Pretty in Pink meets Pride and Prejudice?

For as long as she can remember, the only thing Caymen has known about the rich is that they can’t be trusted. Her mother got pregnant with Caymen when she was very young and was disowned by her parents and abandoned by the father, who coincidentally was very rich. As a result, Caymen and her mom eke out a meager existence by running a shop that sells porcelain dolls and living in the small upstairs apartment. When one of their store’s patrons sends her grandson in to pick up a doll she had ordered, Caymen’s first instinct is to write him off as a snobby rich-boy, but there’s something about him that makes her want to give him a second chance, or a third, or as many as he wants. Even though everything from her past tells her that he’ll use her and run away when she gets bored, Xander genuinely seems to like her and they start hanging out. They both feel imprisoned by their families expectations, so rather than have dates, they take turns hosting career counseling sessions where they try different activities to discover what it is they truly love. This is adorable as all get out, but leaves Caymen confused to what exactly their relationship is. Caymen's mother and best friend are both pushing her towards Mason, a lead singer of a band who on paper seems like a much better fit for her. And then there’s Xander who keeps showing up on the cover of Star magazine with a movie star girlfriend. It seems like everything is going wrong for Xander and Caymen, but if they're so wrong for each other why is Caymen happier when she’s with him? Happier than she’s ever been.

Everywhere I turn, I see The Distance Between Us described as Pretty in Pink meets Pride and Prejudice, which maybe...? I’ve never seen Pretty in Pink, but I assume from movie posters that poor girl Molly Ringwald falls for rich boy Andrew McCarthy, who seems like a major douche. I have however read Pride and Prejudice and honestly didn't see much resemblance. This book seemed like a fairly normal story of poor girl and rich boy hit it off and was fairly fluffy, but enjoyable. The relationship between Caymen and Xander is perfectly executed with plenty of swoony bits, but there were times where I wished Caymen would just ask Xander what was going on in his head or let him know what was going on with her. I found it to be typical teen fair, but a welcome one. This would be a wonderful beach book, of course now we're on the verge of winter. Mexico here I come!