Thank you Atria Books ​and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
I rated this book 3 stars, rounding up from 2.5. It's a bit puzzling for me to admit that I struggled with it because I'm usually a fan of Jennifer Weiner's work. However, I found myself skimming through about a third of this particular novel. The characters are undoubtedly interesting and enjoyable, and there's a lot happening on this bike trip, with themes of healing, forgiveness, love, and acceptance interwoven.

This is a lovely story of family, romance, found family, and friends. The bike trip of a lifetime that will change lives and bring about change for the better. I enjoyed the characters and the alternating viewpoints that provided a well-rounded look at their life situations. There was a lot of development and growth throughout the novel and so many warm feelings. I was sad to turn the last page as Jennifer Weiner's writing always leaves me smiling.

A unique plot to discuss some difficult topics. This book discusses body positively and teen pregnancy/abortion all while on a couple week group bike ride.

There were so many points in this book that I just wanted to give Abby a hug, between going to fat camp and thinking she wasn't cared about due to her weight. This book was her really finding herself and helping others along the way.

OK so Sebastian, he definitely had some family baggage and basically used dating apps to be a man-whore since he couldn't really let feelings get involved. That never ends well and brings some drama. His one night stand with Abby was definitely different.

Abby and Sebastian end up on the same bike ride and that confuses Abby since she has been with childhood sweetheart Mark for a couple years. Mark is a nice guy, but he is painted as being pretty bland.

This book takes a bit to get to the bikeride, but once it does it pulls ypu in. I liked the ending since it was more realistic than your typical romance wrap up. Overall, the tough issues were done beautifully and fit nicely.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

At thirty-three, Abby is finally in a happy place in her life. While she feels she lacks in the career department (working dead-end jobs), and her apartment is a mess, she has great friends, a biking club, and a gorgeous boyfriend. But she feels something is off. Moving in with her boyfriend doesn’t appeal to her, and her dead-end jobs drag her down. So, she agrees when her best friend asks her to fill in as a guide on a bike trip at the last minute. But this bike trip is going to be anything but ordinary. Why? Because Abby’s unforgettable one-night stand is there, she can’t take her eyes off him. Add her mother suddenly joining the trip, Tick-Tok drama involving her one-night stand, and a teenager with a huge secret, Abby will have her hands full. Can Abby survive the 700-mile, 2-week trip to Niagra Falls with her relationship and sense of self intact? Or will everything be thrown up in the air?

I am going to be blunt here. This book was different from what I expected. I thought this was going to be a lighthearted romantic comedy. Instead, I read a thought-provoking book about women’s rights and body positivity.

There are some trigger warnings in The Breakaway. I went back and forth on posting some of these because of spoilers, but I decided to proceed. They are:

Body shaming:Abby was weight-shamed constantly by her mother when she was younger. She was sent to a weight loss camp every summer and forced to diet. She is also weight-shamed by various secondary characters in the book (in flashbacks and the present day).
Abortion: There are several different angles to abortion discussed here. One is how not being able to get an abortion severely affects women. There were also brief mentions of politics and abortion. There is also a storyline about a teenager getting an abortion via pill during the bike trip (not graphic, but the author did explain what would happen while the abortion was happening). The religious stance on abortions is talked about (and it was heartbreaking to read).
Cheating: Abby cheats on Mark in the book. The aftermath of her infidelity is explored.
Challenging mother/daughter relationships (I got this from a review posted on NetGalley): Abby and her mother have a very tenuous and stressful relationship. She is weight-shamed constantly, sent to fat camp, and only praised when she loses weight as a teenager. Morgan has a tense relationship with her mother because of her secret. She also feels that she cannot tell or trust her with it because of religious implications.
Eating Disorders: Bulimia is brought up by Abby during a heated conversation with her mother about the weight loss camp she was forced to attend. Abby’s boyfriend, Mark, has a severely restricted diet because of gastric bypass surgery. He also developed disordered food thoughts due to the surgery and what he went through when he was overweight.
If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. I struggled with sections of the book.

I liked how the author broke The Breakaway up. She sections the books into the trip’s legs (for example, the chapter would have the character’s name, and under it would be Day One: New York City to Mount Kisco. 50 miles). Within those blocks, the main characters (Abby, Sebastian, Morgan, Lily, and Kayla) would have chapters from their POVs. It was interesting to read and helped the book zip right along. I was OK with figuring out whose chapter it was (the author marked it) or where they were (again, clearly marked).

As I mentioned, there are 5 POVs in The Breakaway. They are the main characters. Instead of giving them each a paragraph, I will bullet point them instead.

Abby: She was my favorite character, and I hated how she viewed herself. I also thought that she was settling with Mark. I understood why she was so pissed that her mother showed up (there is an explanation). But I didn’t get her fascination with Sebastian. I liked her character’s growth during the book. I only disagreed with how she dealt with the Morgan situation or how she cheated on Mark with Sebastian.
Sebastian: He was not my favorite character. He was a manwhore, plain and simple. Who sleeps with every girl he meets on Tinder or other dating apps? But I did like that he was honest about it and that he felt shame when that girl made that TickTok about him sleeping with her and 8 of her friends. Sebastian did have some deep-seated issues that were lightly touched upon in the book (drunk mother/absent father). I wasn’t thrilled that he kept pursuing Abby, even though she told him she had a boyfriend.
Morgan: My heart broke for her. When she was introduced, I wasn’t expecting the storyline to go the way it went. I thought the author would reveal that she was lesbian and in a secret relationship with her best friend. When the author dropped that bombshell, I was pretty shocked. I’m not going much into the storyline except that I felt for her.
Lily: The author kept her chapters pretty sparse, as she appeared often in Morgan and Abby’s. But I did think she was a holy roller by some of the things she said. When Morgan finally admitted what happened, I was expecting nuclear fallout. Instead, she surprised me. Actually, she was too good about it. If a stranger had taken my daughter to do what she did (even if it was by pill), I would have been furious.
Kayla: I did like Kayla and wished she had been featured more in the book. I liked how she decided to help Morgan. It brought tears to my eyes. But again, I was a little irritated that she didn’t tell Lily.
The secondary characters made the book. I liked seeing Abby’s relationship with her mother progress (and it was very bumpy during the trip). I liked seeing Morgan’s friendship with Kayla’s oldest son, who was a sweetheart and supportive of Morgan. I also loved the elderly couples who traveled with the RV. I almost died when a particular tidbit was released about them. Mark, I wasn’t a fan of (he was dull), but Abby did do him dirty. And Lincoln, Sebastian’s best friend, was precisely what Sebastian needed during the trip.

The end of The Breakaway had me crying. I liked how Abby and her mother started to patch up their relationship (what her mother told Abby was heartbreaking). The note about Morgan made me happy. And Sebastian, well, nothing was said about him until a year after everything happened. I liked that the author ended the book as a happy for now instead of a HEA.

I would recommend The Breakaway to anyone over 21. There is mild violence, language, and graphic sexual situations. Also see my trigger warning list.

Many thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley, and Jennifer Weiner for allowing me to read and review The Breakaway. All opinions stated in the review are mine.

This is a genre I often don't like, but something about the way Weiner writes draws me in every time. This book has so much heart, but isn't corny. This book has so much depth, but it reads like a real page turner. I recommend this to both contemporary AND literary fiction fans. This will be a favorite of the year and I am so surprised by that!

This hurts to rate a Jennifer Weiner novel 3 stars. I've been a fan since 2008 when I read Certain Girls, which my grandmother bought me that book from a book fair at her work. What she did not know was that she was giving an adult novel to a 13-year-old. Then, I remember my art teacher coming up to me saying she was reading the same book as I, which was very, very awkward. But it was not until my college years that I picked up any book by Jennifer Weiner.

I have always loved how Jennifer could suck you in with her writing and very flawed characters. Most of her books have her characters have POVs in the past and present. I've always been a fan of that because I need to know all the juicy details of her characters. But what The Breakaway does is not that. We focus on the present with a few nods to the past.

With The Breakaway, I was not drawn to the characters like I usually am with Jennifer's other books. I enjoyed them going around New York biking and coming to different realizations about their lives as well as how to face their future. But I kept getting a few characters here and there mixed up. I felt like there was not many things going on with the characters that intrigued me to draw me into this book. I just thought they were okay and was like cool. I kept waiting for more backstory of the characters and more possible consequences/growth from them too.

Like I said: I still enjoyed this book for the most part but really, it's not love or its hate it's just indifference. I do look forward to future works by Jennifer and I think a lot of people will see the appeal of this book.

“‘It’s scary,’ he finally said. ‘But worth it,’ said Lincoln. ‘If it works, if you find your person, everything you suffer is worth it.’”

2.5 stars rounded up. I struggled with this one and I don’t know why. I always love Jennifer Weiner books but I think I skim read about 1/3 of this one. The characters are interesting and fun and there’s a lot going on on this bike trip. Healing. Forgiving. Loving. Accepting.

But I just couldn’t get that ahhh I-need-to-know-what’s-going-to-happen-next feeling. I could have put this one down and not picked it back up and not cared a whole lot about that.

Thank you, though, to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Always a good read with Jennifer Weiner who manages to incorporate real world topics in a natural life application that never seems too heavy. This was an easy read that felt realistic and relatable. Enjoyed the idea of biking being the backdrop to the story. I don’t think you can miss with this author.

I love Jennifer Weiner’s books,and this one did not disappoint. Not afraid to handle difficult topics, while adding humor and truth, are hallmarks of her style. Abby is in a committed relationship with Mark, someone she met when younger at fat camp. Mark is perfect on paper, but Abby is unsure of how she feels. When she agrees to lead a bike trio across NewYork, she is surprised that one of the group, Sebastian, is someone she had a fling with. Each character in the bicycling group offers something unique to the story. There are laughs, tears, and insight into what it means to be a plus sized woman. Highly recommended! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Another hit from Jennifer Weiner! This was a compelling story about Abby, a seriously confused young woman. She is underemployed, low in self esteem, overly focused on her physical appearance, with a complicated relationship with her mother, and a confused romantic relationship. She has had a single night with a handsome man, Sebastian, who she feels is out of her league. She then reconnects with her childhood crush from summer camp who she is now planning to marry. She gets guilted into leading a bicycle trip on the Empire State Trail and when her hookup, Sebastian was one of the riders, will they reconnect? Or will it end in disaster?
This is a romance story but more than that. This is a story about self esteem, female empowerment, choices in life that are actually right for you instead of how those choices will be judged.
Typical for this author to create a highly readable and relatable story. Highly recommend!
#TheBreakaway #Netgalley #AtriaBooks

Abby is at a happy place in her life, she has a boyfriend who loves her, great friends, and is part of a cycling club in Philadelphia where she feels complete at ease in her body. Despite all this she feels a disconnect. So, when her friend Lizzie who runs a company that puts together travel packages for cyclist calls Abby and tells her that their ride leader for a trip from Manhattan to Niagara Falls bails, Abby agrees to take over despite her trepidation. Things take an interesting turn when one of the men on the trip turns out to be Abby's one night stand from a few years prior that despite her best efforts she hasn't stopped thinking about. To make things even more uncomfortable, Abby's mother becomes a last minute addition to the trip. The mother who Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming she still struggles to deal with everyday. The next 2 weeks make Abby question everything about herself, her relationships, and love,

Abby Stern is 33 and doesn’t have much direction. She has an apartment filled with stacks of books and piles of laundry. She works gig jobs. She feels lost and insecure, in part because of her weight. Abby grew up with a weight problem and spent years getting stared at, talked about, and told is both subtle and obvious ways that she wouldn’t be beautiful unless she lost weight.

But Abby does have a boyfriend who adores her, a doctor named Mark who she had first met as a teenager at summer camp. They reconnected as adults, and it’s been almost two years since they have been together. And as Mark pointed out, Abby’s lease is almost up. He suggests they move in together. It should be an easy question to answer. But Abby isn’t certain. And fortunately, her phone dings.

It’s her friend Lizzie with a problem. Lizzie works at a company called Breakaway, where they put together travel packages for bicyclists. And there is a two-week trip that begins in Manhattan and goes all the way to Niagara Falls, and the ride leader had to drop out at the last minute. Lizzie knew that Abby loved to ride and had lead some single-day trips, and everyone else she’d asked had turned her down. Abby was nervous about the idea of leading a ride that long on her own. But two weeks of riding, where she could think about what she wanted, where she could make a decision about her relationship with Mark, sounded like a dream. And the paycheck was significantly more than what she usually made. Abby took the job.

It’s not until Abby showed up and met her riders in person that she realizes what she’s in for. They include two older couples, a family of four, a mother and daughter, and a couple of single guys, one of whom Abby knew from a drunken bachelorette night in New York. Sebastian had been a one-night stand, but he’d made her feel like she was genuinely special. She had never forgotten that night and was stunned to find herself standing in front of him as the ride leader. And then Abby finds out about the last-minute addition to the trip, her mother.

As the two weeks go by, mile by mile, day by day, secrets are revealed as the riders get closer. Abby finds herself attracted to Sebastian, even after all that time, and knowing he’s a serial dater who probably doesn’t want to settle down. She finds herself struggling to find common ground with her mother, who had always encouraged Abby to be healthier, even sending her to fat camp when she was a teenager. But mostly, Abby finds a strength within herself, to be brave, to be true to herself, and to follow her passion as she helps those around her on their own journeys.

The Breakaway is the latest novel by beloved and best-selling author Jennifer Weiner. It’s the story of one woman’s search to find her true value in a world that emphasizes skinniness over health, marriage over autonomy, and appearances over honesty. Honestly, I don’t know a woman, or maybe even a human, who hasn’t struggled with these issues in their own lives.

If you follow Weiner on social media, you can see how passionate she is about cycling. Sometimes she will even plan cycling trips alongside her book signings and appearances, sharing her joy in riding with her readers. When I saw what this book was about, I was so happy to see that she had combined her love of biking with her skill at storytelling, sharing her own stories of riding folded into the lives of her characters. To me, this book felt pretty personal, like she was once again bravely putting herself on the page so that we could all share some of her joys and her sorrows.

I think any woman who has had to deal with labels like plus-sized, queen-sized, full-figured, chubby, chunky, curvy, Rubenesque, or who has been told how pretty we would be if we just lost weight could find themselves in the voice and experience of Abby. It can be a cold world if you’re not a size 4, and we can all use some of Abby’s understanding and her courage. I recommend this book to anyone who needs some encouragement to love themselves, find their voice, or chase after their passion. It’s got that heart-warming good vibe to it, offering comfort and clarity for individuals or for reading groups.

Egalleys for The Breakaway were provided by Atria Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This bighearted story from Jennifer Weiner is the perfect book to end summer with. It tackles serious issues- Abby is a fat cyclist who has spent her life feeling demeaned by her thin mother regarding her weight, and there is a major subplot regarding abortion (that I felt was handled with honesty and gentleness while still highlighting the injustice of the current status of reproductive rights). I loved the cycling tour story as Abby leads a varied group- including a former one night stand- on this trip, and the issues and pitfalls and self-discovery along the way. The romantic subplot didn't hurt, either. This one won't disappoint other Jennifer Weiner fans!

Just like always, Jennifer Weiner hits it out of the park! The main character, Abby, is an overweight adult with a lot of insecurities and an uncertain future. Sebastian is her one night stand come back to make her question many, if not all, of her life choices. And they are together with a host of others on a 2 week bike trip. I loved the book. The characters are relatable and the book just gels. Two thumbs up!

A huge thanks to Atria for a copy of The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner.

I've been a fan of her books since high school and The Breakaway really reminded me of some of her older books books that made me fall in love with her writing!

Abby's in a happy place with her life but something still doesn't feel right. She's happily dating her childhood summer sweetheart who she reconnected with so when she gets the chance to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls she accepts. Of course, things get complicated when her mom joins the trip and a guy she had a one-night stand a few years ago...

I really liked this book! I loved the cycling aspect and reminded me of the I took a group of teenage girls on a multi-day biking trip in Michigan at camp! Told with Weiner's wonderful writing and humor I love this look at ourselves, dieting, relationships and life through this book.

The Breakaway comes out today and I recommend picking it up! I haven't riden my bike in forever and this book made me want to!

The Breakaway
Author Jennifer Weiner
Available now!

Thank you, @bookclubfavorites, @atriabooks, and @netgalley, for my #gifted copy!

If you follow Jennifer Weiner's Instagram account, you will know that everything she cares passionately about is wrapped up in a bow in her latest novel, The Breakaway! Family, mother daughter relationships, love, body image, body autonomy, reproductive rights, feminism, and cycling!

Written with empathy and insight, Abby Stern welcomes an opportunity to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagra Falls, which allows for reflection, growth, and so many relationships to form and grow. From a past one night stand, her mother showing up unexpectedly, a teenager with a secret, two married couples and their antics - this seven hundred plus mile bike trip is packed with challenges, humor, emotion, a little steam, and many life lessons.

The Breakaway is a life- changing and empowering journey the Weiner's fans will love!

I love the diverse cast of characters, all of which are fleshed out and relevant to the story.

Abby Stern has finally made it to a point in her life that she can accept her plus-sized body and be happy with herself. Sure, her career is still a question and her relationship with her childhood fat camp boyfriend is getting more serious than she's ready for, but she still has her bike and the freedom it provides. Even though they grew up in similar fat shaming situations, Abby can't help but feel judged by Mark, who's now half his former size and his diet strictly regimented. When he starts pressuring her to move in with him, she's happy to get a reprieve and time away in the form of a two week bike trip through New York to Niagara Falls. But then who should show up but her mother, who's always pressured her about her weight, and a Sebastian, a one night stand from two years ago that she can't seem to forget.

(As an upstate NYer, I loved the bike trip!!)

Abby is in her early 30s and a plus size, and so is amazed to find herself in a torrid one night stand, Sebastian, whom she left the morning after without leaving a parting note. She meets Sebastian again when he signed up for the biking tour she is leading two years later.

I enjoyed the idea of a romance between a plus sized woman and a handsome, fit man, who pursues her in spite of her misgivings abut herself. This is a slow burn romance as the time spans run from two years after a first meeting, to two years after a second time meeting.

I also liked the descriptions of the bike ride through New York from Manhattan to Niagara Falls, its scenery, near accidents, pitfalls, and the interesting and varied types of people who might go on these long distance rides.

Each of the riders on the trip has their own story to tell, especially the mother-daughter pairs. Their stories add a lot to the novel. An enjoyable read that made me want to go on a bike trip of my own.

I really enjoyed this story. It’s about a curvy women named Abby who at 33 finally feels ok with her body. Abbey is set to marry Mark her childhood sweetheart but just has that funny feeling things are not what she wants so when a cycling trip invite comes up she goes for it hoping it will give her the chance to think. But soon after accepting she realizes she knows some of the people which leads to an interesting cycle trip. This author writes eloquently about some issues abbey and others have had to deal will.

This is the perfect book for a heartfelt exploration of identity, forgiveness, and the transformative power of self-discovery. It beautifully captures the essence of personal growth, painting a vivid picture of Abby's emotional journey as she comes to grips with her own insecurities and learns to embrace her true self. With its compelling characters and poignant storylines, "The Breakaway" is a captivating novel that will leave readers reflecting on their own perceptions of love, acceptance, and the power of breaking away from societal expectations.