Five Feet Apart

    Five Feet Apart is a book written by Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis, which was turned into a movie directed by Justin Baldoni. Five Feet Apart features two characters, Will and Stella, who have cystic fibrosis (CF). Cystic fibrosis is a genetic respiratory disease that causes your lungs to fill with mucus. Most patients are put on a lung transplant list and are given treatments like pills and Afflo vests before they hopefully receive new lungs. Their lifespan is much shorter than the average one, even with treatments. As of now, CF has no cure. What most people think of as minor illnesses like fevers or colds can be very serious for CF patients. CF patients also spend a lot of time in hospitals. 

    Will and Stella have CF, but Will also has b. cepacia. This means that Will's CF is even more serious than Stella's. People with CF (CFers) can't come within six feet of each other because that is the distance a cough travels, and people with CF have different types of bacteria in their lungs, meaning that one CFer could give their bacteria to another CFer and greatly worsen their health. The point is that Will and Stella have to socially distance themselves from each other. They also often wear gloves and masks to protect themselves. 

    The book starts off with Stella in the hospital. She has her long-time friend, Poe, with her there. He has CF too, though, so they must remain six feet apart. They often FaceTime or just yell from their separate rooms and have tons of fun together. Then, a new CFer showed up -- Will. Stella's first impression of him wasn't the best, though. 

    Stella loves order. She wants to have control over everything in her life, which is understandable because there is so much in life that is out of her control. She has a very organized room and schedule, and she makes a bunch of lists of everything she wants to do or accomplish in life. On the other hand, Will doesn't really care about order. He has a very laid-back approach to life, and he likes to express himself through art. Because he has b. cepacia, he was taken off the lung transplant list and has been going through a bunch of trial treatments. At this point, he thinks that treatments are pointless and just wants to live his life. 

    When Stella meets Will, she can tell that he doesn't follow the rules, which annoys her. Eventually, it annoys her to the point where she asks to help him do his treatments. They end up making a deal that if he does his treatments with her so she can make sure he is doing them, she will let him draw her. As they spend more time together, they start to fall for each other. The only problem is -- they can't touch. 

    The book continues as they fight between their attraction and their disease. It tells their story of falling for each other but not being able to touch. It's written in alternating perspectives, which can be annoying in some books, but I thought it went nicely with this one. The ending is also very well done, although the movie's ending is slightly different from the book's. 

     I personally liked both the movie and the book, and I found them to be quite similar, so this post is just about the general storyline, rather than a comparison. I watched the movie before I read the book because I didn't know there was a book. Thus, when I watched, I wasn't actively comparing it to the book. However, they were both very powerful pieces, telling a beautiful story with a few small differences. I recommend Five Feet Apart (the book and movie) to anyone who is in the mood for a heart-wrenching romance. The story also spreads awareness of CF, which is always good. Overall, Five Feet Apart is an amazing story, very well-written, and will make you feel joyful, touched, devastated, and everything in between. 

-Lisa