The Distance Between Us

by Kasie West

[girlinthepages]

The Distance Between Us came highly recommended to me after my first, rather lackluster, experience with a Kasie West novel, The Fill In Boyfriend. There seems to be a consensus that The Distance Between Us is the best of West's contemporary novels, so I decided to assign it my "lunchtime read" at work (which is where I choose a short novel to keep in my desk and only read exclusively on work breaks). I didn't go into the book with that many expectations, and found it to be a cute and quick read with some plot holes and characters who felt a bit one dimensional.

For a YA romance, West added some quirky elements that were fun and different to read about. Caymen and her mother live above her mother's porcelain doll shop, which is their main source of income and their entire lives, essentially. This setting was definitely different, and what's more is that compounded on the element of being a small business owner, Caymen's family is poor. Not lower-middle class that's "poor" compared to the rich kids at school. Caymen and her mother do not have cell phones, cannot buy whatever groceries they'd like on a whim, and have to account for every single expense. While this book didn't really go into the nitty gritty of poverty, it was interesting to see it portrayed in a more "fluffy" sub-genre of YA.

As per the synopsis, Caymen has a budding relationship (as much as she'd like to deny it) with Xander, someone who is in a very different socio-economic class than Caymen. Contrary to most stories who use the rich-boy-poor-girl trope, this novel really focuses on Caymen's reluctance to accept Xander because of his money, rather than Xander's family taking issue with Caymen because she's poor. I thought this was an intriguing spin on the genre because it shows the prejudice toward privilege that a more disadvantaged person may have, and discomfort they feel, while also highlighting that not all "rich" people take issues with dating someone from a different or "lesser" socio-economic class. It was a refreshing inversion of the trope.

While Xander and Caymen's witty banter and slow progression toward being more than friends was adorable, there were some issues that I struggled with while reading. Caymen's trademark sarcasm felt heavy handed at times, and more like a stereotype of a sarcastic teenager rather than a nuanced portrayal of someone with a very dry sense of humor. There were a lot of plot inconsistencies (like with her mother's background) that were all hastily resolved at the end that felt very rushed and too convenient I also wish that more focus had been given to Caymen reaching out to find her father, as her curiosity about him peaked my interest while reading the book but wasn't really ever explored.

Overall: The Distance Between Us was a cute read with a likeable love interest and an OK protagonist. However, it brought up a lot of "heavier" topics (teenage pregnancy, socio-economic struggles, familial estrangement, serious medical illness, etc.) yet resolved them too quickly and conveniently at the end. It felt like a book that was trying to insert plot elements to make it seems a bit deeper, but really didn't escape being an average, though enjoyable, fluffy romance. A quick read, but I think I might be simply outgrowing this sub-genre of YA.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages