If you enjoy YA stories with disease/disability representation and the forbidden love trope then I think you will appreciate Five Feet Apart. Since I love both of those things, I enjoyed this book. This book packed the emotional punch and it’s a book that helped me appreciate parts of life that can be easy to take for granted. 

Symposis and Book Cover (courtesy of Goodreads)

“In this moving story two teens fall in love with just one minor complication—they can’t get within five feet of each other without risking their lives. 

Can you love someone you can never touch?

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?”

Characters:

Stella

  In the beginning, Stella is a character that definitely matches the good girl stereotype who is a planner, super organized, and responsible. I had a hard time connecting with her character at first since I’m not as uptight and don’t care as much about crossing things off a to-do list. But as I got to know more as to why she was that way and about what had happened to her sister Abby, I was able to sympathize more with her. Towards the end of the story when she was less uptight and more reckless, some might think it was stupid of her. But I thought it was understandable since she is human (fictional but still) and I felt her feelings were justified.

Will

  His character may have matched the emo bad boy stereotype a bit but I had an easier time connecting with Will’s character than with Stella. Probably since I am a bit emo at times and also want to see the world. I enjoyed watching him develop throughout the story from being very cynical and focused on his own problems to being more hopeful about life and selfless because of Stella. 

Poe

  I enjoyed Poe’s character because he was a good friend to Stella. I think this story showed how close people with CF can be with others they meet and the hospital. Poe was a good example of this since he knew Stella since they were kids at the hospital and I enjoyed every moment of their friendship.

Plot:

Romance

  I was expecting a good ill-fated romance that breaks my heart and Five Feet Apart defiantly delivered. I was expecting the romance to start up a little bit slower and more focused on their emotional connection but I still thought it was believable. Since the whole point of the story is that they can’t touch each other or kiss, there was ALOT of sexual tension! But the sexual tension can never get a payoff since it can literally put their lives in danger so that makes this romance so interesting but heartbreaking. But the connection that Stella and Will had felt very real, even more than lots of other YA books I have read. 

Family/Friendship Themes

  Both Stella and Will’s relationship with their family and friends was a nice side plot to the story. This story showed aspects of life for people with CF I haven’t thought of before like how it affects the parents and friends. I enjoyed the family-like closeness Stella and Poe had with all the nurses and people at the hospital. Also, Stella and Will both feeling the FOMO with her friends going on a trip without her and Will’s out of the hospital living their life was well portrayed. 

Quantity of Tissues Required?

  A lot of tissues! I wasn’t expecting to get as emotional as I did since I already knew it was an ill-fated love story. But then when I got to the ending I was a mess and it was written well enough that I had to take a break from reading and get some ice cream in order to calm down. So definitely bring you tissues for this one! And the Epilogue was very beautiful and was something that I needed after that ending. 

Final Thoughts:

  I appreciate the rep and awareness Five Feet Apart has given for Cystic Fibrosis. Even though I don’t know anyone with CF, I do know people with other chronic health problems and do believe people fighting these diseases deserve more representation.  I enjoyed the forbidden love trope and the emotional moments in Five Feet Apart as well. This isn’t a perfect book, no book is, but I feel like it’s an important one to help raise awareness of this Illness. 

  So that’s my book review on Five Feet Apart, hope you enjoyed it! If you’re an author and want me to review your book, please check out my book review policy page and contact me.

About the Author:

Rachael Lippincott was born in Philadelphia and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She holds a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, splitting her time between writing and running a food truck with her partner.

Check out Lippincott’s Author Website | Twitter | Goodreads