50 pages • 1 hour read
Rachael LippincottFive Feet Apart
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Stella Grant
Organized and ambitious, Stella loves to create task lists in a methodical attempt to control her turbulent life. She struggles to manage the pressures of maintaining her cystic fibrosis while navigating her sister Abby’s sudden death a year ago and her parents’ subsequent divorce. A creator of a new app meant to help survivors of chronic illness and a popular YouTuber, Stella finds pleasure in a strict regimen until this pleasure is disrupted by the entrance of a new patient at Saint Grace’s Hospital. Initially an antagonist and foil to Stella, Will Newman disturbs Stella’s seemingly comfortable life as he questions the value of this stability, referring to her as “a real goody two shoes” (28). As Stella grows closer to Will, she hides the trauma and pressures that plague her in a desperate attempt to preserve an unwavering focus on her ultimate goal: a lung transplant.
Once Stella opens up to Will, she is transformed by his rebellious ways. Stella sheds her allegiance to the rules that dominate her life and finds release in pursuing a life worth living. She grows more independent and relies less on her childhood comforts. After losing her best friend Poe, Stella shifts from planning to unstoppable action and escapes from the hospital. She initially rejects her long-awaited lung transplant in an act of free will before listening to Will and Abby’s pleas that she choose new lungs to truly live in independence.
Will Newman
A wealthy and artistic teenager, Will opposes the authority of his mother, doctors, and nurses at every turn, longing for complete freedom in the outside world. He impatiently awaits his 18th birthday, which marks a new chapter of freedom in his life. Unlike Stella, Will sees Saint Grace’s Hospital like any other hospital and refuses to comply to any medical routine, viewing any attempts of recovery as useless. Taken off the lung transplant list due to his recent infection of B. cepacia, Will fantasizes about a free death outside the hospital’s walls. Stella confronts Will’s careless disregard of the rules when she says, “You consider yourself a rebel. Ignoring the rules because it somehow makes you feel in control. Am I right?” (28). Although he initially only agrees to Stella’s commands that he adopt her structured medical regimen for amusement, Will soon develops deeper feelings for Stella and comes to serve as her protector, fulfilling the role once occupied by Stella’s sister Abby. Will serves as a parallel figure to Abby throughout the novel. Like Abby, he enjoys drawing and thrives in seeking adventure.
As he falls deeper in love with Stella and inches closer to his 18th birthday, Will undergoes a transition from childhood to adulthood. He no longer views his mother as an antagonist but as a companion in need of support. He takes responsibility for the consequences of his reckless actions, which culminates in his choice to sacrifice his desire to be with Stella so that she can live free and healthy. In the final chapters Will reaches a compromise with his mother and sets out on his own adventure to see the world from which he has been isolated.
