"The Distance Between Us" by Kasie West

Of the now 3-1/4 Kasie West books I've read, The Distance Between Us falls somewhere in the middle. I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it ... probably because I read it right on the heels of On the Fence, which is shaping up to be one of my favorite reads of the whole year 🙂.

(One day, I might be able to drop that 1/4 book ... I'm just not sure if I'll ever go back and finish Lucky in Love. Why spend time on a book I can't get into? Lucky in Love seems to be an anomaly, though, so if you've tried it and not loved it, you should still give West's other books a chance.)

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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.

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The first thing to know if you've read other Kasie West novels: yes, The Distance Between Us is connected to On the Fence. As I started reading, I thought, "This sounds like that strip mall where Charlie [protagonist of On the Fence] worked." Yup. It was. The Distance Between Us was published first, and several characters and locations make a return appearance in On the Fence. Reading the two out of order didn't really hurt anything, but I bet I would've appreciated the connections more if I'd read them in the proper order.

The Distance Between Us is a quick, entertaining, largely fluffy read that works best if you don't think too deeply about the hows and whys of everything. I enjoyed Caymen and Xander's relationship, and their quest to help each other find out what they should do with their lives was both enjoyable and amusing.

There is a twist—and it's a twist that you'll see coming from a mile away, even if you don't anticipate all of the details—that gives this a bit of a Gilmore Girls vibe, but whereas I loved Lorelai even when she did dumb things, this twist just made me like Caymen's mom even less (and I didn't like her very much to begin with). I did, though, enjoy the relationships that emerged out of the twist. (Is that vague enough for you? I just don't want to spoil anything...)

This is another fun Kasie West read; it's just not my favorite Kasie West read. 4 stars.

Buy the book.
Read my reviews of West's By Your Side (3-1/2 stars) and On the Fence (4-1/2 stars).

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Kasie West lives with her family in central California, where the heat tries to kill her with its 115-degree stretches. She graduated from Fresno State University with a BA degree that has nothing to do with writing. Visit her online at www.kasiewest.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I borrowed this book from my local library and chose to review it. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."