Authors:Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iacons
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Fiction
Publication Date: November 20, 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster books for young readers
Can you love someone you can never touch?
Five Feet Apart is about two teens with cystic fibrosis (CF) dealing with first love and the uncertainty of their futures. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting the lungs and leading to severely shortened life expectancy. Though the book is essentially a romance, larger issues of how serious illnesses affect families and the different ways patients deal with CF are important parts to the story.
Stella Grant likes to be in control, she's an over achiever who has her life in order and manages her medications and treatments to a T. Will Newman is the total opposite, all he wants to be in control of is getting out of the hospital. He couldn't care less about his treatments, or some fancy new drug trial for B.cepacia, the bacteria he's contracted that's complicating his CF. When Stella and Will first meet on the CF ward, they infuriate each other. But of course, opposites attract, and romance soon follows. The bacteria Will has is easily transmitted and drug resistant, and it drastically shortens the already short life span of CF patients. Because of this, he has to stay six feet away from the other patients on the ward. This is especially important for Stella as she is waiting for a lung transplant. But suddenly six feet doesn't feel like safety. It feels like punishment.
After all that CF has stolen from them is it so wrong to steal something back? Is Five Feet Apart really that dangerous? https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/five-feet-apart
Quotes
"Don't think about what you've lost. Think of how much you have to gain. Live, Stella."
"If this is all we get, then let's take it. Iwant to be fearless and free," she says, giving me a look, daring me. "It's just life, Will. It'll be over before we know it."
Thoughts...
Not having CF I can't say whether or not it's medically accurate and part of me thinks it is kind of a cash grab for the movie. But overall it's a bittersweet love story and I really enjoyed it. I think both the book and the movie will bring a lot of awareness to cystic fibrosis. ★★★★✰
