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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I was pleasantly surprised. It was a quick read and really enjoyable. Such likable characters, and a bit of a surprise twist. Kind of wish it hadn't ended like it did, though.
Linda checked this out from the school library and I read the entire thing in one period of Biotech. It’s pretty bad. Like all these books that deal with one rich person and one not-as-rich-person, the money problems are straight up ignored once the people fall for each other. Everything else was cliche: sarcastic resistant to charm female lead who is somehow charmed by the guy despite the fact that he’s rich (which is bad because the dad left because he was rich or something too.) Like 2/5 I guess because not only were the power dynamics weird I think the guy was also an “adult” when the girl was seventeen and that added to weird feelings. I’m holding back on giving both 1/5 stars and 5/5 ratings because I have both more hope for this genre and also no hope at all.
*3.5*
“I love you," I whisper.
"What was that? I didn't hear you."
"Don't push me."
"I love you, too," he says. He puts his cheek against mine. "So much.”
Even though the rich-guy-poor-girl trope has been done to death, this one managed to feel so special and nice. Any time I want a sweet and heartwarming romantic story, I can always count on Kasie West to deliver it.
“I love you," I whisper.
"What was that? I didn't hear you."
"Don't push me."
"I love you, too," he says. He puts his cheek against mine. "So much.”
Even though the rich-guy-poor-girl trope has been done to death, this one managed to feel so special and nice. Any time I want a sweet and heartwarming romantic story, I can always count on Kasie West to deliver it.
I thought I'd like The Distance Between Us a lot more than I actually did. I loved On The Fence, and thought I'd be reading something sort of similar, but it was something I didn't like as much as I thought because it left me feeling like I was reading something really different than what I thought I was getting.
I did like the humor in the book, and I think that's something West does well. But I think, of the books I've read by West so far, this one is my least favorite.
I didn't care about the romance and it was a bit too much on the Cinderella-side. It's not that a guy like Xander couldn't be interested in Caymen, because he could, but something about it felt a little too fake. It's a little hard to believe that a guy with Xander's social status would be interested in Caymen. It seemed a little too cliche, and it wasn't done in a way that made me not care how cliche it was. I just felt like there was no chemistry between them, but I did like that they were both trying to find their place in the world. It felt more platonic than romantic.
I also felt like their financial situation and why Caymen never knew her grandparents was a little bit forced. The grandparents showing up seemed really abrupt, and things were perfectly fine, even though they weren't part of her life until that point. Even though I can understand why her mom had issues with wealthy people, it also seemed a little fake, like it was there just as a random obstacle coming between Xander and Caymen.
I also wish we saw more of the relationship between Caymen and her mom, because while Caymen talked about how good of a relationship, I also wish we saw it instead of having it be told to us.
Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of the elements of the book reminded me of Gilmore Girls...but as a book, and not as good. I just felt like some of the issues that we see in the book weren't given a lot of attention, and even though I really like the premise, this book just didn't work for me. Adult me wasn't a fan, but I think maybe teenage me would have loved the book.
My Rating: 2 stars. The Distance Between Us was just okay. I liked how Caymen was really sarcastic, and her dry sense of humor, but the romance felt forced and cliche.
I did like the humor in the book, and I think that's something West does well. But I think, of the books I've read by West so far, this one is my least favorite.
I didn't care about the romance and it was a bit too much on the Cinderella-side. It's not that a guy like Xander couldn't be interested in Caymen, because he could, but something about it felt a little too fake. It's a little hard to believe that a guy with Xander's social status would be interested in Caymen. It seemed a little too cliche, and it wasn't done in a way that made me not care how cliche it was. I just felt like there was no chemistry between them, but I did like that they were both trying to find their place in the world. It felt more platonic than romantic.
I also felt like their financial situation and why Caymen never knew her grandparents was a little bit forced. The grandparents showing up seemed really abrupt, and things were perfectly fine, even though they weren't part of her life until that point. Even though I can understand why her mom had issues with wealthy people, it also seemed a little fake, like it was there just as a random obstacle coming between Xander and Caymen.
I also wish we saw more of the relationship between Caymen and her mom, because while Caymen talked about how good of a relationship, I also wish we saw it instead of having it be told to us.
Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of the elements of the book reminded me of Gilmore Girls...but as a book, and not as good. I just felt like some of the issues that we see in the book weren't given a lot of attention, and even though I really like the premise, this book just didn't work for me. Adult me wasn't a fan, but I think maybe teenage me would have loved the book.
My Rating: 2 stars. The Distance Between Us was just okay. I liked how Caymen was really sarcastic, and her dry sense of humor, but the romance felt forced and cliche.
I really liked Kasie West’s debut, Pivot Point. However, I LOVED The Distance Between Us, and honestly, if I had read this book first, I might have rated Pivot Point slightly lower. This contemporary YA that’s a bit different but still sweet is where West’s writing really shines. I’m trying not to compare and contrast Pivot Point and The Distance Between Us too much, but at some point, it really can’t be helped. It was a bit of a shocker for me to like this book more than I did, and especially more than Pivot Point–after all, Pivot Point is about parallel universes, which I LOVE, and The Distance Between Us is contemporary, which isn’t always my first choice. But if I read more contemporary like this, I think I’d like it a lot more.
Caymen is one of my favorite main characters I’ve read this year. She and I have a very similar sense of humor–very sarcastic, very dry–and I’d want to be her friend in real life. She’s not flawless, and one of her major character flaws is that she’s incredibly quick to jump to conclusions, which causes some problems in the book, but she’s well-developed and such an interesting character to read. Caymen isn’t from a rich or even middle-class background, and I applaud West for showing a single family that’s rather poor but NOT showing them to be abusive, psychologically damaged, etc. Also, Caymen is a female main character who is interested in science, and you have no idea how happy that makes me! Personally, I am not a science person, BUT for a long time I have wanted female characters who like science. I think if YA is suppose to a portrayal of adolescence FOR adolescents, it would be nice to have FEMALE characters who are interested in science & math because so often society likes to draw lines that girls aren’t as good as science and math as boys(or something? Where do we come up with this?) It’s just so refreshing to see that Caymen likes science.
XandEr is one of my favorite fictional boys in a long time. Like Caymen, he’s not perfect, but he’s genuinely just a nice person and really cares for Caymen. Their relationship is awesome because it holds no traces of insta-love, but really just starts out as a cute friendship and evolves from there. It’s a nice slow, steady momentum-building relationship. They’re both attracted for each other but don’t start a relationship right away because of their past experiences and they both have quite a bit of responsibility.
At heart, the plot of this book is very Pride and Prejudice-like, which made me like it even more. I really liked how on the rare occasion Xander’s parents enter the story, they’re both polite and sweet, and West does a good job of not vilifying the rich by making them all snobby OR vilifying the poor by portraying all the families as abusive. The Distance Between Us keeps a very even view of social classes and acknowledging the barriers that do arise without making it over-dramatic as some stories are want to do.
Final Impression: I LOVED this book! It was really well-done and different, while still keeping to a traditional story like Pride and Prejudice with a modern spin. I loved Caymen and would want to hang out with her in real life. I found the characters in this story so life-like and refreshing, as West did a terrific job of staying away from most stereotypes and incorporating unique situations–like the fact that Caymen’s mother owns a porcelain doll shop. I expected to like this book, but I didn’t think I’d end up liking it SO much. It’s definitely on the lighter side(while still bringing issues of poverty and social class), and it’s a great summer read.
Caymen is one of my favorite main characters I’ve read this year. She and I have a very similar sense of humor–very sarcastic, very dry–and I’d want to be her friend in real life. She’s not flawless, and one of her major character flaws is that she’s incredibly quick to jump to conclusions, which causes some problems in the book, but she’s well-developed and such an interesting character to read. Caymen isn’t from a rich or even middle-class background, and I applaud West for showing a single family that’s rather poor but NOT showing them to be abusive, psychologically damaged, etc. Also, Caymen is a female main character who is interested in science, and you have no idea how happy that makes me! Personally, I am not a science person, BUT for a long time I have wanted female characters who like science. I think if YA is suppose to a portrayal of adolescence FOR adolescents, it would be nice to have FEMALE characters who are interested in science & math because so often society likes to draw lines that girls aren’t as good as science and math as boys(or something? Where do we come up with this?) It’s just so refreshing to see that Caymen likes science.
XandEr is one of my favorite fictional boys in a long time. Like Caymen, he’s not perfect, but he’s genuinely just a nice person and really cares for Caymen. Their relationship is awesome because it holds no traces of insta-love, but really just starts out as a cute friendship and evolves from there. It’s a nice slow, steady momentum-building relationship. They’re both attracted for each other but don’t start a relationship right away because of their past experiences and they both have quite a bit of responsibility.
At heart, the plot of this book is very Pride and Prejudice-like, which made me like it even more. I really liked how on the rare occasion Xander’s parents enter the story, they’re both polite and sweet, and West does a good job of not vilifying the rich by making them all snobby OR vilifying the poor by portraying all the families as abusive. The Distance Between Us keeps a very even view of social classes and acknowledging the barriers that do arise without making it over-dramatic as some stories are want to do.
Final Impression: I LOVED this book! It was really well-done and different, while still keeping to a traditional story like Pride and Prejudice with a modern spin. I loved Caymen and would want to hang out with her in real life. I found the characters in this story so life-like and refreshing, as West did a terrific job of staying away from most stereotypes and incorporating unique situations–like the fact that Caymen’s mother owns a porcelain doll shop. I expected to like this book, but I didn’t think I’d end up liking it SO much. It’s definitely on the lighter side(while still bringing issues of poverty and social class), and it’s a great summer read.
Is not the best book ever, but it was fine... is good if you need a book to relax.
Okay, so very mixed feelings. I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. The characters played a big part of this along with the trope. This is my first rich guy, poor girl trope but it felt way too exaggerated for me to enjoy it. Xander was extremely crazy rich since his family owns a whole chain of a well known hotel. Him deciding to take time out of his busy life to hang out with Caymen, who (basically) lives in her mother’s doll shop, almost everyday if not week just didn't make sense. I did like how Caymen’s dry humor didn't throw Xander off, like I expected, but rather pulled him in. Though Caymen’s super pessimistic attitude did make the book less enjoyable for me, not that I expect her to be chirpy all the time but her vibes were not it for me.
Read my full review here: Click Here!
Read my full review here: Click Here!