What could happen if we stop being afraid of the “what-ifs”? Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, reviewed
Lauren Torres
When I was in the middle of the book Five
Feet Apart, I found myself wondering and
questioning: Am I living my life the way I
want to? Or am I too scared to take chances?
I decided to read Five Feet Apart
because of the hype it had in the past few months. Even
though I was enthusiastic and curious about
the book, I wasn’t expecting much: a typical
romance novel for teenagers with not much
to offer. However, I couldn't have been more
wrong about it. I found something
completely different and unique with a really strong and
important message; stop being afraid of the
what-ifs and take the chances life offers you.
During the first few chapters we get to
know our main characters; Stella and Will. Both of
them are CF patients. CF stands for cystic fibrosis,
a genetic disorder that affects the
lungs and digestive system. Stella is known
for being a control freak and for sticking to her
routine. Will has CF as well, but he has B
cepacia, which is a very dangerous bacterial
infection. Because of it, he has been in
clinical trials all around the world. He’s
known for having an adventurous soul and for
disobeying the rules.
As the storyline develops, we witness a
strong character development due to the interaction
between Stella and Will: they help each
other see life from a different perspective and
encourage each other to take new chances.
For instance, one time Will told Stella how
he finds his purpose in life by traveling and exploring
the world. At first Stella didn’t
understand why Will wanted to throw himself into the
unknown. However, that’s what made him feel
fulfilled and accomplished: “If I'm going to
die, I’d like to actually live first. And
then I’ll die.” This passage made me reflect how we put
barriers and limits to ourselves because we
fear the unknown. I came to the conclusion that
once we stop worrying, we start living, and
I think it is an important lesson we should apply
into our life.
The message of the book can be seen clearly
after Stella goes through surgery and comes
into a realization: “How long will I live
my life afraid of what-ifs? My life revolves around
an obsessive regimen and percentages, and
given that I was just in surgery, the risk never
seems to go down. Every minute of my life
is what-if, and it would be no different with
Will.” This made me understand how we stop
ourselves from living only because we are too
scared to take chances. We are afraid of
the what-ifs, we are too scared of the consequences,
but we do think about what we learn, what
we experience and what we cherish for the rest of
our life. Instead of being scared of the
what-ifs, we should be scared of what could have
been.
The book gives an encouraging message to
their readers: don't let anyone or anything stop
you from living the way you want to, nor from
trying new experiences. It also makes the reader understand how taking chances
could open a whole new world and endless possibilities, and if we stop
ourselves from doing some stuff, we will be missing chances that only come once
in a lifetime. It encourages the readers to get out of their comfort zone and
stop playing it safe.
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