REVIEW: ‘Five Feet Apart’ and the meaning of life. The romantic drama ‘Five Feet Apart’ opens this weekend, telling the story of a man and woman with cystic fibrosis who fall in love. Stella is an energetic and optimist young woman living in a world where hopelessness abounds. Five feet apart is a typical sick lit that does its job in opening up talks about the CF with a positive ending. I would recommend it for all John Green (of course) and Nicoola Yoon fans. Five Feet Apart CHAPTER 1 STELLA I trace the outline of my sister’s drawing, lungs molded from a sea of flowers. Petals burst out from every edge of the twin ovals in soft pinks, deep whites, even heather blues, but somehow each one has a uniqueness, a vibrancy that feels like it’ll bloom forever. Five Feet Apart is a novel about two teenagers with cystic fibrosis. Stella is a control freak and always makes sure to follow her medical plan. Will wants to enjoy the life he has rather than being in the hospital all the time to extend his life. Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on November 20, 2018 Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance Goodreads Buy on Book Depository. Can you love someone you can never touch?
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Genres:Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
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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.
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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.
Five Feet Apart Book Summary Wiki
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?
Before beginning this review I want to note that I don’t know a lot about cystic fibrosis. I cannot comment on if this book is accurate to the experience of living with it and its complications or not. My review is only on how enjoyable and well written the book was. I did not see any glaring inaccuracies about the disease but if there are some please let me know!
I’m a sucker for tragic romances like this. I’m also a sucker for disease being portrayed in a realistic way in all it’s gross coughing up phlegm glory. I don’t think death and dying of disease should be romanticised, but I think it’s perfectly fine to have romantic stories with those elements. If you loved John Green’s The Fault in our Stars then you will absolutely love this book.
Five Feet Apart Chapter Summaries
There are alternating points of view, both with excellent unique voices. Stella is a goody two shoes who’s doing everything to get more time with her family. Will is the rebellious bad boy who wants to die wild and free. Obviously they’re going to fall in love. The supporting cast is also wonderfully fleshed out. The no nonsense nurse with a huge heart. The loving but slightly misguided mother. Two parents struggling to stay together through some horrible trials.
Five Feet Apart Book Review Common Sense Media
Will is the real star of the show. Stella is relatable and likeable but you will fall in love with Will. He’s funny, sweet and charming. There’s great chemistry between him and Stella. You want them to kiss as much as they want to which is the most important part of any successful romance. I cannot wait to see him played by Cole Sprouse in the upcoming film next March.
There were parts of the story near the end I didn’t enjoy. I got so furious with Stella at points that I had to put the book down in frustration because I was so mad. She makes some truly stupid decisions near the end that veer away from “Sad Teen Romance” to “Romeo & Juliet Level Idiocy”.
SPOILER: There’s also a death in this book. Shocking that a book about terminal illnesses has a death I know. It’s a very well written and realistic hospital death but it felt like the grief was thrown aside way too quickly for the characters. It felt more like something written to give characters a sudden reason to change because the author couldn’t think of a more organic way to have the characters change.
For fans of John Green this will absolutely be a hit, in fact I imagine most people will love it. The best part is that there’s hardly any wait for the film adaptation.
Tags: 2018, book review, books, Contemporary, Five Feet Apart, Mikki Daughtry, Rachael Lippincott, Romance, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, Tobias Iaconis, young adult fiction
The latest brand of young adult romance seems to revel in the bittersweet tragedy of chronically ill teens falling passionately in love.
Five years ago, the adaptation of John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars” gained incredible success. America seems to love watching manic pixie dream girls and brooding bad boys share tragic romances. “Five Feet Apart” is no exception to this trope of precocious teens falling hopelessly in love, but the emotions it evokes are truly raw and beautiful.
“Five Feet Apart” is a story about two teens with cystic fibrosis, a chronic illness that causes mucus, sweat and digestive juices to become thick and plug up lungs and passageways. Stella (Haley Lu Richardson) is a perky, bright and tidy 17-year-old who vlogs about her condition that leaves her hospital-bound for long periods. Will (Cole Sprouse) is an angsty, mysterious new resident taking part in a drug trial. They meet while Stella is admiring infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Stella rejects Will’s initial attempts at flirting, but the chemistry is there from the get-go before it progresses into sweet, young love and then into passion. The catch? Two people with cystic fibrosis are unable to be closer than 6 feet away from each other because of the risk of spreading life-threatening bacteria.
As Stella and Will grow closer, the sexual tension builds. Both Richardson and Sprouse show their characters’ guarded attractions morph into passion beautifully. Sprouse shows Will that he is growing from the aloof bad boy to a sensitive and sweet lover, and Richardson brings Stella to life, first portraying her as cautious and controlled, then allowing her to break her own emotional dams and unleash the depth of her feelings.
It is almost torturous to watch these young lovers not even be able to kiss. In a YouTube video, Stella reveals a clever and symbolic plan: She finds a pool cue — approximately 5 feet long — and uses it to measure her space from Will. She decides that although cystic fibrosis patients are not supposed to be within 6 feet of each other, she and Will will push their luck and bypass the last foot. With wisdom and zest for life slightly too mature to be believable for a 17-year-old, Stella declares she will steal 1 foot away from cystic fibrosis, as cystic fibrosis has stolen so many opportunities from her. Here, the concept of the film comes together sweetly and heartbreakingly.
Scenes of Will and Stella sneaking playfully through hospital hallways holding either side of the pool cue are tragically adorable. The overall cinematography is stark and gorgeous. With sterile, clinical tones of blues and grays painting most of the scenes, the filmmakers express the desolation these teens are forced to live with and their attempts to add color and warmth to their lives through clandestine candlelit parties and sketches pinned to walls. Wide shots of Will and Stella standing 5 feet apart from each other are subtle but bursting with emotion.
One of the most beautiful scenes occurs after Will and Stella sneak into the hospital’s pool. As they sit with their feet dangling in the water, pool cue between them, they express their desire to touch. Stella begins to seductively undress, revealing her torso, marked with tubes and scars. Will does the same before the two playfully jump into the water. This scene shows their youthfulness, but also the struggle of being deprived of the ability to explore their sexualities as young adults. It shows budding sexual tension swell and break in a captivatingly pure way. The emotion in this scene is palpableand evokes sympathy for these young lovers.
The film is rife with one tragedy after another, but for people who live with a condition that likely will not allow them to live past 30, it is not necessarily an exaggeration to highlight the uncertainty and fear these teens grapple with. Despite the film’s multiple layers of heart-wrenching elements, it also manages to capture the sassy, rebellious humor all teens can relate to.
Stella’s best friend, Poe (Moises Arias), is also a hospital resident with cystic fibrosis. His cheeky wittiness and loving friendship with Stella adds heartwarming levity to the film. He is also gay, and the filmmakers showcase his desire for and his struggles with love without tokenizing his identity.
People in the cystic fibrosis community have lauded “Five Feet Apart” for its accurate portrayal of the medical practices and procedures patients have to deal with. The film does not spare phlegmy coughs or infected feeding tubes, but critics have also condemned it for romanticizing the illness with sanguine tragedy.
Though “Five Feet Apart” falls victim to the cliches of many other young adult love stories — brooding bad boys, impossible love and way-too-profound and poetic lines to be coming out of the mouths of high schoolers — it is successful in evoking deep, real emotions.