“𝘉𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘴—𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘴—𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.” ⁣
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I loved this book! Jennifer Weiner has written a character-driven story about mother-daughter relationships, romance, body positivity and so much more! I couldn’t put it down. ⁣
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The author, a cyclist herself, takes the reader on a bike tour through upstate New York. Abby is in her early thirties, with a serious boyfriend named Mark who she met at summer camp when she was a preteen, and leading this trip for the first time as a group leader. She has a fraught relationship with her mother and is also not entirely sure that Mark is the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. She hopes this bike trip with give her some clarity and perspective.⁣
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I loved getting to know the rest of the biking group and the multiple points of view. I especially loved Sebastian and his slow-burn romance with Abby. All of the characters were very realistic, flawed and relatable. I particularly loved and appreciated the Jewish representation in this book. Most of all, I loved how this book inspired me to check my bike, fill my tires and go out for a ride!
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“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱, 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.” ⁣
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(𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.)

 

About the Book:

 

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 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.