I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 11/20/18
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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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?
Short and Sweet Review
Stella has cystic fibrosis and she’s been in and out of hospitals most of her life because of this. Stella likes to be in control and likes to make sure things are in order, she’s also really close to getting a lung transplant so she plans on staying as healthy as possible until its time for the transplant. Will has cystic fibrosis and B. cepacia which means he’s been taking off of the transplant list and there’s no cure. Now Will is at the hospital to try a new clinical drug trial which may or may not work, the only thing Will wants to do is leave and see the world. Stella and Will meet but have to stay a safe distance away from each other and for people with cystic fibrosis that means six feet apart. Stella and Will meeting wasn’t love at first sight I think she was actually irritated and put off by him while he thought she was amusing and bossy. Stella has been through a lot and at this point her parents have gotten a divorce and she tries to act like everything is okay so she won’t worry them, she lost her sister Abby, she’s lost a lot to this disease like being able to be near her friend Poe who also has CF, and going on her class trip. Will has been in and out of a lot of hospitals and at this point he just wants to forget about the treatments and go explore the world. Stella looks at his behavior has self destructive and it bothers her so much that they make a deal for him to take his medicine and he gets to draw her. I thought it was interesting that most of their interactions happened with them being six feet apart and it begs the question of what would happen if they got one foot closer, and Stella decides to find out. I liked the secondary characters, Barb and Julie the nurses, and Poe one of Stella’s best friends he’s the best and they’ve known each other since they were kids. It was a cute book and a quick read. I’m not sure how accurate the depiction of CF was in this book but from what I’ve read people have different experiences with it. I also liked the fact that they had to stay six feet away the tagline says, “Can you love someone you can never touch?” It’s interesting to think about.
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