“I’m tired of living without really living. I’m tired of wanting things. We can’t have a lot of things. But we could have this.”
Cystic Fibrosis is not an easy thing to live with. Children and teens with this condition face long hospital stays for the smallest cold. Their lungs produce extra mucus and eventually their lungs stop functioning unless they get a lung transplant. In Five Feet Apart, Stella is missing her senior year trip for another hospital stay. She has rigid rules set for herself to maintain her current lung function at 35 percent. She doesn’t expect meeting someone who flaunts all the rules – Will. While he infuriates her at the beginning, a friendship develops, but since they both have cystic fibrosis, they must stay six feet apart at all times.
A movie recently came out based on Five Feet Apart and my oldest children wanted to see it. I decided to read the book first to see what the story was all about. It was on sale as an ebook and I bought it and read it a few weeks later.
As the relationship between Will and Stella grows, they both push each other to grow. Will pushes Stella to allow herself to be a little more carefree and have some fun. Stella pushes Will to put forth more effort into doing the regimens that will keep him alive. They both also help each other deal with problems they face with their family members. However, there is a danger in them getting too close. Will has a strand of bacteria that took him off the transplant list. If Stella catches it, her chances will be gone, too.
I enjoyed Five Feet Apart and found it a fairly realistic view of how teens and families might deal with cystic fibrosis. I had a friend from church during college who passed away from cystic fibrosis because she didn’t get a lung transplant in time. They come face-to-face with death early on in their lives and have a perspective many people their age don’t have. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but probably will at some point. I would recommend this book to high school readers or older since it does deal with some serious issues surrounding death and relationships.
Have you seen Five Feet Apart? What did you think of the movie? Share on the blog!