Five Feet Apart

Five Feet Apart

I enjoy stories that focus on rare diseases and the characters that go through them, but this story was oddly familiar. It was basically a newer version of The Fault in Our Stars with contemporary social issues. At times I found myself pre-quoting scenes as the dialogue was predictable. I also wasn’t completely convinced that these two characters should end up together just because they happen to have the same disease, one having a deadly disease that could kill other CP patients, i.e. the love interest character, and cross paths.

I love that fact that Stella has accepted her disease rather than rebel against it like Will. Stella even calls out Will for being a stereotype patient that fights against the disease by not taking their meds, attending therapy sessions, etc. Stella is more together and mature which is a relief to read in contemporary teen fiction. Not all teenagers are rebellious, careless, or ruthless. Will on the other hand was definitely not a favorite character of mine. Will’s and Stella’s relationship was similar to Pride and Prejudice. They both came from different economic backgrounds and wrote each other off after negative first impressions. They did have similar parent dilemmas by not having both parents around. There should have been more moments between the two characters where they bonded through friendship before being attracted to each other’s physical looks.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Will being from a super-rich family that could afford all the treatments not to mention travel all over the world for advanced treatments. Stella’s economic stand point is assumed upper middle class. Her parents are broken up due to tragic family event and her having CF. But it’s never mentioned that they there could have been some financial tension as parents struggle as it to take care of child and put them through college let alone monthly or weekly hospital care. This story would be more realistic coming from a perspective that couldn’t afford the treatment. Even Po had funding for his treatment as he was born in the states despite his family being deported for illegal immigration. Not everyone can afford funding even with the insurance they have. In a way it feels convenient that all the characters had paid-for funding and just worried about getting better or getting the guy/girl. Also, did I mention after Stella gets new lungs she travels to Europe with her friends? Finances is just one of those details YA authors purposely leave out for the sake of their story being extravagant and enticing.

I had high hopes for this book as it was turned into a film, but it was mostly singled out for its social issues that apply to today to book block buster ratings. It was also too similar to The Fault in Our Stars to be original and I didn’t click with the characters. There were moments where Stella was unique like being a YouTube star, but when she started shifting her demeanor similar to Will’s towards the end, I lost interest. I’d rather a female protagonist only shift her demeanor if it’s from a self-revelation rather than to prove her worth to a boy.