"She just looks very sad. And like most anorexics she looks like she is trying to starve the feeling out."

The Girls at 17 Swann Street was a heartbreaking and eye-opening book on the subject of eating disorders, anorexia to be specific. The book starts with our main character, Anna entering into a home for people that need the most help. They have people fighting for them in their corner, Or at least some do. Anna has her husband, Matthias that wants her and wants her healthy. The woman he fell in love with. And he will do anything to get there too. Even give her up and put her in a home 45 minutes away from their home together. Unfortunately she has programmed herself when it comes to her feelings of food. And that is the part that is hard to watch and be a witness to.
This story is hard to review and was hard to read, but it was thoughtfully and carefully written by a debut author that obviously has a good knowledge of the subject matter. The home at 17 Swann is filled with other women in the midst of different steps to their recovery. Some have been there months, years and some just want death to take them away. To see their health disintegrate before by eyes by the words on the page? Horrifying in the most sad of ways.
A few issues I had were the way the dialogue was represented. It was always in italics which confused me a little. Nothing was in quotes and I felt like when the dialogue was in italics it was almost like a thought as opposed to something said out loud. That is just something small, but something that didn't feel right, yet didn't take away from the story too much. The other thing was the speed of Anna's recovery and the way the Care people moved her on to the next Steps when I honestly didn't feel like she was ready for it. Perhaps this was for the pace of the story, but again, just a small issue.
But there were more parts that stuck with me and that I thought were unique to this story. I liked that they included blurbs of the doctors notes at certain points throughout the book. It helped us see Anna's process and the way the doctors felt her progression was going.
Anorexia is a difficult disease and it's ugly. Yara Zgheib did a good job of writing it in a way that was real and still held a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if you are doing it for someone else rather than yourself, we got to see the way one might want to cure themselves. Overall a solid debut. 3.5 stars

The Girls at 17 Swann Street tells the story of woman who is admitted to an inpatient facility for those struggling with eating disorders. I have a (perhaps strangely specific) love for reading books where characters are confined together in an unusual setting, so I was instantly drawn to the description of this book.

It was easy to quickly become invested in Anna's story as you follow her progress as she becomes acclimated to her new surroundings. I enjoyed reading about her relationships with others in the house and the unspoken rules for survival.

The writing style may take getting used to for some, but I found it fairly comfortable after a few chapters. And while I enjoyed the pacing of the the first three quarters of the book, I found the ending a bit rushed. Overall, this was a quick and interesting read for me. I'd definitely pick up another book by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley for offering me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Girls at 17 Swann Street was very intense. Although I have my own issues with food, I could never get a grasp of what an anorexic person was going through. This book gave me a much better understanding. There was so much to be sad about for these women, I was happy when they were happy. I loved the little things they did to help each other get through another day. I highly recommend for anyone who needs to improve their understanding of anorexia.

I have never read a novel that brought up the issue of eating disorders, and I think that in this day and age it is a hugely important subject. Women especially are treated as sex symbols quite often, and are expected to have a perfect shape, which includes being thin. I'm in my 30s and I know both my childhood and my adult life that struggle with body image, and being able to allow themselves to eat. It's a sad world we live in, and it's crazy to think that being large actually use to be a good thing back in the day, because if you were large that showed that you were wealthy and could afford a lot of food.
The novel follows a young woman, Anna, who has been brought into a treatment center for anorexia by her husband, Matthias. The book follows her through her journey through residential treatment, with all it's ups and downs. It also introduces you to the other young ladies at the treatment center at 17 Swann Street, as they also struggle with either anorexia or bulemia. All in all I really enjoyed reading this book. At times it did hurt my heart to read what she was going through, but in the end it was definitely a journey worth taking!

I was thrilled to death for the opportunity to read an ARC of his new book. I was drawn in from the first chapter and could hardly put it down! Highly recommend!

There's something about The Girls at 17 Swann Street that stays with you after you finish the book. Whether it be the subtle ways Zgheib shows you Anna's daily routine, or her dancing background, The Girls at 17 Swann Street takes you on an emotional roller coaster. I'm not sure about the accuracy of the eating disorder representation, but Zgheib gets to know the other women at 17 Swann Street. She sees their stories, their hopes, and fears.

I liked the way Zgheib shows us, through assessments, and Anna's daily routine, how she takes stock of her life. Whether it be her limited possessions in her room, or the way she does not have choice about her meals, Anna's journey is challenging. The Girls at 17 Swann Street is full of memories of he past, like rooms with barely opened doors down a dim hallway. Her choices, her life, her routine is boiled down. Her conversations with nutritionists, therapists, and those around her, illustrate the way her life and choices has lead to this point.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is about anorexia nervosa and, more specifically, about Anna’s struggle with this truly harrowing and terrifying disease. Anna is a 26 years old, former dancer who is admitted to an inpatient facility for treatment of her disease. Her husband, Mathias, took a position in the US which prompted their move from Paris to St. Louis. Anna’s official diagnosis comes about three years after their arrival to St. Louis, though it becomes clear through flashbacks that her struggles with food started much earlier. The book actually begins with her admission to the pink house at 17 Swann Street and we get glimpses of her past through these flashbacks. The reader gets, what I would imagine, is an accurate picture of the challenges that someone like Anna would face on their road to recovery. We meet some of the other patients that reside at the Swan Street facility - some that never make it as far as recovery and others that are discharged long before they are ready.

I found the author’s writing style to be eloquent and very affective. I could feel the stress of meal and snack times. I could feel Anna’s anxiety, anger and sadness throughout her journey. This a very emotional book and, at times, difficult to read but I highly recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a book about a group of women with eating disorders but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. It was interesting to get the peak into the brain of someone suffering through this.

My big complaint about the book is I feel like things wrapped up in a bow too easily at the end. Given the statistics, I'm not sure the outcome is what I anticipated.

I have read many books dealing with Anorexia in teenagers but I believe this was the first book I’ve read in which the characters were grown women struggling with the disease. I am usually a fan of books that move around between the past and the present but for some reason I struggled with that in this book and found myself confused at the beginning of time shifts.

Thank you St. MARTIN Press and Net Galley for an early copy, for an honest review.
While this is a difficult topic, it was well written and gave some very believable in site on a subject not many understand. Not my usual genre Tara Zghelb did beautifully.

An in depth look inside an eating disorder treatment facility and specifically, Anna. Struggling with loneliness and grief, she restricts her food, the only thing she feels she can control. Her fight to get better occurs daily.

This poignant story will give you an in-depth look inside the life of 26-year-old Anna, a wife and former dancer, who had moved to Saint Louis in the American Midwest from her hometown of Paris, France, because of a job opportunity for her 30-year-old husband, Mathias, who is a physicist in a research laboratory. Although Anna found work as a supermarket checker, her real occupation is anorexia nervosa. As explained so eloquently in the story, Anna does not suffer from anorexia, but has anorexia. It keeps her company. She can control it, thus, that is why she chooses it. When her body weight drops to a mere 88 pounds, and Matthias finds Anna slumped onto the bathroom floor, they decide that she needs to seek institutionalized treatment at 17 Swann Street.

Since everyone there is suffering, and everyone is suffering enough, one of the patients shares the unwritten rules of the house with Anna, my favorites being to not hold a grudge and to be kind. I wish that I could be as fluent as the author as she articulates not only the treatment and consequences of anorexia in this up close and personal story of Anna, but the love of her husband and the backstories of the other girls at 17 Swann Street.

This heart-tugging and inspiring book is for everyone--not just those who has or knows someone who has body image issues or eating disorders. Well done!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Yara Zgheib, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Wow! This book was NOT what I was expecting at all, but I am SO very glad that I read this book! The author wrote well-developed characters in a story about anorexia, family, and life - REAL life! The story takes you from Paris to St. Louis and it beautifully described in appropriate detail so that you feel like you are there in the story.

The anorexic stories are hard to read, but thought-provoking. It was done in a tasteful, well-thought-out manner that really made me THINK and FEEL about this disease. Thank you for raising the awareness of this life-threatening issue again, Ms. Zgheib!

I believe that this is a debut novel and what a good one out of the gate. This author is going to get better with each book and I cannot wait to read them all.

Strong recommend!.

I gravitated to this book on Netgalley. I am a dancer and unfortunately, I can relate all too well about the subject. Ms. Zgheib did an outstanding job writing about a very serious and difficult disease. While, I found it hard to read, at times, it is a book worthy of continuing. It’s an important book and also offers an insight into what it must be like to suffer, for years, from anorexia. Anna is a wonderful character and her husband even better, as patient as he is. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the perusal.

To me The Girls at 17 Swann Street, by Yara Zgheib, is a 3 1/2. Because that is impossible I am upping my rating to a 4 star review. Ms Zgheib gives us some back and forth in time, filling in the back story of our main character, Anna. I had a difficult time relating to Anna and the anorexia. I was given an early copy to review.

After Anna, a ballet dancer from Paris, moves to Kansas with her husband Matthias, she develops an eating disorder that she can no longer keep hidden. Matthias has no choice other than to have Anna admitted to 17 Swann Street, a clinic for women where Anna can regain some much-needed weight and redevelop a healthy relationship with food. Anna makes friends with several other patients, but it is very difficult for her when one woman is taken away by ambulance, and another disappears after assaulting a staff member.

There are some indications that Anna has always had disordered eating, in her career choice and in her relationship with Philippe. Even with Matthias’ love and support, evidenced by his daily visits, and her phone conversations with her father, Anna still struggles. Unfortunately, I never felt as though I developed a connection with Anna or the other women. It seemed to me to read a little flat, and I didn’t like that Anna was encouraged to get better for Matthias and not for her own well-being. I’m also not a fan of the title, as all the women in treatment were adults, well past the girlhood stage.

For me, a good book is one that makes you think, stretches your understanding of a topic or just plain compelling and compulsively readable. The Girls at 17 Swann Street fit the bill on pretty much every account.

Anna is French. And she is just about everything you would associate with a French girl. She’s a ballerina, she’s graceful, she’s beautiful, and she’s extremely delicate and thin. Too thin. She suffers from anorexia and weighs 88 pounds.

Her husband, Matthias, is a dream. Handsome, outgoing and ambitious. She follows him to America and finds herself alone during the day, no longer a dancer and struggling to feel as if she is enough for her husband, and enough in this new life. Her insecurities lead to her anorexia.

The prose is subdued, poetic at times, so it’s not surprising that when I looked up the author, Yara Zgheid, I found a blog that contains essays that are both poignant and artistic at the same time.

While fiction, The Girls at 17 Swann Street reads like a memoir, and I wonder if the author has experience with this disorder. She tells Anna’s story in such a realistic way that it helped me reach a better understanding of what anorexia is. That it’s not a choice, but rather a crippling mental illness.

I’d recommend this book for anyone who enjoys memoirs (yes, it is fiction), anyone who is dealing with an eating disorder or mental illness, or anyone who loves someone who is dealing with such an affliction.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out February 5, 2019. Get your copy! This review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog, on January 6, 2019.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a remarkable story of Anna who deals with horrors, trama and fright and fight of anorexia and depression. She is a young woman married to her wonderful Mattiaha, they meet in Paris and move to America, she was once a ballerina and now works in a supermarket after an injury. The story takes her from pure happiness, bliss and wonder into a time of lonliness and angst. This story is sad, it's beautiful in it's telling and gripping at times. Ms. Zgheib's story of Anna is a glimpse into the dark reality of living with anorexia and the struggles and exhausting effort to pull yourself up and out. I definitely recommend. My thanks to #netgalley.com #St.MartinsPress #The Girlsat17SwannStreet

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-Arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I truly enjoyed this book. While the topic was difficult, I feel like it was very well written and I enjoyed the format. It was a quick read and really gave a glimpse of what it is like in the world of an anorexic.

Recommend!

This arc was provided to me for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars

TRIGGER WARNING
Includes eating disorders, mental illness, self-harm, and suicide.

Anna, a dancer from Paris has moved to the states with her husband for his career. There Anna struggles with anorexia until she is down to eighty-eight pounds. After passing out, Anna’s husband forcer her into a treatment center where she meets others women who are struggling as well. The women of Swann Street must fight their diseases and reclaim their lives all while supporting one another.

This was a heavy topic to read about and while I personally have never struggled with an eating disorder, I know a few who have. So this kind of hit home for me which is why I wanted to include the trigger warnings. Its tough to read books with a topic as tough as this but its also important that these topics are talked about. And I think Yara Zgheib did an excellent job.

But with Anna’s story, it was hard to watch her struggle and her recovery. But it’s worth the journey. It’s an emotional one, but well worth it. The lack of hope some of these characters had and then the ability to find hope once again was very inspiring.

While I did enjoy this story, I also had a difficult time with the writing style. It took some time to get used to it and even when I did, I still had some issues. And while I may not have personally enjoyed the writing style, it still is brilliant and beautifully written. If you don’t get triggered easily, then I do suggest you look into The Girls at 17 Swann Street, perhaps you can find it inspiring too.