Anyone who knows me knows that I am a nerd for sappy teenage star-crossed love novels, with an affinity for John Green. So naturally, when I read the synopsis for Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, I was instantly hooked. This book follows the lives of two 17-year-old kids with cystic fibrosis. Living temporarily in the hospital, Stella and Will begin to fall for each other: but at what price? Their deadly disease prohibits them from coming within six feet of each other in order to prevent the spread of infection. However, as they get closer, it becomes harder to stay apart.

Let me just begin by saying I love this book. With varying perspectives, switching back and forth between Stella and Will, the reader truly becomes attached to the characters, feeling herself a part of the story. I ordered this book on November 20, the day it was released, and finished reading it the next night: I was totally and completely enamored. Because the story is told from the perspective of teenagers, it is so painfully relatable that it makes the reader want to laugh, cry, and everything in between.

Before reading this book, I knew little to nothing about cystic fibrosis. In sum, it is a genetic disorder that causes the buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other vital organs. Living with cystic fibrosis demands constant care, including a vibrating vest to clear the mucus, tons of medicine to fight infection, and many other treatments.

Stella, a 17-year-old girl who desperately wants to go on her senior spring break trip, yet remains trapped in her hospital room, makes YouTube videos about her life, but she must devote much of her time to a strict medical regimen. Will, the dangerous, nihilistic rule breaker, encourages Stella to see life from a different point of view. Together, they balance each other out, truly proving that opposites do attract.

There are so many important lessons to learn from this book and so many eye-opening moments. Because Stella and Will are so different when they meet, they show each other what it means to really live, finding the balance between caution and adventure. One of Stella’s great quotations states, “This whole time I’ve been living for my treatment, instead of doing my treatment so that I can live, and I want to live.” This represents the struggle that many patients of terminal diseases live with every day.

Another aspect of this novel that I adored was the raw beauty and pain expressed in all of the characters’ relationships. Five Feet Apart does not deny the presence of tension within family during a period of struggle, rather it embraces it and portrays our idiosyncrasies in the most human way possible.

As the story progressed, I fell further and further off the edge of my seat. In addition to a blossoming love story, the plot includes the ever imminent question: how much time do Stella and Will have left together? Since both of them have an extremely unpredictable illness, they become more and more aware of their time ticking away. Death is a common theme throughout the story, not only amidst the characters themselves but also interwoven in the small subplots.

The only criticism I have of this novel is its innate unoriginality. To be quite blunt, it follows a very basic and worn plot line that we have read time and time again: troubled boy meets troubled girl; they fall in love; they are divided by some inevitable force of nature, but SPOILER ALERT they eventually find their way back to one another. In defense of these characters, (despite their evident cliché), they create a love story that will stay with me for some time. The movie adaptation is out in theaters on Mar. 22, 2019, starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson. It is definitely a must-read and must-see for teenagers everywhere.