The Breakaway

Actually cute, with dignity of a normal sized main character who doesn't lose weight to redeem herself of anything, thank the lord.

DNF. I should have NF'ed earlier, but I was on a long drive and needed a book. Too rote and predictable. There are important topics here that deserve more recognition, but this book didn't cut it for me.

4.5 stars. One of the best Weiner novels in at least ten years (and I've read them all). She ditches the suspense-lite plots that were shoehorned into the past few releases, and the result is a page-turning, character-based story with plus-sized (and fine with it) heroine, interesting family dynamics and several potential love interests. Lots of humor, sex, and emotionally rich moments. And it all takes place on a two-week bike tour of my home state of New York!

Weiner has become more forgiving over the years; there's more to the MC's stereotypical overbearing Jewish mother than meets the eye, and the mother/daughter relationship evolves as they both try to understand each other's point of view. One thing Weiner has not mellowed out on is her feminism; the realities of living in a post-Roe nation are played out in a very personal way (Perhaps having a full-page quote from the Seneca Falls Convention on women's rights is a little much though).

Docked half a star for Weiner's decision to have several chapters narrated by secondary characters who are part of the cycling tour. I can understand narratively why she did this, but it sacrifices pages that might have better served as interactions between the MC and LI, or examples of the MC's own personal growth.