The Breakaway: A Novel

Written by Jennifer Weiner

Narrated by Nikki Blonsky, Santino Fontana, Jenni Barber and 2 more

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 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Aug 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9781797163659

Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one books, including The Summer Place, That Summer, Big Summer, Mrs. Everything, In Her Shoes, Good in Bed, and a memoir in essays, Hungry Heart. She has appeared on many national television programs, including Today and Good Morning America, and her work has been published in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, among other newspapers and magazines. Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia. Visit her online at JenniferWeiner.com.

Reviews for The Breakaway

[Jennifer Hargreave · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Classic Jennifer Weiner- funny, poignant, relevant. I did not care for the way Abby was read; the reader had odd inflections and pauses, and the storytelling didn’t flow very well.

[Ann G Miller-Sobel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once more Jennifer uses her mastery as a storyteller to real the reader into the life of her heroine Abby Stern, a lost soul, looking for her place in the world. Through every lap of her life it is so easy to become Abby’s champion as she searches for her identity beyond what Abby thinks her life is. Can’t wait for Jennifer’s next adventure.

[laura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a cute story! This was my most liked listen in months. Wasn’t sure about the main narrator at first but she grew on me.

[Jessica Saunders · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked the story but the main reader who read Abby had an annoying voice and talked very slowly.

[Kristy Pemrick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I could relate in so many ways to Abby. I really want to just take off and ride my bike right now.

[Victoria Edelsbrunner · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Book was ok except for some pretty egregious cheating on the part of the heroine. Interesting dive into biking culture. However the audio narrator was terrible. Kept pausing in weird places and putting the stress in the wrong part of the sentence. Had to listen on a higher speed to minimize the effects of this.