Imagine falling head over heels in love with someone that you can never come more than 6 feet in contact with because getting too close could threaten your already fragile life. This is exactly what happens to Stella Grant in Rachael Lippincott’s debut novel Five Feet Apart.
Stella has cystic fibrosis and has been in and out of Saint Grace’s Hospital for more than a decade. Stella is on the waiting list for a new set of lungs, but in the meantime, she tries to live as normal a life as possible - marking things off of her ever-growing to-do list, educating the world about CF through her YouTube channel, planning her school’s senior trip to Cabo, and building an app to remind patients when to take their medication. That is, except for times like these when her lungs land her back in Saint Grace’s for weeks or months at a time.
While residing at Saint Grace’s for a round of antibiotics that are supposed to help her finally shake a lingering sore throat and fever, Stella meets Will Newman, a new patient on the CF wing. At first Stella is disgusted and infuriated by Will, who takes a laissez-faire approach to his treatments and is pretty cavalier about his life in general. Stella, who has a typical Type A personality, can’t imagine anyone with CF blatantly refusing to take their medications or participate in treatments.
However, as Stella and Will get to know each other better, they find themselves attracted to one another despite their differences ... there’s just one kind of huge problem. CF patients aren’t normally allowed to hang out in close proximity with each other due to an increased risk of spreading infection, but even more so in the case of Will. See Will has B. cepacia, an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria that will take years off of his already short life span. B. cepacia is incurable and those who have it will likely never receive a new set of lungs.
Not only does Will have to deal with his fate every single day of his life, he now also has the problem of being a teenager falling in love over a distant of six feet - six feet being the amount of space that must be kept between Will and other CF patients at all times. Can Will and Stella find a way to bridge a gap that feels as large, dark, and deep as an ocean?
The first thing you notice about Five Feet Apart is how well it’s written. This is a YA novel with some depth. It’s easy to quickly become immersed in Lippincott’s descriptions of hospital life and cystic fibrosis treatment. Lippincott turns hospitals - institutions that many view as cold, haunting places - into something more warm and welcoming. Because Stella and many of her fellow CF patients have spent large parts of their lives in and out of Saint Grace’s, the hospital staff there is like their second family. It is heartwarming to read about the relationships and level of concern and care between the patients and hospital staff. Lippincott also brings to life the disease that is cystic fibrosis, introducing readers to the many treatments and obstacles that CF patients face.
Even better are the characters of Stella and Will. Lippincott’s portrayal of her two central characters is vibrant and vivid, and readers will really feel like they know these two by the end of the novel. It is also not hard to “ship” their budding relationship - they are absolutely adorable together and are a joy to read about.
In all, Five Feet Apart is a swoon-worthy teen romance that will appeal to young and old alike. It is sure to be enjoyed by all who love well-crafted passages and memorable characters. Plus, the cover is gorgeous - how can you not pick up this novel?! There’s even a cherry on top here - Five Feet Apart is set to be released on the big screen on March 13, 2019! Be sure to read it before you see it because this novel is sure to get a lot of buzz in the coming months.
Rating: ***** Stars (I LOVED it!)
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
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DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! Five Feet Apart
GENRE: Books to Movies; Love Stories; Realistic Fiction THEME: Living While Dying TONE: Moving CHARACTER: Ability Diverse; Complex SUBJECT: Chronic Diseases; Cystic Fibrosis; People with Chronic Illnesses; People with Cystic Fibrosis; Risk-Taking in Teenagers; Separated Couples; Teenage Romance; Teenagers; Teenagers with Disabilities; Transplantation of Organs, Tissues, etc.
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