Five Feet Apart is a young adult fiction story about two 17 year-old teenage kids who both suffer from the terminal disease cystic fibrosis while fighting for a chance at life and love. The story was written by a trio of authors: Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis and published in 2018 by Simon & Schuster.
The main characters are Will Newman and Stella Grant, who pretty much spend their entire lives in and out of hospitals. They are isolated from the rest of the world due to the seriousness and complications that arise from their disease. Written through the stream of conscience of both Will and Stella, it makes the story more authentic because the feelings, emotions, reactions and responses are more true to the dynamic personalities of teenagers.
Will and Stella are both currently residing at St. Grace Hospital as the story begins. Stella is a bit of a control freak. Everything about her daily routine is meticulously organized. Will is a rebel and pretty much flies by the seat of his pants when it comes to his everyday care management. Both are kept in check by their caring and compassionate nurses Barb and Julie. Will and Stella both endure laborious and sometimes grueling medical intervention to stay alive. Stella is on a lung transplant list waiting. Will unfortunately contracted B-capacia and is unable to receive a lung transplant. Each cope with the disease and its limitations in their own way. Stella through diligence and consistency. Will through hope. The contrast of both characters is that Will is eager to live and Stella is eager to stay alive.
But as fate and creative writing would have it, Will and Stella form a friendship that turns into love. The only fly in the ointment is cystic fibrosis. Because the disease is highly contagious to fellow CF patients, the standard rule is they must be six feet apart from each other at all times. As the romance between the two blossoms it is surprisingly Stella who breaks the “six feet apart” rule. There is more to this story in the form of background history (mainly Stella’s) and rebellious adventures; some bold and some reckless but I don’t want to give too much away.
The concept of two ill-fated young lovers is not new or original. But two ill-fated lovers fighting a loosing battle with CF is. It is a story worth reading. The characters are like- able and authentic. Some of the strengths of this book is found in how knowledgeable the authors are about the disease itself. They were able to weave a believable and informative story out of the havoc caused by cystic fibrosis. Before reading “Five Feet Apart” my knowledge of cystic fibrosis and the affects it has on a person and their loved ones was non-existent. After reading the book, I gained a new awareness that was not there prior. For me, being able to learn and take away something from a novel makes it worth the time I spent reading it.
One final comment I have to say is; I absolutely love the cover art on the book’s front jacket. The design of the lungs and the color combinations makes it a lovely book to add to your collection.
Disclaimer- I write for fun and am in no way paid by anyone for my observations, musings, ramblings or reviews.
Note: Image above was photographed by me. I mean seriously, taking a photo of a book is almost just as fun as writing about a book.
Birds of a story 