Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Title: The Distance Between Us

Author: Kasie West

Genre: contemporary YA romance

Length: 311 pages

Published by: HarperTeen

Source: borrowed from school library

Blurb: 

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she’s beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

I’m so glad I picked this book up! I must be a bigger fan of contemporary YA romance than I thought. There’s no way I would have thought that I’d read a book called Anna and the French Kiss a while ago, but I loved that, and now I love THIS book. Almost immediately I fell in love the the protagonist, Caymen (really interesting name, too). She’s sarcastic in the most hilarious way possible, and throughout the story I actually laughed out loud.

It took me a little longer to like Xander, the love interest. He’s rich and at the beginning he comes across as pretty arrogant – he beckons Caymen over to him, even though he’s the same age as her. He’s rich, she’s not.

SPOILER – DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS YOURSELF – SIRENS – SPOILER

Okay, so there is one small complaint I had about the ending. Turns out that Caymen’s grandparents actually ARE rich. This seems like the same thing as the ugly protagonist who ends up being actually beautiful and only thinks she’s ugly. I mean…what is the point of that? But I’m still going to give it five stars.

END SPOILER – YOU MAY RETURN

 

Right, and Skye is Caymen’s best friend, and she’s awesome too. She’s not your typical sidekick – she thinks for herself and is really loyal.

I liked that the romance between Caymen and Xander had other issues. Xander’s got daddy issues (like most rich boys, it seems) and Caymen’s mum is hiding something from her. I wanted to hit Caymen a few times, because she is totally clueless when it comes to Xander.

I loved their career days. I loved Caymen’s humour. The doll shop. Skye. All the parents in the story. The romance. Xander in a suit. Oh, and also Xander in a suit (you can’t see him, but you can picture it).

Love love loved it, basically. In fact I haven’t read a book I didn’t like for a long time. Mostly because Twitter’s recommendations are awesome.

This GIF is even better because he’s in a SUIT. Thanks, Barney 🙂

Rating: 5/5 Wonderkitties