in exchange for an honest review

Whisper at the Top of My Lungs is the story of Korrian and his journey of dealing with depression a year after the loss of his best friend. Korrian volunteers at an after school daycare and the kids he helps out there are considered his closest friends. He's bullied at school and feels like the world is out to make his life terrible. On top of this, he feels lost. Korrian's depression is one of the more realistic ways I've seen it written. It's the constant feeling of not knowing what to do in life and feeling like you're drowning with no one to help you. It isn't a clinical version of depression; it's a depression that will connect with anyone who has it which I highly appreciate the author's portrayal of. This book doesn't have a concrete plot outside of the topic of mental health, but it also doesn't need one. Whisper at the Top of My Lungs is a fantastic YA book that any young person can relate to. It's the book I needed when I was in high school, and I'm sure there are other teens who would need it as well. It tells the story of a boy who is dealing with depression but also making the best of his life that he can. Overall, I do recommend this book because of it's realistic portrayal of mental health and positive ending.

I like that there was music woven into the storyline and I like the focus on friendship. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more focus on Korrian’s mental health. There was a lot of opportunity for that. The flow of the plot was also a little off for my taste. Some things seemed to be out of place, random, and confusing. Some of the plot points also could have used more development, particularly the relationship between Korrian and Sonnet and the situation Aisley was in. I did enjoy reading the book, I just wished for a little more from it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Korrian's best friend dies in a car accident.... This story begins a year after that has happened. Since the accident, Korrian's life has been falling apart.. he's failing, he's depressed, and he's getting bullied. You could TRULY feel his struggles in the book. I could easily relate myself.
A ghost comes along and helps Korrian through his struggles. I'll leave it at that.

Unique idea, not the greatest read, but i really did like Korrian.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Right, I had high hopes for this book. I thought the book was going to focus heavily on the depression aspect but honestly? It doesn't. I don't *think* there is an actual story plot (which is fine since it's more of a quiet YA book) and I think there are too many characters for a book this small.

Let's start with the voice: the voice is great. Korrian has the angsty teen voice nailed and his feelings are very real. The only issue I have is that his feelings aren't explored well enough. We don't get enough about how his depression affects him or his family. If I'm going to be honest, the depression aspect isn't even there. I was drawn to the book because of the mental health angle but was thorougly disappointed that it wasn't there. I think the blurb needs some reworking because this may make many readers disappointed.

Characters: I didn't care for them. Many of them were only there for a chapter or so and then disappeared. What purpose did they serve? And if Korrian is so torn over Toren and his death, Toren should have gotten more space in the book.

Narrative: very disjointed at times. It was hard to know what was a flashback and what wasn't because of how the chapters were laid out.

Overall: not particularly pleased with this book. Had high hopes but didn't pan out in the end.

Korrian is struggling with depression after losing his best friend a year ago, which is blames himself for, despite not being his fault. He’s not doing great in school and he’s dealing with bullies.

On top of all of that, he’s suddenly seeing a ghost, a girl named Sonnet, who he befriends.

While things start off hard for Korrian, and seem to only escalate, things do get better as he continues to deal with his depression and grief. Apart from Sonnet, he meets a couple of other (living) friends, Regan, Lin and Aisley.

Overall, Whisper at the top of My Lungs was great. I really enjoyed reading along as I sympathized with Korrian and his struggles through out the book - I was rooting for him. This book is definitely more of an emotional book than a supernatural book despite the ghosty elements.

**I received an ARC copy through Netgalley! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher Ghost Light Press**

Korrian was a very realistic and believable character. There were a lot of serious issues that were delved into in an appropriate and thoughtful way. The ending happened so suddenly, but it was nice to see how everything was wrapped up.

Thank you Netgalley for a eARC of this book for an honest review. This was a nice read about a boy who was dealing with many issues such as grief, guilt and teenage angst. The book started off slow, but then developed the characters in good detail. I am truly not a supernatural believer and probably could have done with out the ghost. But than again her character served to move the main character through difficult times and helped with acceptance. I enjoyed this book!

This was a really interesting read.. When it started off, I thought it was one type of story. But it ended up in a totally different direction.

The good
Romance, family, ghosts,...what's not to like?
I really liked the characters and wanted to know what happened next.
The writing style really drew me in.

The not so good
It started off a little disjointed and took me a bit to get into it.
The ending felt like it rushed all the loose ends and wrapped them up too quickly.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to #netgalley for an advanced copy of this. This did not affect my review.

#whisperatthetopofmylungs

I was really excited about reading this one. I thought the beginning was great and than the rest just didn’t live up to the synopsis. It wasn’t a terrible book I think some people will really enjoy this book.

I really loved this book in the beginning but things sort of came to a standstill after the introductory chapters. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen and it just took too long.
Other than that, the characters were well fleshed out and the plot was okay. Didn't really like that I had to wait for so long for things to start happening but the book was generally okay.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on September 18th.

Korrian is struggling after losing his best friend a year prior to the events in this book. His grades are slipping, he’s pretty isolated, and his only real interaction is when he deals with the bullies at his school.

Heading home one day, he hears crying coming from the cemetery- but there’s no one there, except for the ghost of a girl named Sonnet. She becomes Korrian’s only friend, and is a bit of a sounding board for him as he tries to move on past his friend’s death. He blames himself, even though there’s nothing he could have done.

Eventually, after being suspended from school for fighting, Korrian finds his way into a music shop. There he meets Regan, Lin, and Aisley (aka, the girl of his dreams). Can Korrian find a way to move on and continue his life- even after losing his best friend?

This book was very sweet, and deals with issues of depression, guilt, and grief in a way that was very real, but never felt over-the-top. Korrian was a likable character, and life crapped on him a lot- usually when he was just trying to be a good guy. That can seem pretty freaking easy to relate to some days. It was sad to see him so lost, but it also made me root for him as he started to learn to continue on after the tragedy he’d experienced.

In fact, most of the characters were just trying to do the best the could with the life they’d been given. I even felt bad for the bullies because it was easy to see that their anger was a misplaced way of dealing with their own hurt and fears. Because of this, I found this book very believable (minus the ghost).

The ending was solid, in that it had a tone of hope. My only gripe is that there were a couple of characters that just wandered into the narrative, stayed long enough to become part of it, then disappeared again. What happened to them? No idea.

That’s a very minor thing, though, and it doesn’t diminish this book in any way. Well done, Mr. Simmons!