First Love

This theme charts the relationship between the novel's two narrators, Will and Stella, which is the first experience of romantic love for both of them. Their love is complicated by the fact that they both suffer from cystic fibrosis, and that Will is a carrier of B. cepacia, a type of bacteria that exacerbates this illness. Will and Stella must maintain a five foot distance between one another at all times, lest Will pass the bacteria to Stella and compromise her immune system (and ruin her chance at receiving new lungs through organ transplantation).

At the beginning of the novel, Stella is singularly focused on her health and sees no point in complicating her life further by getting romantically involved with someone, but Will opens her mind and shows her a new perspective on life and love. Initially, Stella compares herself to Poe, who is...