Five Feet Apart

Summary: Stella and Will are two teenagers with one unfortunate commonality...they both have advanced stage cystic fibrosis. Living life from hospital rooms, they have different philosophies on how to treat their illnesses...Stella is aiming to stay as healthy as possible, always taking her medication and staying six feet apart from others with cystic fibrosis to avoid infection and losing the chance at a lung transplant. Will on the other hand, who has contracted the infection B. Cepacia and is part of a new clinical trial, aims to escape hospital days and live his life to the fullest, despite how short it may be. As Will and Stella become friends and then more, can they find a way to be in love and together, despite not being able to get closer than five feet to each other?

Critical Evaluation: The book Five Feet Apart is a novelization of the movie of the same name, screenplay written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Ianconis, and directed by Justin Baldoni. Both the novel and the movie received mixed reviews.

Positively, Five Feet Apart touches on heavy themes that many young adults aren’t usually exposed to. In this way, like many other young adult novels, it can teach empathy, and make those who are suffering from chronic illness feel less alone. It humanizes their struggle and acknowledges that they are people with full human experiences outside of disease. The novel is written from the first person point of view of both Stella and Will, and therefore excels at portraying how two people with the same illness could feel differently about it, and hold different opinions. This helps fight against the stereotype to lump all people together who have a specific chronic illness or disease. Stella comments on their varying viewpoints midway through the novel before a surgery, stating, “I think I get it now. Why Will would go onto the roof. I’d do anything to get up from the gurney and run far, far away...to all the things I have avoided out of fear of getting sicker, only to find myself lying here anyway, about to go into another surgery I might not come out of” (Lippincott, 2018, p. 139). 

However, while the story does touch on heavy topics such as illness, grief, guilt, and the importance of hope, it does veer a bit on the cliche side as far as teen romances go. Readers may find some of the plot a bit dramatic, and the romance predictable. Those with cystic fibrosis gave the book mixed reviews. Some were happy to see the disorder represented, and more awareness being brought forward. Others found it unrealistic, and felt some of the medical scenarios were unsafe or dramatized. 

Despite the sometimes cliche writing, Five Feet Apart introduces the idea that for some teenagers, death is a topic they have to consider every day. It doesn’t shy away from difficult themes, and its quick pace and tone make it easy to read. It showcases how pain and beauty can exist at the same time, and the true value of being alive. 

Reader’s Annotation: Stella and Will both have cystic fibrosis, and can’t get within six feet of each other without the risk of dangerous infection...but what happens when they fall in love?