Book Review: The D•I•S•T•A•N•C•E Between Us by Kasie West

The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 2nd 2013
Review Source: Harper Teen
Available: Amazon

Summary: (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.

Words can't express how much I absolutely loved The Distance Between Us. It was exactly what I needed to get me motivated to start reading again. If you haven't already added it to your TBR pile for the summer I highly suggest you do!

Caymen and her mother live in the apartment above their doll shop. Its always been just the two of them. Susan, Caymen's mother, was disowned by her parents, and Caymen's father was never really in the picture. The only thing Cayman actually knows about her father is that he came from a wealthy family and that they paid her mother off to keep quiet. Awesome set of grandparents she has right?! As you can probably tell she doesn't exactly have a soft spot for the wealthy.

The dashing Xander walks into the doll shop one day head held high. An air of confidence surrounds him and let's not forget he's drop dead gorgeous! Warning bells start going off in Caymen's head, but what can you do when a certain boy stops by everyday with hot chocolate. (Hot chocolate = way to a girls heart.)

They both seem to be in the same predicament- they don't know what comes next. Caymen doesn't want to be stuck working in the doll shop and Xander doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps. They bond over that fact and slowly get to know one another. That has to be one of my favorite things about this book. There's a realistic feel to what's going on with Caymen and Xander's relationship that a lot of YA books seem to be lacking now-a-days. I can't thank West enough for creating such wonderful well-developed characters that you can easily relate to.

Caymen has to be the most sarcastic character I've ever read, I absolutely adored her. Warning: Reading The Distance Between Us while eating at Panera or in any public place really will surely draw attention to yourself because I can guarantee that you will be laughing out loud like a crazy person.

I can't recommend The Distance Between Us enough. It's easily one of my favorite contemporary reads this year. A fun quick summer read that will have you turning the pages to see where Cayman and Xander's story goes.