FIVE FEET APART

Credits
Age Range
16 and up
Publisher
Simon & Schuster BFYR, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, a trademark of Simon & Schuster Inc.
Awards
Unknown
Year Published
2018
Reviewer
Plugged In
Book Review
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine.
Plot Summary
Stella Grant is a chronically ill teen with cystic fibrosis (CF). She’s been in and out of hospitals for lengthy treatments most of her life. A rule-follower and control freak, Stella is careful to take her medications on time and do whatever is needed to maintain her treatment regimen. Only then can she hope for a lung transplant.
She maintains a website through which tens of thousands of viewers follow her journey. Her friend, Poe, who also has CF, is a patient at the same hospital. They communicate frequently, but often via text. Individuals with CF must remain 6 feet apart at all times to avoid sharing life-threatening germs.
Will Newman is a new patient at the hospital. His wealthy mother has arranged for him to participate in clinical trials all over the world. Nothing has helped. Will’s problem is worse than Stella’s and Poe’s. On top of CF, he has a condition called B. cepacia, which will deplete his lung function rapidly. This condition makes him ineligible for a lung transplant and far more dangerous to other CF patients.
Will’s mother has signed him up for another trial at this hospital, but Will has given up on getting better. He’s days from turning 18. When he’s a legal adult, his mother can no longer force him into treatments. He ignores his prescribed medications and bides his time until he can leave the hospital.