The Distance Between Us

by Kasie West

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the rich are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her mom's porcelain doll shop, she has seen nothing to prove otherwise. Enter Xander Spence - he's tall, handsome, and oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and the fact he seems to be 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 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. With so many obstacles standing in their way, can they close the distance to each other? A perfect mixture of bittersweet and charming, this new paperback original from house author Kasie West is an endearing romantic comedy that will steal your heart.

• ISBN10: 0062235656
• ISBN13: 9780062235657
• Publish Date: 22 July 2013 (first published 2 July 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperTeen
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joséphine]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Quick thoughts: Who would've thought that I might like a book based on the romance? HAHA. Definitely not me. But there it is. It happened. The Distance Between Us has such a cheesy cover that unabashedly screams romance, such that I would never have chosen this book for myself. Nonetheless, I read it because of a recommendation that I wasn't inclined to deny. I loved Caymen (yes, that's her name) for her wit and her extreme fluency in sarcasm. It's no wonder I laughed a lot as a result. Even better, I didn't roll my eyes a single time. That's saying something, coming from me. I honestly enjoyed the romance of this one.

Full review to follow

[Sam@WLABB]

I loved this book so much, I was a little sad when it ended.

This is the story of Caymen, who was raised by her single mother in a town inhabited by many wealthy people (one public school, two private schools) although her family barely scrapes by. Enter Xander, super-rich, hotel scion, who appears to be smitten with Miss Caymen. There are lots of barriers to this relationship taking off (misunderstandings, miscommunications, snap judgements and assumptions), but one of the biggest is Caymen's love for her mom and her feelings of betrayal.

I fell in love with so many of the characters in this book. The whip-smart, sassy Caymen, the dashing Xander, the charming Tic, the book-under-the-cover Henry, and the ever loyal Skye. It was so easy to relate to the characters and I felt like although, there were many things missing in her life, Caymen was so lucky to have these people around her.

This is an adorable romance filled with so much heart. We get to watch this friendship grow more tender and stronger with each interaction until it blossoms into full on love. The career day "dates" and times spent with Caymen's friends were some of the best parts of the book, but the highlight for me was Caymen's biting wit and sarcasm. I, am fluent in sarcasm and always appreciate a kindred spirit.

Again, my only regret was when it ended. Book 2?

[KitsuneBae]

So...so...so fluffy... Fast-paced... And the characters are really cute together. If you want to read a feel good book then this is the one for you.

[Angie]

The Distance Between Us is a super cute and refreshing YA romance. Caymen is just your typical high school student. She's good at science, and works at her mother's porcelain doll shop after school. She also has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Then walks in Xander. He comes across as the typical, spoiled rich kid as he picks up a doll for his grandmother. Caymen initially writes him off, but then he comes into the shop again, and walks her to school, and they bond. Their friendship grows as they try to help each other find what interests them career-wise, and of course, a romance blossoms from it.

I really liked Caymen (but not her name!). She just felt so normal and real. I loved her sarcasm and dry humor! She reminded me a lot of myself in that regard, since sometimes my jokes are entirely missed by people who don't know me well, i.e. almost everyone. I also liked that there was nothing exceptional or overly unique about her. Yes, she works in the creepiest store ever, but that's just to help her mom. It's not who she is; that's something she's still figuring out. I was a bit annoyed at some of her attitudes toward rich people, but that's something her mom has ingrained in her after being burned by Caymen's absent father. Caymen isn't as judgmental, especially after she starts falling for Xander and realizes that they have more in common than she expected.

My favorite part of The Distance Between Us was that it had a nice balance between the romance, Caymen's personal struggles, and family. While this was ultimately about the romance, there was a lot of focus on Caymen's relationship with her mother and their store. The store is really struggling, and Caymen is doing her best to get things on track, since sometimes her mother is a bit too nice to customers with the discounts and freebies. She's also been hiding something, and Caymen isn't sure what. Her mom goes out to strange meetings and there's a man lingering around and calling. Then there's the issue of Caymen's mother not speaking about her father, or letting her meet him. Of course, everything wraps up with a nice bow in the end.

I really enjoyed The Distance Between Us. I loved that it was simple and sweet without anything too over-the-top about it. Sure, the whole poor girl and rich boy fall for each other is cliche, but I thought Caymen and Xander were cute together, and the friendship first was a nice change of pace from other romances. I'll definitely be checking out more books from this author!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[nitzan_schwarz]

3.5 stars

[ladygrey]

I have to admit I was a little scared of this book. Because every blog I read absolutely loved it. But it's kind of easy to love.

It's a really sweet, simple story. I actually really liked Caymen even though she jumped to some very dumb conclusions again and again. But I love a good dry sense of humor. A lot of YA heroines are proud of being sarcastic but they're really just snippy. Caymen was actually funny. And I liked how Xander came to see right through her. I liked how he called her out when she needed him to and how she was able to be honest with him. And I really like how he made me laugh. 4 chapters in I actually laughed out loud and I was hooked.

I felt like the story got a little derailed at the end. But that was only because so much of it had been so good. And it wrapped up really too fast also. I was almost looking to see if there was a sequel just because I didn't think she could really deal with everything she stirred up in just 10 pages. Unfortunately, she did but it deserved more.

And some of her actions are confusing or incomplete. Like he's in front of her and another is behind her and on the way to the thing behind her she stumbled into him. How does that work? But those are also easy enough to ignore if you just rewrite the scene in your head a little or pretend you didn't read the action that never gets finished. I don't know how her editor missed them.

But as far as romances go its full of fun flirting instead of crazy intense insta-love and amusing dialog and a really sweet guy. Nothing to be scared of at all.

(There were a ton of great lines in this book but I didn't write any of them down so here's a mildly amusing one I scrounged up. I'll replace it later with a better one.)

[Amber]

Once again, Kasie West has captivated me. I read Pivot Point back in January, and went on to push it towards everyone I came into contact with. I've been waiting a good six months for The Distance Between Us to be released, eagerly anticipating West's first contemporary novel, and I can gladly announce that it was well worth the wait!

Full review on Books of Amber

[e_rodz_leb]

Lately I’d been starting books to only get disinterested by them after a few pages. When I saw Hannah’s review of this book, I knew I had to try it (*waves at Hannah*). I love The Distance Between Us! Such an easy book to read, I devoured it in no time; it was just what the doctor ordered :)

The plot of The Distance Between Us is simple for a contemporary romance, although there is a twist at the end as I suspected. Now thinking back on the reason that I loved it so, I guess it has to do with a combination of amazing characters, and splendid writing. I like that there was no instant romance nor was there a marked love triangle. As I said, the writing is superb, as is the characterization.

Caymen is a big believer in irony. Her thoughts and comments are so snarky, testy and critical of everything and everyone, at least at first impression. She is prejudiced against the ‘rich’ because she has been raised that way by her mom (I knew there had to be more to that story). Caymen is pretty, smart, responsible, loyal, and outwardly perfect. However, she’s missing the experiences of having an active social life, and doing things that she love instead of feeling pressure to do the things her mother wants. Deep down it seems that she has a pessimistic (or realistic?) personality and is always expecting the worst from everyone.

Xander is mostly awesome. I am a firm believer that there is someone for everyone, in The Distance Between Us, Xander is Caymen’s someone. Even though Xander is rich, by not fault of his own, mind you; he is down to earth and was able to see under Caymen’s façade and get under her skin. He seems to have everything, money, looks, and the best of everything; but he’s reveling against a future that seems to be planned for him. I think that the ‘game’ he designed to keep seeing Caymen was a stroke of genius.

I felt bad for Caymen’s mom because she left an experience from her past taint her views of people. I think she grew to be very distrustful, strict, and unbending and tried to infuse these views and feelings to her daughter. This woman can sure hold a grudge!

This is one of the books that I wish had a sequel or at least a companion book. Why? Because I felt that there were a lot unanswered questions here. I would love to see what happens next. How does Caymen’s relationship with her grandparents develops? What happens next with Xander and Caymen? Do they get to go to college? How about the doll store and Caymen’s mom? See… I need more! I think Kasie West will quickly become one of my favorite new authors.


About the cover: I love this cover, the colors, the play of dark and light the couple standing there; holding hands and the font (see how D.I.S.T.A.N.C.E is spelled out to create, well, more distance between the letters).

[lizarodz]

Lately I’d been starting books to only get disinterested by them after a few pages. When I saw Hannah’s review of this book, I knew I had to try it (*waves at Hannah*). I love The Distance Between Us! Such an easy book to read, I devoured it in no time; it was just what the doctor ordered :)

The plot of The Distance Between Us is simple for a contemporary romance, although there is a twist at the end as I suspected. Now thinking back on the reason that I loved it so, I guess it has to do with a combination of amazing characters, and splendid writing. I like that there was no instant romance nor was there a marked love triangle. As I said, the writing is superb, as is the characterization.

Caymen is a big believer in irony. Her thoughts and comments are so snarky, testy and critical of everything and everyone, at least at first impression. She is prejudiced against the ‘rich’ because she has been raised that way by her mom (I knew there had to be more to that story). Caymen is pretty, smart, responsible, loyal, and outwardly perfect. However, she’s missing the experiences of having an active social life, and doing things that she love instead of feeling pressure to do the things her mother wants. Deep down it seems that she has a pessimistic (or realistic?) personality and is always expecting the worst from everyone.

Xander is mostly awesome. I am a firm believer that there is someone for everyone, in The Distance Between Us, Xander is Caymen’s someone. Even though Xander is rich, by not fault of his own, mind you; he is down to earth and was able to see under Caymen’s façade and get under her skin. He seems to have everything, money, looks, and the best of everything; but he’s reveling against a future that seems to be planned for him. I think that the ‘game’ he designed to keep seeing Caymen was a stroke of genius.

I felt bad for Caymen’s mom because she left an experience from her past taint her views of people. I think she grew to be very distrustful, strict, and unbending and tried to infuse these views and feelings to her daughter. This woman can sure hold a grudge!

This is one of the books that I wish had a sequel or at least a companion book. Why? Because I felt that there were a lot unanswered questions here. I would love to see what happens next. How does Caymen’s relationship with her grandparents develops? What happens next with Xander and Caymen? Do they get to go to college? How about the doll store and Caymen’s mom? See… I need more! I think Kasie West will quickly become one of my favorite new authors.


About the cover: I love this cover, the colors, the play of dark and light the couple standing there; holding hands and the font (see how D.I.S.T.A.N.C.E is spelled out to create, well, more distance between the letters).

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

The Distance Between Us is, hands down, one of my favorite reads this year! The romance was sweet, charming, and down right adorable. Kasie West wrote so many amazing feel good moments, that it is hard to pick just one that stands out on its own. The characters and the story itself, was wonderfully developed and easy to relate to. If you're looking for the perfect summer book to read featuring an endearing romance, then you need look any further. This is absolutely the book that will quench all of your desires.

The witty dialouge is just as fresh and fun as the characters and their romance are. Kasie West is triple fantastic when it comes to portraying emotions and building up tension in the wonderful relationships that she creates between the characters. Cayman and Xander are absolutely brilliant, especially when it came to their sarcastic banter and pitch perfect chemistry. The slow build from friends to more, was another great element of the story. It gives off that crackling, slow-burning, smoldering affect that gets your blood pumping and your anticipation up.

The Distance Between Us will absolutely not disappoint fans of contemporary young adult. If anything, it will have them completely captivated and totally invested in the characters. So, if you're looking for a fast delightful summer read jam packed with scintilating romance, this is the perfect book for you!

Kasie West is definitely on my auto-buy author track list.