Tuesday 20 November 2018
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia of The Purple Booker.
To play along just do the following:
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis.
This book is out today and I predict that it’ll increase the national sales of tissues by a sizable amount. If not today then at the very latest when the movie comes to theatres at the end of March next year. At least in the US (and Lebanon, apparently?), international dates are still pending. Anyway, because of reasons (don’t you love those), I’ve had the extreme privilege to have my heart broken by this book already. And yes, that’s an intentional almost quote of another successful book with a hugely successful movie.
Every once in a while, there comes a book across my table that has a storyline that sounds wildly familiar in a genre you think you’ve seen everything in. Especially, if there was a book that first blew everything out of the water and then spawned quite a few other also not unsuccessful follow-ups. I’m talking, of course, about The Fault in Our Stars and Everything, Everything. Among others. So this could have been just another book about sick kids falling in love in the face of adversity. And that is exactly what this is but I wager to say that it is not, in fact, just another book like those … and several years trailing the others at that, but more a worthy addition to the genre while also expanding it by another factor: an illness that is not so much in the public eye although it’s not at all uncommon, not quite as dramatic because it’s a creeping one, and as of right now devastatingly incurable and utterly terminal – Cystic Fibrosis.
This condition is best understood by those who suffer from it, but in a cruel twist, two people diagnosed with CF aren’t allowed within six feet of each other for fear of cross-infection. So why is this book called Five Feet Apart if the golden rule is six feet apart at all times? Well, when you are forced to keep your distance even though that person across the distance is obviously your other half, stealing back one foot to feel closer to each other, more connected, can be the most daring and also romantic thing you could possibly do.
I am by no means saying that this story is better than those that came before … but I say its intensity is definitely up there with them. If you think that a love story with no touching allowed sounds about as appealing as fish bellies up in an abandoned putrid tank I’ll dare you to read this and come to talk to me again after. In addition to that, there is such a well of other topics woven into the narration that it creates a really dense mesh of story that will carry the heavy plot. Because of course, it is tragic, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, and heart-shattering. But it is also hopeful, thought-provoking, insightful, and romantic. And because it is fictional, it is allowed to break the rules and be unrealistic in some aspects while also being true to the general topic. The book is not calling on patients to do away with their safety regimen any more than The Fault in Our Stars advocated for smoking when you already have cancer. And if this book and movie help bring more awareness to CF and its medical research than that is more than many other books can lay claim to.
Read the book before you see the movie but feel free to watch the trailer here. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the cast seems to be hitting all the sweet spots … although I’m still trying to figure out who this Meredith person in the cast list is because there definitely isn’t a Meredith in the book and I can’t imagine that Claire Forlani is some throwaway bit-part. I’m mentioning this because the book is based on the script (as opposed to a movie adapted from a book where everything is more or less fair game) so it seems a little weird to have apparently other people in the movie than in the book. But then again, maybe the name was changed or the cast list is not yet correct. What’s in a name, right?
Which book with a seemingly worn out plot has recently captured your interest? Share your thoughts and teasers in the comments!
To play along just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis.
 |
| Five Feet Apart – Simon & Schuster BFYR |
The only thing worse than not being able to be with her or be around her would be living in a world that she didn’t exist in at all. Especially if it’s my fault.
— Chapter 14
She’d make a wish and she’d never, ever tell me what it was. She used to joke that if she said it out loud, it would never come true.
— Chapter 19
This book is out today and I predict that it’ll increase the national sales of tissues by a sizable amount. If not today then at the very latest when the movie comes to theatres at the end of March next year. At least in the US (and Lebanon, apparently?), international dates are still pending. Anyway, because of reasons (don’t you love those), I’ve had the extreme privilege to have my heart broken by this book already. And yes, that’s an intentional almost quote of another successful book with a hugely successful movie.
Every once in a while, there comes a book across my table that has a storyline that sounds wildly familiar in a genre you think you’ve seen everything in. Especially, if there was a book that first blew everything out of the water and then spawned quite a few other also not unsuccessful follow-ups. I’m talking, of course, about The Fault in Our Stars and Everything, Everything. Among others. So this could have been just another book about sick kids falling in love in the face of adversity. And that is exactly what this is but I wager to say that it is not, in fact, just another book like those … and several years trailing the others at that, but more a worthy addition to the genre while also expanding it by another factor: an illness that is not so much in the public eye although it’s not at all uncommon, not quite as dramatic because it’s a creeping one, and as of right now devastatingly incurable and utterly terminal – Cystic Fibrosis.
This condition is best understood by those who suffer from it, but in a cruel twist, two people diagnosed with CF aren’t allowed within six feet of each other for fear of cross-infection. So why is this book called Five Feet Apart if the golden rule is six feet apart at all times? Well, when you are forced to keep your distance even though that person across the distance is obviously your other half, stealing back one foot to feel closer to each other, more connected, can be the most daring and also romantic thing you could possibly do.
I am by no means saying that this story is better than those that came before … but I say its intensity is definitely up there with them. If you think that a love story with no touching allowed sounds about as appealing as fish bellies up in an abandoned putrid tank I’ll dare you to read this and come to talk to me again after. In addition to that, there is such a well of other topics woven into the narration that it creates a really dense mesh of story that will carry the heavy plot. Because of course, it is tragic, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, and heart-shattering. But it is also hopeful, thought-provoking, insightful, and romantic. And because it is fictional, it is allowed to break the rules and be unrealistic in some aspects while also being true to the general topic. The book is not calling on patients to do away with their safety regimen any more than The Fault in Our Stars advocated for smoking when you already have cancer. And if this book and movie help bring more awareness to CF and its medical research than that is more than many other books can lay claim to.
Read the book before you see the movie but feel free to watch the trailer here. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the cast seems to be hitting all the sweet spots … although I’m still trying to figure out who this Meredith person in the cast list is because there definitely isn’t a Meredith in the book and I can’t imagine that Claire Forlani is some throwaway bit-part. I’m mentioning this because the book is based on the script (as opposed to a movie adapted from a book where everything is more or less fair game) so it seems a little weird to have apparently other people in the movie than in the book. But then again, maybe the name was changed or the cast list is not yet correct. What’s in a name, right?
Which book with a seemingly worn out plot has recently captured your interest? Share your thoughts and teasers in the comments!
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1 comments:
Sounds like a good one. My book this week is Fool's Moon by Diane A. S. Stuckart. Happy reading!
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