Round 12: February 2014

[Gisbelle]

This is the battle between and


If you have read both books, please vote for the one you like more below.

Nobody But Us: 2
The Distance Between Us: 9

[Jay]

Nobody But Us

[Gisbelle]

Me too, Jay. Loved that book! I can't believe some people rated it 1 star. I respect their opinions and everything, but this book deserves more than one star.

I loved both of them, but I seriously don't remember much of Distance Between Us. It was a nice and quick read, but didn't leave lasting impression (at least to me) as Nobody But Us.

[Jess]

The Distance Between Us. I really liked it.

[Beatrice]

. My reading slump disappeared because of it.

[Gisbelle]

Great to hear that :) Nothing better than a book that makes you want to read even more books after you finish it

[Beatrice]

I'm looking forward for more Kasie West books. :)

[Mehsi]

Already read both of the books. And Distance between us is my favourite.

[Lynn]

is by far the better book in my opinion (I really did not like Nobody But Us)

[Sarah]

Definitely The Distance Between Us. I did not like Nobody But Us.

[Purvika]

Haven't read either...but I like nobody but us...

[Gisbelle]

I'm wondering why most people (not only here) didn't like Nobody But Us.

[Jay]

Gisbelle wrote: "I'm wondering why most people (not only here) didn't like Nobody But Us."

ikr

[Gisbelle]

totally :/ Nothing personal, but it makes me feel like I had read a different book because from what I read, it was very nice.

[Lynn]

Ok, you asked ....

(view spoiler)[ Starting with the good, the author dealt with multiple points of view very well creating two very different voices.

Unfortunately for me that's pretty much the only good thing I can say.
Teenagers in general may not be worldly wise (however with their situation you'd think these two would be a bit more clued in) but that doesn't mean they have to be stupid, these two are very stupid.

You can maybe blame naivete on Zoe's choices but we are told quite often in the book how bright she is. Will may not have had a great education but he should however be 'street wise' and have a better idea of the law, having come up against it before.

Will knows enough to get her a fake ID that lists her age as eighteen and to expect that the cops will be looking for them. However he somehow thinks that will be enough and be able to disappear. How are they supposed to enrol in school WITH THE SAME NAME (or do anything else without records)?

But that's jumping ahead, you'd think that knowing the are on the run to keep your head down and not draw attention themselves. However they just keep doing one stupid thing after another; freaking out in the diner when cops come in for food making it pretty obvious they are hiding something, Will speeding up when he thinks he spots a cop car because the best thing to do is draw attention to yourself and starting speeding (NOT), Zoe deciding to steal tampons instead of asking Will for money (despite him pointing out he had money and even discussing this exact situation), Will punching the guys in the gas station instead of walking away, Will leaving his wallet behind in the diner and rushing out making sure everyone knew who they were, Zoe throwing all their money out of the window ... I could keep going but the list is long!

However more seriously we as the reader are supposed to see Zoe and Will as tragic, romantic figures fighting against all odds to be together. When really their relationship is incredibly unhealthy.

Zoe has been physically abused by her father, yet Will is constantly getting into fights around her causing her to be afraid of him a good deal of the time. He promises he'll never hurt her and that he'll keep his temper in the future, and then we see the same thing repeated.

I'm pretty convinced that if they had been successful in running away, he would end up being violent with her in the end. Despite thinking and saying all the time that he just wants to make her happy, he snaps and swears at her at her a lot (even though he knows how much swearing upsets her). After the incident in the gas station when the guys hit on her, he accuses her of flirting with them and blaming her. Despite his reassurances that he will learn to keep his temper in control I think he would have eventually snapped with her despite his love.

And all the time Zoe blames herself for Wills unhappiness and the situation they are in. Ugh, this is not a healthy relationship (I know I'm repeating myself).
To me this book romanticised abusive relationships and made me feel very uncomfortable. (hide spoiler)]

[Rachel]

I really loved Distance Between Us!

[Gisbelle]

Lynn wrote: "Ok, you asked ....

Starting with the good, the author dealt with multiple points of view very well creating two very different voices.

Unfortunately for me that's pretty much the only good thin..."

Thanks for this very lengthy explanation.

[Lynn]

Gisbelle wrote: "Thanks for this very lengthy explanation. "

LOL, too much? ;)

Sorry, this book did stir quite a bit of emotion from me :/

[Gisbelle]

lol no it's okay :) I totally understand because I sometimes don't like books that a lot of people like too.

I thought it was a nice read though.

But at least you liked the cover, right? :D

[Lynn]

LOL ....sorry to disappoint but no I didn't even like the cover.

[Gisbelle]

lol oh really? Maybe it's just me. I love pink :)

[Katherine]

has my vote. I love pretty much anything Kasie West writes!!

[Marybeth]

I am now a huge fan of Kasie West so the distance between us is my vote

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

yep, I'm voting for as well!