The Distance Between Us by Kasie West - Book Review

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Published by: Harper Teen

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

Source: Bought

Rating: 6/5 hearts

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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.

MY THOUGHTS:

First off, there's one specific type of books that I absolutely never ever read. Like EVER!! However, the explanation behind picking this one up can be summed up pretty simply. I am in love with Kasie West. That's it. I don't care if that sounds creepy at all, either!! I absolutely adored Pivot Point, and the wait for Split Second has been complete and utter torture for me. TORTURE, I tell you!!! So I decided that maybe I could satiate my need for more amazing Kasie West-style writing by picking up another book that she had written, and it was the BEST decision ever!!!!!! 

Kasie West has converted me into a contemporary reader with the awesomeness that is The Distance Between Us.

I mean, just the names in this book are completely unique and so cool!! Caymen? I have never heard of someone named Caymen, and even if she gets the Cayman Islands joke all the time, it is still a pretty bad-a name! I just love the fact that she lives above her mom's porcelain doll store too! That in itself is super creepy to me, and to add to the creepy factor, her best friend's dad is a mortician! Xander came off a little rude at first, but I quickly came to love him and swoon every time he appeared on page. I yearned for Xander and Caymen to get together probably more than Caymen yearned for it herself. The easy back and forth banter between the two was the cutest!! 

I rode the ups and downs throughout this novel as fast as my eyes could speed through the pages. I loved this book so much that I only stopped reading it when I got to the point that I could no longer put off going to the restroom unless I wanted to pee my pants. 

Caymen and Xander bond quickly through setting up "jobs" to try for one another to see if they can find what they want to do for the rest of their lives, instead of taking over their parent's businesses. The jobs were interesting and hilarious to read, because they were on the complete other spectrum than what the person was used to. For instance, Caymen always picked lower end jobs for Xander to try, and Xander always picked higher-end jobs for Caymen. 

West throws a few kinks into the book to cause problems and drama, which only had me flipping pages faster!! There are a few things that come up that I never saw coming, but only made the story even better in the long run. As of right now, The Distance Between Us is a stand-alone, but I would completely freak out if I found out Kasie decided to continue Caymen and Xander's story. I fell in love with them that much! 

Overall, I think contemporary lovers should definitely pick this one up if they haven't yet. Even if you aren't much of a contemp reader, you should think about giving this one a try! I gave this one 6 stars out of my 5 star rating system, because 5 just didn't seem to do this book justice!!

Now, I just need to go watch The Shining, because it's mentioned so much in this novel, and believe it or not, I have never seen it!