There was a lot packed into the very interesting story. But the key take-aways are to never feel you aren't good enough or you need to change to become good enough. This is a must read book for women, particular young woman, who are facing these kinds of challenges in the world today.

I'm usually a fan of Jennifer Weiner. And I wanted to like this one, I really did. But I just...didn't.

To start, I just wasn't crazy about Abby. We're supposed to like her and sympathize with her but...come on.

SPOILER ALERT

The cheating? The lying? The rudeness to her mother (come on, she's TRYING) and to Sebastian (he's trying, too!) and to Mark. When her mom reveals she used to be fat, we're supposed to believe Abby is SHOCKED and had never in 30-something years asked to see her parents' wedding pictures OR her own baby pictures?! Bizarre.

And Sebastian...what a jerk, making Abby chase him in a lightning storm on her bike because he HAD to ride in the storm, even knowing she was required, as trip leader, to follow him. Just...these people. I didn't like them. And if I can't like the characters, I can't really like the book. Better luck next time.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Breakaway is Jennifer Weiner's newest release and it's sure to be a summer blockbuster! Abby is in a stage of life where, although she feels content, she also feels as though others expect more from her by now. She's offered a last-minute chance to lead a bike tour for the first time ever. On the tour, she recognizes one of the group members and now must deal with the fallout of the last time she saw him. She also has a surprise guest join the tour that changes an important relationship in her life. As a biker, I loved the aspect of the story dealing with all things bikes. Read and enjoy!

I have read almost every book Jennifer Weiner has written. She is a must read for me. This book was a quick, easy read. Following several of her books, the main character has body image and self confidence issues. I enjoyed the idea of the characters taking a bike trip.

Good for high school students and beyond.

One of her weaker stories. Full of unlikable characters and some boring sub plots. Wouldn't recommend this one.

This book hit spot on to the complex feelings of growing up as a plus size person and the insecurities that follows into adulthood. While there were moments I wished the author showed the true strength and acceptance of the main character, I enjoyed seeing a story where a larger body was featured - I just wished she wasn’t always portrayed or believed she was the victim.

I also appreciated the other complex story lines and view of a similar situation from multiple characters.

Pub date: 8/29/23
Genre: contemporary fiction
Quick summary: At 33, Abby is in a committed relationship, but she can't help feeling that something is missing. Then she runs into former one-night stand Sebastian on a bike trip she's leading - and that's just the start of the trip's misadventures.

I love the way Jennifer Weiner writes realistic, flawed women who are impossible not to root for! I saw some of my and my friends' struggles in Abby's life, and I loved watching her grow and work to figure out what she wanted her life to look like. Weiner excels at writing female relationships (if you haven't read MRS. EVERYTHING, please put it on your list!) In addition to the romantic plotline here, we have Abby and her mother, as well as another mother and daughter pair on the trip. This book is an excellent mix of light-hearted romcom fun and more serious topics, and I really enjoyed i!

Thank you to Atria Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

5/5 stars

I’m a long-time Jennifer Weiner fan so I was overjoyed that NetGalley allowed me the option to read this lovely book.

This book deals with some heavy topics, such as diet culture and family dynamics. But there are also very lighthearted moments.

Read this book if you want to read a great love story but also delve into mother-daughter relationships and second chance romance… and if you like bikes.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Jennifer Weiner's books are a reliable summer read for me, and The Breakaway was no exception. The format of the bike tour group created lots of opportunities to explore different relationships through the characters on the ride. I really liked the mother-daughter relationship angles explored. The expectations and pressures parents create for their children, the myriad usually well-intentioned reasons why they do it and how they are prone to spectacularly backfiring. Weiner usually packs her books with current social issues of the day, and I think she did a nice job with them here.

Funny, touching, and relatable, this story of a woman leading a bike trip and discovering all sorts of truths about herself is such a gem. Full of empowerment, body positivity, and women supporting women, it's got great messages as well as memorable characters, a compelling love story, and some sweet themes about mothers and daughters. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. I found this book really endearing. There were some potentially controversial subjects addressed (obesity, fat camp, abortion), but I found it to be a solid example of accepting yourself, raising strong women, and being a support for younger girls. I really enjoyed this.

I normally love all books by Jennifer Weiner, but this one just didn’t totally do it for me. I liked the idea of a bike ride to grow and strengthen relationships, especially between Abby and her mom. But I felt like there were so many things shoved in there. Overall, this one just fell flat for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books and Jennifer Weiner for sending me an ARC of this book.

The story takes place on a bike riding adventure from New York to Niagara Falls and you get to come along the journey of Abby finding out her path in life. There are social issues that are woven through the story as well as her current relationship and some fun internet trolls that take you on an unexpected adventure. Abby seems to question everything in her life, her relationship with her mom, is she settling for the man in her life, what to do about her career and making ends meet. There are only so many things that you can carry around without losing your mind and all of this comes to a head when she finds herself with a man from her past that wants to infiltrate her life. He allows her to see herself through his eyes and she starts taking steps to allow herself to be happy, take chances for her future that are very fulfilling while also being kind to herself. Sometimes we need to learn from people the good things and lean into that truth, vs. what we have been told our whole lives and stopping that internal narrative. Abby is a great example of finding joy right where you are and moving forward in life.

This was just the book to get me over a book hangover. Jennifer Weiner has always been one of the most "readable" authors. Fast paced, witty dialogue, fun plot. And one thing that I find most appealing these in stories- strong female characters.
Abby has always found freedom on her bike, which she started riding when she was younger, to escape her ever-watchful mother's eye from judging every morsel of food she puts in her mouth. The judgement that sent her to "fat camp" where the only good thing that resulted in was meeting Mark, her first love.
Abby is now engaged to Mark, now fit and thin after gastric bypass, and leading a bike group through a 2 week ride on the Empire Trail, ending at Niagara Falls. Just one problem- her first and only one-night-stand ends up being in the group. Along with another surprise rider- her mother.
Include an embarrassing Tik-Tok video, a daughter hiding secrets from her super conservative mother, and a curious group of 4 friends and this story will have a little something for everyone.
Other than the larger topic of fat-shaming and feeling like you're never enough, Weiner also took on topics such as toxic masculinity, gender & sexuality, a woman's right to having choices....it was chock full of hot button topic, some sufficiently inserted and threaded through the story, and others sort of plopped in, seeming as it was put there just to...be there and acknowledge that the issue exists. It seemed a bit performative in that way.
Over all it is a quick, enjoyable, fun, feel good story that has a satisfying yet realistic ending.

I had mixed feelings about this book. There were elements I loved and some things that didn't work for me. The main character, Abby, is leading a Breakaway bike tour from NYC to Niagara Falls. I am not a biker but I loved the bike riding parts! It really seems like such an amazing experience. I also enjoyed the eclectic group of riders and wish we had gotten to know them in greater detail, especially since a few were crucial to subplots. I do think that there were a lot of themes and subplots being explored here which ultimately prevented the story from having more depth. Weiner writes about weight, weight loss, romantic relationships, mother-daughter relationships, pregnancy, abortion & woman's choice, cheating and more.⁣
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Plus, we have a weird love triangle that just didn't work for me. Abby was in a committed relationship with Mark who had also struggled with food growing up (they met at weight loss camp) and who she describes glowingly often but who she isn't happy with because he doesn't share her love of riding or food indulgences (due to bypass surgery). She has a world rocking one night stand while on a girl's trip with Sebastian, who ends up years later on her riding trip. Sebastian is a bit of a womanizer (there's viral video proof and all!) but we are supposed to believe that these two are meant to be. I wish I could have rooted for them more but I iust never felt invested. ⁣
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Overall, this was on ok read for me but unfortunately, it's just not one that made a lasting impression.

The Breakaway is an ensemble story that centers around Abby Stern, a plus size woman who’s struggling to find a career that she’s passionate about. While out at a bachelorette party, we learn that “Abby had gotten used to being the largest girl in a group, but now she’d arrived at a point where she was both the largest and the least accomplished. This new development did not fill her heart with joy.”

While at the bachelorette party, Abby meets Sebastian, who approaches her and dances with her for the rest of the night, before inviting her to come home with him. She has a great time with him, and he even makes her some pasta in bed. When she wakes up in the morning, she sneaks away from his apartment and back to her hotel.

Two years later, Abby is in a committed relationship with her first love, whom she met at fat camp when she was a kid. Mark has since lost tons of weight, had gastric bypass surgery, and follows a strict diet that doesn’t always line up with how Abby wants to eat. Though on the outside, their relationship looks great, Abby feels some hesitation when Mark asks her to move in with him.

To delay answering him, she accepts an offer to lead a biking group from New York to Niagara Falls. She’s nervous about leading the trip because it’ll be her first long journey as a leader, and she’s even more nervous after meeting the ensemble of riders, because one of them is Sebastian from years before.

Sebastian isn’t the only thing making the trip more stressful, as Abby’s mom shows up at the last second, despite not being an avid rider and criticizing Abby’s choices. She’s the reason Abby went to fat camp when she was younger, and Abby struggles to be around her, knowing how fatphobic she is.

On the second day of the trip, a TikTok goes viral when several women in a single friend group find out they’ve all hooked up with Sebastian. He’s embarrassed and worries that Abby, who he’s been thinking about all this time, will see him negatively.

Abby finds out about Sebastian trending, and though the two have been growing closer during the trip, this causes them to have a bit of a fight during one of the group dinners. Sebastian pokes fun at Mark, and points out that he and Abby don’t have much in common, and Abby says that Sebastian doesn’t get to weigh in on the matter, as he’s never had a serious girlfriend before.

In the middle of this strife between the two characters, Morgan, a teen girl in the ensemble, plans to use the bike trip as a way to get an abortion without her mother knowing. Her dad is a pastor, and her mom has always been pro-life, so she’s sure they wouldn’t let her terminate the pregnancy if they knew. She enlists the help of another teen boy in the group, Andrew.

Andrew goes to his own mother, Kayla, who decides she has to do something to help Morgan. Kayla loops Abby into the plan, and because its raining, they plan for the sag wagon to take people in shifts to the next hotel. They devise a plan in which Morgan’s mom goes in the first group that way Kayla can take Morgan to the clinic and bring her back after she has her appointment.

Abby ends up having to go out on her bike when it’s raining because Sebastian insists on riding through the storm. He ends up crashing, and the two kiss while they’re waiting on the sag wagon to come get them.

Morgan wakes up the next morning and hides out in the hotel gym to take the second round of medicine that will induce the abortion. Andrew hides with her, and when her mom can’t find her, she starts to realize that something is going on that the others aren’t telling her about.

When they find Morgan and Andrew after she’s taken the pills, her mom takes her up to the hotel room and demands an answer to why Morgan was hiding and what’s going on. Morgan finally gives up and tells her mom what happened.

The mom is sad and reveals that she got an abortion when she was eighteen, which is surprising to Morgan. They agree to keep the incident to themselves and not tell Morgan’s dad.

Sebastian and Abby continue to get closer, and end up spending several nights together during the trip. To everyone’s surprise, Mark is waiting outside of their next accommodation when they roll up. Because Sebastian is trending online, a photo of him and Abby looking chummy has been circulating.

Mark and Abby go inside and Abby admits that she’s been cheating on him. He says that he’s willing to work through it and forgive her, but she says that they need to be done. She leaves the next morning without saying goodbye to anyone.

Sebastian is surprised by this, and tries to get in contact with her, but she ignores him. Inspired by Morgan’s story, Abby decides to create a biking club for young girls to explore themes of freedom, feminism, and self-reliance. She also has a conversation with her mother, who admits that she was fat when she was a teen.

Abby’s mother explains that she sent Abby to fat camp as a way to try and help her avoid the ridicule and bullying she went through when she was younger. Abby’s mom also explains that she just couldn’t lose the weight through diet and exercise alone, and ended up getting gastric bypass. Abby is surprised by this knowledge, but communicates with her mom and tells her that her behavior still wasn’t okay. Despite the rocky encounter, it seems like their relationship is moving in the right direction.

At the end of the novel, Sebastian returns, having had a full year to work on himself. The two of them reconnect and get a happy ending.

I always like to start with what I like first. My favorite thing about this book was the strong combination of themes. I felt the focus on reproductive rights, fatphobia, diet culture, and mother-daughter relationships all made for a very feminist theme throughout the book. The bicycle has long been seen as a strong proponent of the feminist movement, and in this book we see several women using the bike ride as a way to find freedom and autonomy, whether that’s Abby discovering her purpose, Morgan seeking an abortion, or Abby’s mother seeking to reconnect with her daughter.

The mother-daughter relationships are also prominent in this one, with Abby and her mother grappling with her mother’s diet obsession and fatphobic ideas, and Morgan struggling with her mother’s pro-life ideology.

Abby’s perception of the world, and how others perceive her, is heavily influenced by her experiences as a fat woman. Despite being an avid biker, she worries that the people in her tour won’t see her as legitimate simply because she’s not thin.

I appreciated the connection between Abby and Sebastian, especially in the very beginning when they first meet and are together. For the most part, I liked the romance and their interactions during the bike trip, though there were parts that I felt were a little awkward.

There are a few things that kept this from being a five-star read for me. The first is how the pacing changed near the end of the book. On some level, I understand that the break in time is necessary for Sebastian and Abby to develop and be ready for a relationship, but it also just slowed everything down quite a bit.

I also felt Sebastian’s storyline with being trending online wasn’t finished. The book came really close to fully exploring our relationship with sex and how society perceives men and women and promiscuity, but didn’t quite get there. Having your personal life blown up online is an invasion of privacy and Sebastian insists he didn’t do anything wrong—and I don’t think there’s a clear answer for morality in this situation and where it lies. It would have been interesting to see more of how this turned out.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Breakaway. I felt it had great plus-size representation, strong themes, and compelling relationships. I gave it four stars because I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend, but I wouldn't read it again.

Thank you to the publisher for the early release copy of The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner. I've read everything that she writes and will continue to do so. Jennifer writes what she knows and she brought her love of cycling into this novel. I enjoyed the bike trip and the descriptions of the places that they stop at and there's even a bit of sizzle too. Additionally, she tackles a tough topic here but handles it well. This was a good enveloping read.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book but am also very conflicted by many parts of it. First, I loved Abby. I really identified with her and struggled in many of the ways she has. All the characters were good and added to the story. I liked the storyline and the speed of it. It had a lot going on but it didn’t detract from the main plots line.

Now my conflicts. 1 Abby and Sebastian apparently really initially liked each other and not just for the sex, but I feel that it didn’t show enough of a reason why they would be so hung up on each other when they really didn’t have much interaction but the sex. 2. I didn’t like that everyone thought it was okay to take a girl that wasn’t their daughter to get an abortion. And that her mom ended up being okay about that after finding out. 3. We talk all this book about body positivity and being more than how we look etc, but Abby goes on and on about how hot both guys are and how they could have anyone they want. Kind of hypocritical. These were the thoughts I was having as I read but overall liked the story.

Abby Stern feels unsettled, unfulfilled, like she hasn't quite found her niche. She probably should be happy - she has a loving boyfriend - Mark, a doctor, who is eager to have her move in with him; a supportive best friend; enjoys her bike riding club; and despite having a constantly dieting mother, has learned to love and accept her plus sized body.

But Abby has never found a career, instead working a series of gig jobs to pay the bills. And though getting back in contact with Mark, who had been her sweetheart when they met as teenagers at a weight loss camp, felt like fate and Mark has many wonderful qualities, many aspects of their lives don't seem to mesh. So when Abby's best friend Lizzie asks her to lead The Breakaway - a two week, 750-mile bike adventure group on the Empire State Trail. Abby accepts the offer, hoping the time away will give her some clarity on her life.

Already insecure about her lack of experience as a group leader, leading the bike adventure group gets off to a rocky start. Amongst the unexpected members of the group is Eileen, Abby's mother, who says she wants to spend quality time with Abby; and Sebastian, a handsome stranger Abby had a mind-blowing one night stand with years prior.

As the trip progresses, Abby begins to get clarity on what she wants from her life, Sebastian becomes a viral internet story, and we get insights into the colorful cast of characters who comprise the other members of the group and their reasons for being on the trip.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. Jennifer Weiner always writes entertaining, readable, stories starring strong, relatable characters and The Breakaway is no exception; it's perfect to curl up with for those last lazy days of summer. I enjoyed the storyline, the entertaining cast of characters, and the real world issues that Weiner touches on in The Breakaway.