Reviews

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner

Only show reviews with written explanations

kbeers98's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bexellency's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.5

Ooh, this was mostly terribly. Very angsty, obviously Abby and her angst over weight, men, what to do with her life, food, how other people see her, but many other characters, too. It’s largely a book about what a raw deal women have in the world covering topics of teen pregnancy and abortion and dieting and weight and attractiveness and careers and romantic relationships and social media and mothers-daughter relationships and on and on. I gave it a go just because the leading a bike tour premise was fun. But see above plus why oh why are there so many explicit sex scenes? If I want to read erotica, I will, but having that crop up in a light, romcom type novel fails the vibe check. Somehow, despite all that, I did have a soft spot for the characters by the end.

pchopd's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I was so excited about the premise - a cycling trip! - and liked the second storyline between Morgan and Lily, but it all felt a little too cleanly wrapped up in the end (to be fair, what was I expecting? But the career plan for Abby that brought in Morgan's story just felt too much to me) and honestly I had no idea why Abby and Sebastian were so into each other for most of the book until they actually started talking.

shrootreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kal_self's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous informative relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

siobhanward's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

There's a really distinct difference between Weiner's older work and her newer work, and it's clear that she's really honed her style and characters in the past decade. While all of her protagonists are fairly similar, in recent years she's managed to make them a lot more sympathetic, which makes the book a lot better. This book was sweet - everything worked out pretty perfectly, but I also don't read Weiner's books expecting much else, since they're usually light reads. I liked the topics Weiner tackled in this one, and loved the focus on mother/daughter relationships.

Though I am a little horrified that Abby cheated on her long-term partner and it was just kind of glossed over? That was a bit of a shock to me.

Content Warnings