Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.
The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.
Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella, she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment. What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too? ( from amazon.com)
"Five Feet Apart" by Rachel Lippincott Book Review and Discussion
Today we are going to be discussing "Five Feet Apart" by Rachel Lippincott, also known as, the last book to make me cry despite my very best efforts not to.
This YA book is a novelization of a screenplay for a film that is coming out in March 2019 and I am *so* excited to watch it.
"Five Feet Apart" follows Will and Stella - two teenagers with cystic fibrosis who have very different approaches to dealing with their disease, both emotionally and practically. Stella is very regimented, she likes to-do lists - I feel her in my soul. Will is more of a rebel, his condition in some ways is worse than Stella's and so he just doesn't see the point in fighting a death that feels so imminently inevitable.
I gave "Five Feet Apart" 4/5 stars - it got me (emotionally) which was shocking to me ( I'm not usually a fan of YA contemporary) - - BUT - - I will vouch for it with a pretty big caveat -- you're going to have to turn your brain off just a little bit for this one. In the book, teenagers had access to the NICU (no way) and prepared a meal for themselves in the hospital cafeteria ( what would surely be a highly sanitized and controlled kitchen space, again, no way). These moments worked really well emotionally, but I had to suspend disbelief knowing that they would not be possible in reality.
The emotional impact of this novel is worth any suspension of disbelief that I struggled with. I knew about some aspects of cystic fibrosis, but reading this story and falling in love with these characters, and really internalizing the fact that Stella or anyone with cystic fibrosis - in order to protect their health- shouldn't hug, or hold hands, or be closer than six feet from the only people who truly understand what they are going through. Although this is just one aspect of CF, and an easily romanticized one at that, the book drove the complexities of that home so well, among other aspects of the disease. This book is worth reading for it, and the hope that it might convey even a tiny bit of the anxiety, isolation, fear, and pain of cystic fibrosis.
I'm on the look out for #ownvoice reviews of this book, so please link them down below if you happen to find some. I have several linked to this video on YouTube! And also, if you read "Five Feet Apart", #ownvoices or not, please comment down below and let me know what you think of it! Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
