The Distance Between Us [Review]

The Distance Between Us

by Kasie West

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh my goodness, this book was lovely. Are all of Kasie West’s stories this hilarious and witty, or was that just special for the character in this one? If they are, then I need to go out and buy them all now! The protagonist’s sarcasm is so on point that it had me taking notes on how to improve my skills.

Seventeen (and a half) year old Caymen Meyer lives alone with her mother, who was jaded in the past and has indirectly taught, or at least I hope she hasn’t actively promoted, her daughter to isolate herself from people. Caymen uses sarcasm as a shield, and I’m sorry, but if being witty as heck is a character flaw, then I don’t want to know “normal” people. (Emotional stability is so overrated!) The two of them have always had just enough to get by, and though she dreams of a future, Caymen has decided to put her plans for college aside a year or two to stay and help her mom run the struggling doll shop that they own. Susan Meyer has issues with rich people (see above: jaded past) so when Caymen meets and befriends Xander Spence, the son of wealthy hotel chain owners, she decides to keep it a secret from her mother. This leads to sneaking around, hurt feelings, and eventually hypocrisy, when she finds out that her mother has been keeping secrets of her own.

Also included: best friends, Crusty Toads, lots of tension and confusion, flirting, grave digging, thrift shopping, and of course, more sarcasm. Yes, just wrap your head around all of that and try to figure out how it’s all going to fit into 312 pages under the category ‘cutesy romancy’.

Speaking of fitting everything into 312 pages, I really liked this book, but I feel like the story got rushed at the end. Too many new facts were being thrown at me left and right and then it was over. All of the loose ends either got tied way above where I wanted them to, or not at all. (Spoiler Alert: I mean, who the eff is Matthew, really? A few ideas are tossed around, and I even had some theories of my own, and then we get one vague, threatening phone call from him, Caymen asks what I guess is supposed to be a clarifying question, and he doesn’t even justify it with an answer. Some of you might be content to believe that he was what is assumed, but I would like to believe that there is more to the story. Like, maybe Susan has a much more sordid past or a secret second life we don’t know about. Maybe Matthew is a drug lord or a pimp or something. IT COULD HAPPEN! ) I feel like certain facts that came into light were accepted too quickly and things were said too soon. Also, why is Xander so nice and understanding? This book is giving me unrealistic expectations about men! Excuse me while I go slap my husband with it while shouting “Why don’t you cherish me?”

All issues aside, I enjoyed this book immensely and will definitely be pulling it out whenever I need a good laugh and a little dry humor in my life.

Violence Rating: G (Was there any violence?)
Romance Rating: PG13 (makeout scene, reference to premarital sex and pregnancy)

Favorite Quotes:

Note: Just about everything Caymen says has some kind of sarcasm or dry humor thrown in, and posting the entire book’s contents feels kind of spoilery and probably breaks some copyright laws here or there, so I’m just going to post some of my favorites that are still funny taken out of context.

 

X: “ Note to self: Caymen is very good at sarcasm.”

C: “ If you’re recording notes for an official record, I’d like the word ‘very’ stricken and replaced with ‘exceptionally’”.

X: “Wait, A tractor is going to come dig the rest of this hole?”

C: “Yeah, they haven’t dug graves in years. I just thought this would be fun.”

X: “I’m going to kill you.”

C: “This would be the perfect place.”


Also, this was just lovely and relateable because this is how I feel about books in general. I love the tension of attraction between two characters, I live for it, but once they finally 'get together' it seems like some of the magic is lost.

X: "You look terrified. Does this scare you?”
C: “More than anything.”
X: “Why?”
C: “Because I didn’t bring my mints.”
X: “And now the real answer . . .”
C: “Because I’m afraid that once you catch me, the game’s over.”