Five Feet Apart, Deal?

Five Feet Apart Review

By Sithmi

Seventeen-year-olds Stella and Will, both suffering from cystic fibrosis, realize the only way to stay alive is to stay apart, but their love for each other is slowly pushing the boundaries of physical and emotional safety.

This book was pretty good and heartbreaking and yet it's one you can give a sad smile to.

So I made the mistake of watching the movie before reading it. So boy was I glad to see that the book was the exact script followed to film the movie. Except the ending. I think this is the one movie, I have watched, that really stuck to the book, well almost, and made it enjoyable.

Moving on, I really like the plot, though it is the basic sick girl meet sick boy scenario, there are the things that make it different. Our main girl, Stella is a tidy, obedient, living-for-her-parents girl with Cystic Fibrosis and a tad bit of OCD. Next, Will is the charming yet highly rebellious artist who wants out of the numerous hospitals and around the world before death with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and Burkholderia Cepacia (B. cepacia).

The two diseases can never mix well. Thus all CFers are to be six feet apart at all times with protective gear. But there's that craving humans have. So why not steal from the sickness? Why not steal back just one feet?

I love Stella and her driven determination to make sure she is healthy so her parents do not have to go through any more hurt. Stella will be the perfect model daughter. She is ready and prepared. She is the one who somehow forcefully persuades Will who never wanted to touch his meds or do any treatment. Otherwise she would go crazy at his lack of hope, when she is one who tries to bring hope to many people.

Will becomes attached to this hazel eyed girl with an obsession to stick to the rules, an obsession to live. He has already given up. He knows there is no cure, so he just wants to go and explore before the Grim Reaper appears. He wants to die having seen the wide vast world, properly and not through hospital windows. But he is fascinated by Stella and agrees to use her app and follow the regimen with her as long as he gets to draw her.

As their attachment grows, so does the danger. Poe, Stella’s best friend is one of the great characters in this book next to Barb, their nurse. These characters are side characters that are just as important. They are reminders of the dangers of CF. I am glad this wonderful book was written to spread awareness of this sickness.

The ending was such a painful picture but not as painful as the movie. You have to read the book to see the, thank god, satisfactory ending. I say satisfactory, not happy or amazing. There's a big difference.