Five Feet Apart -- Stella, Will, and 60 Inches of Open Space

 This book was the first official novel I read in 2019, and I really, really enjoyed it. Much like the medical love story of The Fault In Our Stars, this story offers many similar components and situations that will leave lovers of Hazel and Augustus just as intrigued with Stella and Will. This story centers on two teens battling against cystic fibrosis and their constant struggle to remain five feet apart for their own health and safety. Cystic fibrosis is a disorder having to do with weakened and unstable lungs. One of the greatest components of this story is its ability to educate its readers on the procedures, limitations, and precautions that these patients, or CFers, have to live with to stay alive. The story is more specifically about a blossoming romance between two of these CFers, Stella Grant and Will Newman. Will is new to the hospital Stella has returned to for the majority of her life, and almost immediately, Stella sets out to make sure Will is doing his medications and procedures, which he was given up on. Along the way, the sarcastic and morbid Will learns the value of staying alive from Stella, who in turn learns that she can let go of pain from her past and focus on truly living her life despite her physical limitations. All in all, this book is very touching. It is full of twists and turns, seemingly impossible situations, and realistic circumstances that cause the readers to fall in love with the inevitable and bittersweet attraction between Stella and Will.
To not comment on this novel's cover art would be a crime! The picture is not only beautiful to admire but plays an important role in the story; lungs in general are a recurring motif. I would recommend this book to all lovers of romance stories that require work and commitment from their characters. Will and Stella's story not only makes for enthralling literature but, as mentioned earlier, amazing education and perspective of the lives of patients struggling with cystic fibrosis. I am very much looking forward to the movie coming out in March of this year! From the trailer and clips I have seen, it appears to have followed the book quite exactly, which I appreciate greatly!

Several of my favorite quotes from this very quotable novel:

"For the first time, I feel the weight of every single inch, every single millimeter of the six feet between us. I pull my sweatshirt closer to my body ... trying to ignore the fact that that open space? It will always be there."

"God, I love you."

"I guess it's true what that book of yours says--- the soul knows no time. These past few weeks will last forever for me."

"If I stop breathing tomorrow, know that I wouldn't change a thing."

"I smile at him, and take just that one more stolen step, until we're five feet apart."

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