Book Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

The Distance Between Us

Author:  Kasie West
Publisher:  Harper Teen, 320 pages
Publication Date:  July 2, 2013

From Goodreads:
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.

Pam's Review:
This book just made me smile.  I loved Caymen's snarkiness.  She definitely has a dry, witty humor (sooo sarcastic) and when Xander first meets her he's not sure what to make of her comments.  And Kasie West writes great dialogue, I loved it as Caymen and Xander bantered back and forth.  There is chemistry galore between them.  They find out that neither one of them knows what they want to do in life (all Caymen knows is that she doesn't want to work in her Mom's doll shop for the rest of her life, but she doesn't feel like she has a lot of options given the money situation while Xander feels pressured to enter the family business) so they each start taking the other on field trip type of "dates" to experience different possible careers.  

 It's the classic rich boy/poor girl forbidden romance (sort of forbidden--Caymen's got a big chip on her shoulder when it comes to the rich).  There were awkward moments and sweet moments (some misunderstandings of course), which made their relationship feel authentic.  I actually laughed out loud quite a few times.  Caymen and Xander were both great characters and I was rooting for them the whole time.

This is a quick, fun read and perfect for the summer.  Read it!