Books: “The Breakaway” by Jennifer Weiner

Sometimes you don’t want to read a new translation of Proust, or a book about the French Riviera. Sometimes a novel falls into your lap that is mindless, gooey, and a hard-cover version of “When Harry Met Sally.”

Jennifer Weiner’s “The Breakway” is such a unicorn. The protagonist is Abby, a single amateur cyclist from Philadelphia whose self-esteem is lower than her bike’s bottom bracket. One night, on the town with her GFs, she hooks up with Sebastian, a handsome bad boy. Bingo! Bells go off and she decides this is “the one.” Unfortunately she also decides that she is not worthy of such a god and leaves in the middle of the night without leaving her contact info. After all, she’s got a dull fiancé Mark to come home to.

But she wonders…wonders.

Meanwhile, Abby is given the chance to lead a bicycle tour that leaves from New York City and follows the Empire State Trail to Buffalo. On the first day of the tour, she surveys her guests and guess who randomly shows up? Sebastian. Awkward!

Will the passion reignite? Or is Sebastian a Lothario who’s had so many one-night stands that he’s been exposed on Tik-Tok?

You can see this coming from a mile away, but you’ll enjoy the ride anyway. Especially the parts about the dynamics of a bicycle trip and its cray-cray guests.

So take a rest day, situate yourself in a comfortable saddle—seat, I mean!—and savor “The Breakaway.” It’s a lot more fun than a ride to Bear Mountain and far less strenuous.

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