The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Publisher: Harper Teen     
Publication date: July 2nd 2013
My rating: 3 star

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.

Caymen works in her mother's doll shop when a rich, totally gorgeous guy comes in looking for a birthday present for his grandmother. They have an instant connection and slowly start to hang out. He is Caymen's perfect guy but her mother would not approve because she was burned in the past, after Caymen's father left her mother when she got pregnant. Due to her mother's past Caymen is afraid to show her feeling towards Xander. 

What I liked the most about this book is the main character, Caymen. If I had to describe her in just one word I would use, sarcastic. She's like the long lost Rose Hathaway twin, without the ass-kicking. She's not only afraid of Xander but also of the future. Since her mother's broke she can't afford to go to college and she doesn't want think about it at all. 

I have a soft spot for guys named Alex and Devyani does too. *sigh* There's just something about that name I find so appealing.  Alex, or Xander, in this book,  was a wonderful male specimen. Like a guy who can make your skin on fire with a single touch and can also hold you when you're having a bad day. I kind of pictured him as Nolan Gerard Funk's character Collin from Awkward. Even though his family owns a bunch of hotels he isn't a snob and isn't afraid to get dirty and dig up a grave, literally. 

I didn't like how the author resolved the money problem in this novel. I highly doubt anything like that happens outside books and movies. I don't want to reveal what really happens but those who get the chance to read it will understand what I'm talking about. 

All in all, The Distance Between Us was a light summer read and I will check out Kasie's future contemporary novels.