Amina's Reviews > The Breakaway

A heartwarming story that explores women’s issues often not explored in novels. At the forefront. A woman struggling with society and her mother’s perception of how her body should or shouldn’t look.

Abbey Stern is trying to stay afloat. She's 33, holding random jobs, going out with friends, and maintaining her apartment in Philly. Her true passion is biking. When she decides to start a biking club, taking people from NYC to Niagra Falls, everything changes.

Abbey has been dating her childhood summer camp sweetheart, Mark Medoff. The two met at a weight loss camp that her mother--obsessed with weight loss forced her to attend. When Abbey reconnects with Mark, who's maintained a lean figure, she thinks everything is perfect.

Abbey had gotten used to being the biggest girl in a group, but now sh's arrived at a pint where she was both the biggest and the least accomplished. This development did not fill her heart with joy

Abbey has a feeling that something isn't right. She keeps going back to one perfect night she met with a man named Sebastian--they might at a club and she went home with him--not something she usually does.

Mark and her are engaged--how could things not be perfect? The bike tour begins, and Abbey sees a familar face, it's Sebastian. Is fate calling her name? The other surprise additon, her mother Eleen.

This is a heartwarming story of addressing the past, dark feelings shoved under the rug and uncovering the bruises that linger.

Abbey's Mom is extremely critical and until now, Abbey's floated by, ignoring the fact that her childhood wasn't normal. When her perfectly skinny Mom reveals a dark secret, everything changes.

Eileen wanted her daughter to shrink hearself to fit into the space the world allotted, instead of fighting to change the systems and institutions that wanted women to keep themselves small. She treated Abby like a problem in need of solving instead of asking, even once, whether it was the world, not her daughter that might have been wrong

The one part of this book that felt unecessary--the side story of a character named Morgan, who's convervative Mother is about to find out she's done something against the rules. I felt no connection and felt this part could have been left out.

Overall a good story with some strong, thought provoking writng.
4/5 stars