The Breakaway is another of Jennifer Wiener’s large collection of chick-lit novels. It’s the usual story - young woman seeking meaning in life, a good job, and love and marriage.

In this book, the protagonist, Abby Stern, is a thirty something woman who can’t figure out what to do with her life, and she feels exceptionally burdened by the fact that she’s a hefty woman., one who has been criticized and made the target of bullying as a child, and now that she’s an adult, harangued by her mother to lose weight. It’s a story we all know. But the twist is that despite her size, she’s very fit: an avid cyclist who goes on group rides that can cover fifty miles in a day.

Abby is currently dating Mark, someone she met at a fat camp. Except he’s no longer fat; he’s slim, trim, and rigid in his eating habits. It’s pretty obvious that he’s not the man of her dreams. In fact, she finds him kind of boring and the fact that he doesn’t ride a bike is beyond disappointing.

Complicating things is a one-night stand she has with a great guy, Sebastian. However, despite the current between them and Abby feeling that he could be the one, he never calls her again, possibly because she lives in Philadelphia and he lives in New York, but still, Abby feels hurt.

An opportunity to lead a group bike trip from New York City to Niagara Falls arises suddenly, and, while Abby has been on rides like this, she’s never led one. But she quickly realizes she has the skills and knowledge to take on this challenge. When she meets her group for the first time, she meets an interesting cast of characters, who, to her horror, includes Sebastian and her mother. So the stage is set for an interesting, and potentially emotionally challenging, event.

Will Abby and Sebastian finally become a couple? What secrets will be revealed on the ride? And will mother and daughter finally move past their tense relationship? You will have to read the book to find out.

This is a fun short read, but really not much in terms of substance. The characters are stereotypical and the conflicts ones that have been beaten to death in this genre. I did think the bike ride added an interesting element, but overall, when I finished this book, I just said, “blah”.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.

the breakaway is a nice beach read—abby, the main character is spunky but without direction. her weight has been a main theme throughout her life but she has been a wonderful proponent of body positivity. her mother has always pushed her to lose her weight and her almost perfect boyfriend accepts her for who she is. or does he? abby finds herself riding a bicycle to get away from things, will she be able to use it to go forward. i do love jennifer wiener books but this was not my favorite.

The Breakaway would have easily been 4 stars for me if it didn't feel so forced in trying to be politically correct. The abortion part with a 15 year old girl was not ok, and she constantly referred to certain men as white and therefore privileged. There were also several digs to God, referring to him as she. The underlying story would have been so good if all of this other stuff had just been left out.
Thank you for an advance copy of the story in exchange for my honest review.

My first Jennifer Weiner novel and I’m an instant fan. The main character, Abby Stein, has gotten at least one thing right. She’s reconnected with Mark, an old boyfriend who loves her! She can see wedding bells and babies. She should be happy, right? And yet here she is, about to embark on this bike trip though the entire state of New York. Hopeful to find the answer to why she’s so hesitant to move in with her steady boyfriend, she’s not expecting this gorgeous Sebastian who she had a very passionate one night stand with, to be there. Or her mother.

Girl! How many of us have felt like we should be happy because nothing’s necessary wrong? How many of us have felt like we can’t live up to the expectations of our mothers? Abby, I get you.

But that’s the best thing about Weiner’s characters. At no point is any one character defined by some shallow number like how much they weigh. But that doesn’t detract from Abby’s struggles. You understand that she’s a big girl but how you imagine her is up to you. It would be easy to give us a number. But by Weiner refusing to place her in a certain weight class, the reader can imagine any girl, even herself and still understand the struggles. The bullshit BMI, the doctors who see her weight, not her concerns. All of these are real digs that hurt.

Weiner continues to impress me by how refreshing Abby is. When they go around introducing themselves at fat camp, rather than being derogatory or talking down about herself, she proclaims she’s amazing. Hell yea! Weiner continues this beautiful way of describing all the characters without being shallow. Her friends are “brash” and “funny”. Abby is “warm” and “soft”. This thoughtful attention is extended to all the all characters, not just the women.

Honestly, this novel continued to surprise me. Yes, she does find her answer at the end of this trip, just not the way she expected it. Weiner’s description of the struggles and passion Abby feels is real and vivid. It’s beautifully refreshing to read about a woman who is happy to proclaim “amazing” when describing herself. I think we could all learn a little from her.

Either way, I hope to get my hands on a copy so I can hand it out to everyone. Especially to the beautiful, thoughtful, brilliant women in my life.

Also, to Jennifer Weiner, thank you for writing

Love, relationships, confusion, mom issues, body image issues, and so much more! That is what The Breakaway is about. Jennifer Weiner always delivers a story that won’t allow the reader to put the book down for long.

Abby attended a fat camp, Camp Golden Hills, as a teenager due to her weight-conscious mom, Eileen insisting upon it. This gave Abby terrible body image issues as she grew up as well as in her adult life now. She is currently in a secure relationship with Mark and he accepts her just as she is. What more can a girl ask for?

Well, she could ask to be with someone she truly finds interesting and that she has things in common with. Right now though, she may be settling and thinking no one will ever love her because of her flaws.

She has a one night fling with Sebastian before she and Mark made it official. She runs into him down the line and is shocked by it especially when she finds out some dark secrets about him. But he still piques her interest!

Eileen invites herself along on a trip that Abby is leading with the bike club, The Breakaway. Lordy, Abby is anxious having her along. She is critical and so weight-conscious it makes Abby afraid to eat in front of her.

Within The Breakaway group, we meet some nice people while on the bike trip with Abby and her bike riders. We travel with them for over a week and A LOT happens. You will have to read the book to find out more because I need to stop now to avoid spoilers.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book!

Loved this book! Characters, story, setting and story are perfect for a summer read. Once you start reading you will not want to stop. Recommend.

Abby is getting through life, she has a boyfriend, part time jobs, is overweight but she is an avid bike rider
When she has the chance to lead a bike ride, she jumps on the opportunity.
During the ride she gets a blast from the past, Sebastian, her one night stand from long ago. Oh and her mother joins the trip!

I enjoyed this book as I do enjoy this authors style of writing!

I liked this book a lot!

I was a little hesitant, because I did not love Jennifer Weiner's last release (the summer place). Some of the family drama was inappropriate to the point of being off-putting. I enjoyed Big Summer and loved Mrs. Everything, so I felt this was worth a go.

Redemption! I loved the setting of the book taking place during a bike trip. I read a lot, and can't say I've ever read anything quite like that. I enjoyed all of the side characters and learning their stories... especially the young women dealing with her unwanted pregnancy and all of the women on the trip eager to support and comfort her.

Usually infidelity in books is a major cringe factor for me, but it didn't bother me too much in this book. Although I don't know that it was critical to the story for her to cheat.

The romance in this book was nice, but I moreso enjoyed reading about the main character and her confidence and growth throughout the bike trip. And how her and her mom's relationship evolved throughout the story.

4/5

Jennifer Weiner's characters come alive for her readers. They are current with problems and issues we can all relate to on one level or another. The Breakaway kept me interested until the very end. For me it was a book about not giving up or settling for less than the best.

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

Thank you Atria for the copy of The Breakaway; I have long been a fan of Jennifer Weiner ever since her first books and her engaging main characters, her openness with body image themes, and her social media and NYTimes engagement.
The Breakaway honors what I know is the author's newer passion for bike riding and I love how she talks about why bike riding matters to Abby (main character); how this theme develops really works for me and I love how it expands into a bigger theme about women's lives and how it connects to another theme about women's bodies and identities. That is the biggest win for me in this book.
There are intersecting plots and stories involving secondary characters, the ever present maternal figure who tends to manifest in Ms. Weiner's work in interesting ways, and of course a romance that is nicely developed. I will say I would have been happy to have a little less of the secondary characters in places, not because I didn't like them but because they felt underdeveloped (esp the Spoke'n Four, great characters but not sure they were needed to move the story forward and felt like they need their own book instead!).

The story follows some predictable patterns but that is welcome, the themes are still strong and predictable as I always say doesn't mean bad, it means comforting and engaging in this case. This will be a nice end of summer read for late vacations, Labor day BBQ breaks, and for the last days by the pool.

Abby, by all accounts, has a great life. Still trying to figure out what exactly she wants to do in life, but she has a supportive boyfriend, great friends, and a complicated relationship with her mother.

***

The only problem Abby has is herself. I'm a Jennifer Weiner fan, so I was excited to get my ARC of her newest novel, however, this was just painful to read. It just felt so empty. None of the characters were sympathetic or even compelling. I wanted to DNF, but felt obligated to finish it.

First and foremost, the way that Abby treats Mark is inexcusable. Without getting spoilery that's all I can really say. And I appreciate why Abby has issues with her mother, and it was stupid of her to ambush Abby on a work trip, but somehow Abby still comes out looking worse here as well.

Don't even get me started on the love interest in this story, which also just fell flat.

Disappointed in this Weiner novel, but definitely willing to try her next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is not your average Romance novel. It contains little side stories that add so much to the narrative. The ending was especially enjoyable. If you are looking for an uplifting empowerment story that is an atypical narrative, this is for you. Thank you, Net Galley, for the opportunity to breakaway for a pleasant day of reading.

I liked The Breakaway. It was a bit cheesy and predictable, but sometimes I enjoy that sometimes. We will be buying for sure -- we have a lot of Weiner readers at our library. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! I really enjoyed it! The book is about a plus-size cyclist named Abby, who is asked to lead a bike trip from NYC to Niagara Falls. The trip has a few surprise guests including Abby's mother and a one-night stand Abby previously had.
The book was a good blend of serious and light. It was a relaxing read and a different type of lead than most, which I enjoyed.
I think there were more political points than I would have preferred but overall I enjoyed it and would recommend.

I've read other books by Weiner, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. I was looking forward to the plus-size MC, but, overall, I found the characters shallow/lacking in depth. There were far more hot-topic issues than I expected, and that did turn me off, as I read to get away from some of the politics. It felt like they were included solely for the author to make a statement. Rom-coms do tend to be cheesy, but this one was overloaded with the cheese factor. This wasn't the breezy beach read I expected it to be.

Abby is a 30 something who is struggling with self-esteem issues & trying finding out who she is, and what she really wants. She meets Sebastian on a bachelorette party, and the chemistry is instant. But she walks away the next morning wanting to keep that night a happy memory out of fear he wouldn’t want her the same when he woke up. Two years later, serendipity brings them back into each others lives and had Abby questioning everything.

I adored this book! It was such a charming story that was really well written. I had no issue visualizing what the writer was presenting, and I really appreciated the many perspectives! I also really liked how the ending was left open to whatever happening off page. We, as the reader, can make up our own “future long term” ending. 4 star read for sure!

There is a reason why Jennifer Weiner is an auto-buy author for me. The Breakaway combines all the elements of family drama, hidden secrets, and personal struggles while hitting on some deep topics. Abby Stern's happy place is on her bike. She has made a life out of it, even if it's something her fiance can't stand. Abby's other happiness is with her fiance Mark who she met at a weight-loss camp when she was in her teens and of the most awkward age while on paper things should be great with her life, she can't shake the feeling that things just aren't the way they should be.

Although her life isn't fully together, Abby is excited to be newly engaged to her childhood best friend Mark, who she met at a weight-loss camp her mother forced her to attend. Yet, Abby still can't seem to shake the memories of Sebastian, a one-night stand from years ago. When Abby leads a group bike ride from New York City to Niagara Falls, she is shocked when both her mom and Sebastian are participants. Now Abby must navigate the group while avoiding Sebastian and dealing with her years of body insecurities which she blames on her mother.

If you want to read about shallow characters talked about in depth, The Breakaway is the book for you. Meet plus-size cyclist Abby who cheats on her perfectly nice boyfriend with the hot ladies' man Sebastian, who has slept his way through Brooklyn. All while she decides whether she should move in with that perfectly nice boyfriend who loves her. Add in the hot-topic issue of abortion rights for your side characters, for no other reason than Weiner wanted to make a statement, and you have a hot mess of a summer read.

I love Jennifer Weiner’s books. This one was a page turner. While leading a bike tour Abby realizes one man in the group is one she shared an incredible night of sex with two years ago. But she already has a man to come home to. This book takes you on a romantic ride. I highly recommend this book.