Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Title: The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West
Series: n/a
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Source: Birthday gift from Jen
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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’ve been wanting to try Kasie West for a while now. I’ve seen all kinds of good things, so when my birthday rolled around, I decided I was going to read a "me" book that weekend. Plus, it was a gift from Jen, so I pushed my other stuff aside and got to reading.

I really liked The Distance Between Us. I was sold immediately with all the porcelain doll talk. You see, Caymen's mom owns a doll shop. My grandmother collects dolls, at least she used to when I was young. I remember how excited she’d get when she saw a new one on the home shopping network. She’d look for dolls that looked like us grandkids and had our same names… and they were all on display around her living room. She even went as far as to have one custom made of me, as a baby. She crocheted the outfits for both baby me and the doll. ( I was born with Cleft Lip and Palate btw )

But back the story. Caymen is kinda poor folk, and her mom has this major grudge against rich people. Caymen has always agreed with her moms opinions until Xander Spence starts coming around.

I loved Xander. He’s a really great guy. I loved watching Caymen fight her feelings for him and I loved watching her lose. The banter between the two is great, and Caymen, I adore her sarcasm to no end. That girl is funny, and I often found myself laughing out loud at some of the shit she would say.

I was going to start with Pivot Point. That was going to be my first Kasie West book, but then I saw that Caymen and Xander make a cameo appearance in On the Fence, so I wanted to get this one done before I read that. I’m really glad I started with The Distance Between Us, it was a fun story and I’m looking forward to reading more from her!

About the author:

I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels, published through Harper Teen are: PIVOT POINT, its sequel SPLIT SECOND (Feb 2014), and THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US (a contemporary novel). I also have two more contemporaries, ON THE FENCE coming out July 1, 2014, and THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND coming out the summer of 2015. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

Find Kasie:

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