Genre Fiction
![Jennifer Weiner - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001H6NY0O.jpg)
The Breakaway: A Novel
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and a life-changing journey.
Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she's lived since college still looks like she's just moved in. But she's got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She's at peace with her plus-size body-at least, most of the time-and she's on track to marry Mark Medoff, her childhood summer sweetheart, a man she met at the weight-loss camp that her perpetually dieting mother forced her to attend. Fifteen years after her final summer at Camp Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she's always wanted.
Yet Abby can't escape the feeling that something isn't right...or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last-minute invitation to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls, she's happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind.
But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group-Sebastian, the one-night stand she thought she'd never see again. Sebastian is a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away. In spite of their undeniable chemistry, Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there's a surprise last-minute addition to the trip: her mother, Eileen, the woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she's still trying to undo.
Over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, strangers become friends, hidden truths come to light, a teenage girl with a secret unites the riders in unexpected ways...and Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love.
Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she's lived since college still looks like she's just moved in. But she's got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She's at peace with her plus-size body-at least, most of the time-and she's on track to marry Mark Medoff, her childhood summer sweetheart, a man she met at the weight-loss camp that her perpetually dieting mother forced her to attend. Fifteen years after her final summer at Camp Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she's always wanted.
Yet Abby can't escape the feeling that something isn't right...or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last-minute invitation to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls, she's happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind.
But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group-Sebastian, the one-night stand she thought she'd never see again. Sebastian is a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away. In spite of their undeniable chemistry, Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there's a surprise last-minute addition to the trip: her mother, Eileen, the woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she's still trying to undo.
Over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, strangers become friends, hidden truths come to light, a teenage girl with a secret unites the riders in unexpected ways...and Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love.
Editorial Reviews
"The Breakaway is sexy and suspenseful and so much fun, even as it asks us to imagine lives unconstrained by convention or the Supreme Court. It's the lobster roll you get with mayo and melted butter - because why choose? To quote Mary Oliver grossly out of context, ‘Let the soft animal of your body love what it loves,' whether it's noodles or romance or even the uncertainty that comes with getting to decide who we want to be."-New York Times
"Weiner is the undisputed queen of the fun yet thoughtful poolside read"-Vogue
Incredibly fun . . . A lovely, compulsively readable story about finding your path and believing in your own worth." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This is a winning combination of a light read with serious emotional depth, the very mix Weiner's many fans have come to expect from her. Weiner's annual summer release is a welcome (and highly anticipated) treat for readers of relatable relationship fiction." -Booklist, starred review
"Charming…lively banter reels the reader in…this breezy outing goes down easy." -Publishers Weekly
"Weiner is the undisputed queen of the fun yet thoughtful poolside read"-Vogue
Incredibly fun . . . A lovely, compulsively readable story about finding your path and believing in your own worth." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This is a winning combination of a light read with serious emotional depth, the very mix Weiner's many fans have come to expect from her. Weiner's annual summer release is a welcome (and highly anticipated) treat for readers of relatable relationship fiction." -Booklist, starred review
"Charming…lively banter reels the reader in…this breezy outing goes down easy." -Publishers Weekly
Readers Top Reviews
RPG
I have read almost all of Jennifer Weiner's work and enjoyed most of it, and I gladly pre-ordered this book. I wish I hadn't. It's not terrible, but it's not very good. There is almost no plot and it's completely predictable, and the main characters are one-dimensional, unlikeable, and boring. The protagonist is a directionless loser and a dishonest, selfish person - but we have to cheer for her despite the cheating and the using people and the endless pity party because she is plus-size and has mommy issues. The love interest is immature, promiscuous and utterly self-involved, but that's okay because he checks his privilege. The "supporting characters" and side stories are interesting and sympathetic - I wish the book had been about them! The author bludgeons us with social issues - I agree with her, but I'm not reading fiction for a lecture or a manifesto, and I just don't think riding bikes is super interesting, nor is it a substitute for actually telling a story.
Lori M.RPG
The Breakaway is Jennifer Weiner's latest book and I absolutely loved it! Abby Stern is living in Philadelphia with several jobs to pay her rent. She walks dogs, dog sits, and helps her friend with biking trips. Abby has loved riding her bike ever since her father taught her how as a young girl. It's been a way to escape things, cope with things, and visit places she wouldn't otherwise be able to. Abby's boyfriend Mark is a doctor and they have known each other since they were young kids. They met at "fat" camp when their parents sent them in the summer to limit their food choices, get more exercise, and help them to lose weight. Abby hated it because she loved acting and had been accepted into an acting camp when her parents told her she was going to this camp instead. The only good thing about the camp was Mark. He was such a good friend and snuck Abby candy and goodies at times. Abby's mother was thin and always watched what she ate very carefully. She was constantly telling Abby what to eat and how much to eat. Abby was heavier than her mom would've liked. Abby has good friends, is on track to marry Mark, and loves riding with her Philadelphia Bicycle Club. One of Abby's friends is getting married and they have a bachelorette weekend away. While celebrating and dancing at a bar at the end of the night, Abby meets Sebastian. She noticed him watching her while she danced with her friends. He worked his way onto the dance floor and ended up dancing with Abby. They connected immediately. Instead of going back to the hotel, Abby went back to Sebastian's place. That night was the best night Abby had ever had. Sebastian was so good looking and he was genuinely into Abby. He was a phenomenal lover, the best Abby had ever had, and took his time to make sure she was satisfied. He even got up and made them pasta to eat in bed before round 2. Abby thought this guy was too good to be true. Abby is so overly aware of being plus-sized, that she snuck out of bed, and out of Sebastian's apartment while he was still sleeping. She thought if he saw her in the daylight he'd be disappointed at how she looked. She didn't leave a note and they didn't even know each other's last names. Mark and Abby reconnected 15 years after their last summer camp, but Mark was only half the size he used to be. He was very strict with his diet and ran 6 miles each day. He had never forgotten Abby and was thrilled to see her again. They started dating regularly when he had time off from his podiatrist practice. They knew each other so well that it was easy. Mark didn't mind that Abby liked to eat and eat foods that he wouldn't touch. The only bad thing about Mark is he didn't ride a bike. He had never learned as a kid and had no interest in learning now. His thing was running and he enjoyed entering 10K's to push himself. Abby's mom, Eileen, has always loved Mark and the...
Short Excerpt Teaser
1. Abby Abby 1996
Are you ready?"
She wasn't. But her sister and her brother had both learned how to ride their bikes before they turned six, and Abby was a few weeks away from her seventh birthday, and her dad had already spent twenty minutes taking the training wheels off her bike. She knew she had to try.
"Okay, I'm going to hold the seat until you get your balance, and then I'm going to let go."
She nodded without turning from her perch on her bike's seat. If she took her feet off the pedals she'd be able to touch the ground with her tiptoes. Still, she felt like she was in outer space, that the ground was a million miles away; that if she lost her balance she'd go plummeting to her doom.
"Okay. Here we go."
She felt her daddy's hand on the back of her seat, steadying the bike. She made herself push with her right foot. The pedals turned. The wheels spun.
"Here you go! Pedal, pedal, pedal! You've got it!" her daddy shouted.
And then he wasn't there. It was just Abby, alone on her bike… and she wasn't falling. She clutched the handlebars, not paying any attention to where the bike was headed, and she pedaled, pedaled, keeping her balance, and the wind was cool on her cheeks, brushing back her hair, and she was picking up speed, only wobbling a little, and she wasn't falling. She was riding.
It felt like floating. It felt like flying. It felt like she was far away from everything that hurt her. The icy silences that stretched between her parents. The way her mom would always put a plate of cut-up carrots or bell peppers by her plate, and no one else's, at dinnertime. How Dylan McVay at school had started calling her Flabby Abby, and now all the boys called her that.
"Abby! Stop! Turn around! Don't go on the busy street!" Her daddy was yelling, chasing after her, his voice getting farther away with every rotation of the pedals. And Abby wasn't falling. She was riding, on a bike that could take her anywhere. She was free.
Are you ready?"
She wasn't. But her sister and her brother had both learned how to ride their bikes before they turned six, and Abby was a few weeks away from her seventh birthday, and her dad had already spent twenty minutes taking the training wheels off her bike. She knew she had to try.
"Okay, I'm going to hold the seat until you get your balance, and then I'm going to let go."
She nodded without turning from her perch on her bike's seat. If she took her feet off the pedals she'd be able to touch the ground with her tiptoes. Still, she felt like she was in outer space, that the ground was a million miles away; that if she lost her balance she'd go plummeting to her doom.
"Okay. Here we go."
She felt her daddy's hand on the back of her seat, steadying the bike. She made herself push with her right foot. The pedals turned. The wheels spun.
"Here you go! Pedal, pedal, pedal! You've got it!" her daddy shouted.
And then he wasn't there. It was just Abby, alone on her bike… and she wasn't falling. She clutched the handlebars, not paying any attention to where the bike was headed, and she pedaled, pedaled, keeping her balance, and the wind was cool on her cheeks, brushing back her hair, and she was picking up speed, only wobbling a little, and she wasn't falling. She was riding.
It felt like floating. It felt like flying. It felt like she was far away from everything that hurt her. The icy silences that stretched between her parents. The way her mom would always put a plate of cut-up carrots or bell peppers by her plate, and no one else's, at dinnertime. How Dylan McVay at school had started calling her Flabby Abby, and now all the boys called her that.
"Abby! Stop! Turn around! Don't go on the busy street!" Her daddy was yelling, chasing after her, his voice getting farther away with every rotation of the pedals. And Abby wasn't falling. She was riding, on a bike that could take her anywhere. She was free.
