Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

Author : Rachael Lippincott
Title : Five Feet Apart
Published : 2018
Publisher : Simon & Schuster Children's UK
Pages : 288
Genre : Young Adult

     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. 

     At this point, I figure its too late to deny my love of young adult books. I've read far too many and enjoyed them a great deal. Whilst I tend to go for the thriller end of the spectrum. I'm not too ashamed to admit that the occasional John Green book manages to slip in. Which is how I came across this book by way of an if you enjoyed this you might like to try. Even whilst reading this I was trying to rack my brains as to why books about teenagers with life-threatening diseases are so popular. I am not immune to them my self. I suppose it goes along way with that underdog feeling. This battle against all hopes that they will make it through the book. Even though if we are being honest nine times out of ten it just doesn't work out that way. Not that I'm giving any form of spoilers for this book. 

     For Stella its all about managing her condition the best way she can. In her case that is going full-on O.C.D about her situation. I like the way the author chose to present her. Her struggle comes across as genuine, as does the way she chooses to interact with a world that is locked into her hospital and treatment. I have only ever known one person, and to that end vaguely who suffered from cystic fibrosis. So my only real pint of entry was through this book. So Stella's suffering and the ups and downs of this terrible condition would seem legit but I may be way off base. But as with all these novels. There comes a point when someone needs to push them off balance and make them do things they never thought the could. So enter Will, the boy who refuses to do as he is told. He is the polar opposite of Stella, and as such is everything she is looking for. To give some perspective I defiantly come under the Will side of dealing with my own health. 

     The book is well-paced and gives you everything you would be looking for should you have gone looking for such a book. The author gives us a great deal of teenage rebellion when you are confined with more rules than the average teenager. It's one of those books that goes out of its way to remind us that we are alive right here and now. That just sometimes we have to take the time we have and make the most out of every second. And while this is the author's first book, I would put her up there with the greats in this genre. It was also an interesting choice of the author to deviate from the usual cancer diagnosis.  At the end of the day, I would guess most people don't really know much about cystic fibrosis. It might just give you the spurt to go look into it more and better understand those who suffer from it. So I guess I need to talk about the romance side a little. It plays out as a sweet and caring one-upmanship as each try's to pull them around to there way of viewing the world. If you have ever read just one of these types of stories then you know what you are getting yourself into. The author does a great job of balancing these elements to deliver a perfectly well-balanced book.

     Could you say that the book is on the predictable side? Maybe but I think that goes with the territory. You know what you getting yourself into when you pick up the book. That is after all why you pick it up. By the end this book restorers your idea of what it means to be alive.  You feel better for having read it. And after all, isn't that the job of books like this. For me, this author has hit the nail on the head and gave me a dose of just what I need.