Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

In Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott and Mikki Daughtry, the main character Stella suffers from a sickness named cystic fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is an illness that weakens the lungs, organs, and digestive system. This sickness prevents Stella from being closer than six feet apart from another patient with the same illness. This rule is not a problem for Stella until she meets Will, a new patient at the hospital who does not like to follow the rules. Their friendship begins with a rough start, but despite this, and their constant separation, Stella and Will develop a relationship. Will and Stella start dating, and defiantly bend the six-feet rules by staying five feet apart. They battle through the death of their other close friend and sort through each other’s family and mental problems. 

During the novel, Stella shows goodwill and treats other people with kindness even though she has pain. She tries to follow the rules, but learns to live her life and take risks. She struggles to be a positive person when she is faced with pressure and negativity from the world. The book taught me to find light in the darkness and to be the best person I can. When Stella found hope in her world, this motivated me to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty. This book triggers the emotions and heart of the reader and will overall be a great reading choice.

Written by Arianna, Teen Volunteer

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

In Love & Gelato, Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, Italy. But she is not in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine landscape. She is only there because it was her mother’s wish for Lina to get to know her father. But then she is given a journal that her mom had once kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina begins uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and bakeries. This is a world that inspires her to follow in her mother’s footsteps. The secret she digs up is a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father, and even herself.

The journal entries that were added into the book were very enjoyable to read. I enjoyed reading about Lina’s journey across Italy as she tries to solve the mystery of the journal. She gets herself into many situations, but she also makes some amazing friends along the way. The Italian culture in the book really intrigued me, and I actually learned a few Italian phrases while reading. I have wanted to visit Italy my whole life. I recommended this book to teens like high schoolers and middle schoolers.

Written by Elyssa, Teen Volunteer

Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

In Love & Luck, a young girl named Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing that left her miserable and heartbroken. But her brother, Ian, and his constant aggravating of Addie leads to arguments, and even a fistfight between the two. But when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of a hotel library, she’s finally able to escape her scattered mind.

My opinion on this book is how after reading Love & Gelato last year, I started to love Jenna Evans Welch as an author of romantic and adventure books. This book did not disappoint. Love & Luck is the perfect mix of summer, new experiences, journeys, growing up, and love. I like how the story explored sibling relationships. I loved reading about how close Addie and Ian were, and how they were able to repair their friendship. Of course, the amazing atmosphere of Ireland was a wonderful environment for the two to learn and grow up in.

But I do wish Ireland had been more prevalent. Although the emerald isle was explored well, there could have been so much more incorporated. I would recommend this book for teens like high schoolers and middle schoolers.

Written by Elyssa, Teen Volunteer