This book hurt. There is no other way to say it other than it hurt.

The book starts with Ellie committing suicide. As the book goes on you learn why she committed suicide and boy is it beyond heartbreaking. Ellie has an out of body experience and go over the days leading up to her suicide. You see her mom being abused by her stepfather. Her childhood friend August and how he plays such a big part in her life.

This book hurt so much. If anyone is struggling with thoughts of suicide please seek help and also don't read this book. This book isn't happy. It's real and that's that makes it so heartbreaking.

This is a heartbreakingly beautiful story; the type that you know won’t have a happy ending and will haunt you forever, but gives power behind it. Ellie suffers in an abusive household where her mother just wishes to flee with her beloved daughter. August, the boy next door, supports her artistic dreams and gives her a space to escape life’s pressures. Told after Ellie’s suicide through a variety of letters to different emotions, places, and characters, this is a very poetic read.

It is very intense with some of the descriptions of domestic abuse, but a powerful and necessary read for all readers. Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This book is part The Lovely Bones and part The Virgin Suicides and 100% difficult to get through, but has a rewarding end.

Wow! This was an amazing book. I could not put it down. It tore at my heart. I wanted to help Ellie and her mom. I wanted to hold August and comfort him. I wanted the police to take the father away. The pain and anguish in this story is heartbreaking. And to know that it is all too real for so many people is horrifying.

Oh, my goodness! I could not put this book down. I needed to know how it would end. It's phenomenal, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen.

Good gracious, it's a good thing that this book isn't terrible long, it's heavier than full fat mac and cheese with sausage and gravy. I haven't read anything this depressing in a long time.

Ellie goes to school one morning when she hears a startling announcement. A girl in her class has taken her life, but she is shattered when she hears that the girl is her. Watching her friends and family through a birds eye view, as well as her flashbacks of her life, we learn how she ended up in the position that she was, and all the people affected on the way.

Here's the trigger warning. If you have a problem with suicide, excessive descriptions of domestic and child abuse, overly sappy youth romance, and just overall weighted blanket style emotions, please move on. I understand what the author was trying to accomplish when she wrote this, but, especially for a YA, I don't know if I fully agree with the methods. I would have liked to see the characters have more hope and resources as their disposable in order to prevent more prevention.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat a rainbow and sprinkle glitter in my eyes to recover from the emotional beating I just took.

The most captivating book I have read in 2020. From the moment I started I didn’t want to put it down. I feel as though I was holding my breathe at times watching and waiting to see how it unfolded. A heart breaking story told in the perfect perspective.

Trigger Warning: This title deals with abuse, depression, domestic violence, and suicide. The day after she dies by suicide, Ellie wakes up from the worst dream. As she goes about her morning, things feel off, but Ellie escapes her sad house and makes her way to school. She slips into first period where the class is told that a classmate died yesterday. It isn't until Ms. Hooper says the name that Ellie realizes no one can hear her scream. Because Ellie's recent memories are distorted, she tries to uncover what exactly happened. Her regret is evident, but the permanency of her decision is firm. Ellie witnesses the grief of others as she tries to come to terms with and understand her death. Through this experience, Ellie realizes that though she felt like there was no escape in sight and nothing left to hope for, not all was as it seemed. Despite not feeling it, Ellie was loved. 

THOUGHTS: This book is devastating and very compelling. Readers will want to know if Ellie figures out what happened and if she finds peace through her regrets. Highly recommended.

4.5*
Most suicide books spend a great deal of time focused on the circumstances leading up to the taking of one’s life. Here the deed is over as the book starts and the deceased Ellie is caught in a spirit state where she can see those she left behind. She’s able to observe but she can’t touch, speak to, or communicate in any way with the living. Instead, she watches those who are suffering and who lay bare their broken hearts.

Without a doubt, Ellie’s life was torture and her hopelessness seems understandable. What the book does, is show things that Ellie never saw when she was alive – things that might have made a difference. But it’s simply too late and there is nothing Ellie’s spirit can do about it.

The tragedy of suicide is the missed opportunities, the failure to see options, the finality of the event. Ellie is crushed by what’s left in her wake. She sees things that might have made a difference but are now beyond changing. Callan writes with a soft touch, bringing readers into the pall of loss. The story is heartbreaking but the point is clear – there might have been salvation if only Ellie hadn’t put an end to things. Now there is only loss and sadness. Even Ellie hasn’t escaped the true tragedy. She watches and hurts for those she cared for as they attempt to make sense of her drastic action.

Though a book centering on suicide is not, by its nature, hopeful, this one does shine a light on the fact that what might seem hopeless could have other alternatives. Maybe there might be a light at the end of the tunnel, if only one looks hard enough and gives others a chance to make a difference. Though Ellie cannot go back, others can take heart that things could improve, if only one allows them to.

The author has provided helpful links and contact information at the end of the book for any who suffer with thoughts of suicide or endure domestic violence.

A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen was a dark story of suicide and the effect it has on everyone in that person's life. This was a hard one to read, especially since you know from the start there is no happy ending for Ellie. I always hold out hope that the victim in these kinds of books will some way, some how still be alive, but this time? You know it's not possible. Through depression and a horrible home life, Ellie lost her hope and her will to live until it was too late. This was an extremely painful story to read. From the abuse at home to watching how her mother and best friend handled her death. It's a chain reaction of turmoil. The writing style was very different, but it really got the point across vividly. What I hope this book will reveal to the potential Ellies out there is that: There is hope. There is always hope, and there are always people who can help. You are worth it. No matter how it feels right now, you are worth it.

I really connected with this book and felt bad for the character it seems that she regretted her decision to commit suicide but felt like she had no other option. I also feel bad for her mom and her friend dealing with her being gone and feeling to blame for it.

The incredibly heart-breaking and poignant A Breath Too Late opens with a teenage girl learning that she has died by suicide. Ellie has killed herself and now finds that she is living in some sort of limbo, able to look in on the lives of those who played a pivotal role in her life and how it ended. In amusing anecdotes and sorrowful vignettes, Ellie narrates her life story, examining her relationships with her steadfast, yet broken mother; her volatile and abusive father; and the boy who has always had her heart. Through reflection and observation, Ellie attempts to put together the pieces of her fragmented life and make peace with where she finds herself today.

Rocky Callen's debut novel will break your heart, so don't come reading without tissues. This story of a young girl whose hope and spirit are dashed and destroyed cuts in the worst ways, leaving you feeling bruised and battered by the end. But the tragic nature of this book is the exact reason why it needs to be read. As author Callen states, "you are not alone." It is up to us to see those who are hurting and left without a voice; to be the light in someone's life; to help them find hope. If books such as A Breath Too Late can build compassion and help us truly see one another, then they are worth every tear shed while read.

A Breath Too Late is recommended to readers who love intimate novels with excellent character development, and who do not mind feeling something deep and dark when reading a book.

Additionally, the audiobook of A Breath Too Late comes highly recommended. The narrator encapsulates the voice and spirit of Ellie and creates an immersive, believable performance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Children's Publishing Group for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A Breath Too Late is written close to the bone. It's obvious every word cost its author and was written completely from the heart. I absolutely give it five stars for writing mastery, authenticity, pacing, and voice. This A Christmas Carol meets Ghost story really caught my attention in the author's use of time. Beginning with a hugely dramatic incident as its main character finds out she's dead by her own hands, the story unfurls in all direction, exploring all aspects of the death until she understands why and what happened, understands the beauty that comes along with the tragedy and all the things she wishes she had known before. This is a gorgeous debut and I'm certain Rocky Callen is just getting started.

This is probably one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. So incredibly tragic that it brought me to tears. It's also an important book that sheds light on the toll that mental and physical abuse can have on a family. I hope that teens in Ellie's shoes chose to fight. I wish so much that her story could have ended differently.

I'm still a little shell shocked from reading Rocky Callen's A Breath Too Late. This is a very powerful book, thoughtfully written, but it deals very frankly with suicide and the depression and physical abuse leading up to it so have a care when reading it and who you give it to. I'm glad I read it. Callen's characters are so well-developed. I really felt they were real. Ellie Walker is a senior in high school and has just committed suicide. Her story is told through unheard conversations with her mother, her best friend Austin, and also with Life, and Death and Depression. Ellie comes from a home where she is dearly loved by Momma and beaten regularly by Father, especially when Momma is unable to protect her. She has a best friend, Austin, who she pushes away once he starts to be aware of what is going on in Ellie's life. But they fall in love Senior year and Ellie begins to get excited about going to Columbia University to major in writing. She's able to overcome frequent bouts of depression but once her father finds out what Ellie is planning he abuses her without remorse resulting in Ellie taking her own life.

Callen stays true to the characters and the situation they are in, never turning away. It was tough to read and I cried a lot. I'm glad I read it and I know Ellie will stay with me. I'm not sure if you could say the story was entertaining, but it definitely changed me and increased my awareness of those who suffer in silence. I'm going to go hug my kids and my Mom and pray for those who can't, or won't.

I would recommend this book to readers with a trigger warning of course. I think that people who didn't like this book because of these darker themes should understand that this is real life for a lot of people. It's not always pretty. I think writing a book like this was pretty daring, and I think Callen did a good job no matter how hard it was to read.

It tore me apart.

Such a dark book- but wonderfully written. The perspective was interesting, and it was written in letters. This format kept the book fresh, The reader learns about Ellie's last days of life along with her. Love the friendship with Augustus. The ending is ultimately really satisfying and leaves the reader hopeful.

This book wasn’t easy to read already knowing the end. But this book was breathtakingly written and just squeezed my heart. It was a lot. But very good.

This is a hauntingly yet intimately beautiful story of Ellie, August, and Regina and the paths of their lives. When 17 year old Ellie commits suicide, she lingers around those who love her. Ellie is a writer and she tells her story in letters, notes, and journal entries. Tragic yet hopeful, this is a novel for grades 9 and above. It is one I will not soon forget. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

I was given an advance reader copy for an honest review, thank you NetGalley.

Wow what an incredible read. First off lots of trigger warnings about suicide and abuse. A Breath Too Late is told from the perspective of Ellie, who is lingering to watch her family right after her suicide. The prose are amazing, and it is told in a sort of epistolary novel kind of way, as a note with each chapter as a letter to her family or more abstract things like life, depression, memories. Very hard yet not hard to get through, the pain is real, and it will hurt your heart, but leave you with hope. Highly recommend but please please be careful if you are triggered by suicide or abuse.