The Distance Between Us

by Kasie West

Summary

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.

Review

I completely fell in love with this story! It just made my heart melt. First of all, Xander was unbelievably perfect (Can I have this boy for myself?!), although adding a bit of badass-ness to his character wouldn’t hurt, because his perfection sometimes made him a little boring. I’m still a huge fan of him, though. I mean, he makes me want to have his pre-sipped hot chocolates! Then we have Caymen. There were times when I got annoyed at her and her mom, but I got over that. Caymen’s sarcasm was really amusing, and I still admire her for being able to sacrifice so much for her mom. It’s rare to see such pure, selfless love nowadays. The other characters were also really lovable as well, with the exception of a few jerks (Die!). The book was actually pretty short, given that I was able to finish it in one sitting, but it was still beautiful. It helped me see what family is really like, regardless of how rich or poor it is, and how there are a lot of important things that are far beyond what money can dictate. Overall, it was a really amazing book, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who’s willing to give it a shot!

Quotes From the Book

“Sometimes it's the little things that bring that special someone back to us in some small way.”

“A lot of people don’t get my humor. My mom calls it dry humor. I think that means “not funny,” but it also means I’m the only one who ever knows it’s a joke.”

“I wonder why some people seem to be born knowing what they want to do with their lives and others - mostly me - have no idea.”

“Sometimes it's hard for me to start something because I'd rather not try at all than fail at it”

"Feelings, my dear daughter, you will perhaps learn one day, can be the most costly thing in the universe."

"But knowing about someone doesn't equate to knowing them."