Are you ready for an absolutely stunning cover reveal?

Today we're sharing the cover of A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen.

We could go on and on about how much we love this cover, but what if we let Rocky tell you how she feels about it and her debut book herself?

Several years ago, I wrote the first draft of A Breath Too Late over eight days, mostly in the dark. I didn’t want my family to hear me cry. I didn’t want them to know how deeply I was aching. Writing has a way of tugging out buried hurts and secrets. I spilled all of mine on those first raw and messy pages. 

This book has grown its own roots and wings over the years. Ellie’s story is one of heartache and hope and this cover in its subtleties and simplicity is such a beautiful reflection of that. The windswept hair makes me think of how Ellie is caught in those moments after her last breath. It is loss, and letting go, and regret and moving on all in one gorgeous illustration. The purple makes me think of sunrises and sunsets. Of beginnings and endings. And the stars. Oh, the stars. We marvel at stars. The stars are so wondrous, we often find ourselves reaching for them. We forget, too often, that we are wonders too. 

I thank the wonderful designer Kate Klimowicz and the talented artist Peony Yip for being so devoted to capturing this story’s heart with this cover. I can’t wait to hold it in my hands. I can’t wait for it to live in the world.

A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen
Jacket art by Peony Yip
Design by Katie Klimowicz
On Sale: April 28, 2020

For fans of Girl in Pieces, All the Bright Places, and Girl, Interrupted comes a haunting and breathtaking YA contemporary debut novel that packs a powerful message: hope can be found in the darkness.

“Achingly poignant . . . a love letter and a life raft to the brokenhearted.” –New York Times–bestselling author Alison McGhee

Seventeen-year-old Ellie had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. She is a spectator, swaying between past and present, retracing the events that unfolded prior to her death.

But there are gaps in her memory, fractured pieces Ellie is desperate to re-assemble. There's her mother, a songbird who wanted to break free from her oppressive cage. The boy made of brushstrokes and goofy smiles who brought color into a gray world. Her brooding father, with his sad puppy eyes and clenched fists. Told in epistolary-like style, this deeply moving novel sensitively examines the beautiful and terrible moments that make up a life and the possibilities that live in even the darkest of places. Perfect for fans of the critically-acclaimed Speak, I’ll Give You the Sun, and If I Stay.

"An exquisitely played love song to life, in all of its hurts, wonders, memories, and loves." –Jeff Zentner, Morris Award-winning author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days

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Rocky Callen, the daughter of an Ecuadorian immigrant, has long lived a life of service ever since she was a 13-year-old advocating for the undocumented immigrants in her community. She interned at NASA at 12 years old, started lobbying congress at 13, and wrote and produced student radio stories at NPR at 14. She was a behavioral therapist for over ten years. She received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband, daughter, and baby boy. Rocky founded the Bleed Ink Foundation, a creative hub and resource center for writers, and the HoldOn2Hope Project, which unites creatives in suicide prevention and mental health awareness. A Breath Too Late is her debut novel. Follow her on Twitter @rocky_writes and on Instagram @rockywrites.