I actually read a young adult story around eating disorders a month ago, and it fell a little flat to me. I was interested in reading more around this topic and the next thing I knew, The Girls at 17 Swann Street showed up at my door. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this several months before the release date. I thought I would just read over page one and then put it down until closer to release. Wow, was I wrong. The next thing I knew, I was almost 200 pages into the story.

This is written in what a poetic style. I was not really sure if I was going to like the writing, but I ended up loving it. I can see how others may not be a fan, but for me it brought something different and unique to the story. You also get different chapters of Meal Plans, Treatments Plans, and Questionnaires as you follow along with Anna during her battle with Anorexia. You also get glances into the life of both Anna and her husband leading up to Anna entering treatment. Her story was painful and heartbreaking as you see her start to battle that she is fighting.

I liked the other girls who were also at 17 Swann Street, as you also get to learn a little about their stories and the battles they are facing. I enjoyed how they supported one another.

This did get a little repetitive in the middle, and there was not much action. I wanted more around the flashbacks of Anna and her life as well. I ended up only skimming some of these sections to get back to her in treatment.

Overall, this was really good and I enjoyed it. I would give the first half of this book five stars.

I have no words to describe this book. My review wouldn't do it justice. But I'll try.

It's powerful. Painful. Raw. Real. I couldn't read this in public because it made me cry ugly tears every time I read about the challenges and emotions the girls at 17 Swann Street went through, especially Anna.

It was disturbing and uncomfortable getting to be so up close with an anorexic. The writing was so powerful I felt as though I was reading a memoir. You know it's a good book when reading a fiction feels like a non-fiction, in this case, a biography.

I felt every fibre of Anna's being trying to face and fight the demons of anorexia. I empathized with her when she wanted to give in and give up. It was tiring. But I was glad she didn't. And the love and support that surrounded her - from the girls at Swann Street to her boyfriend Matthias and her dad, touched me immensely.

I'm still thinking about the girls at 17 Swann Street today. I hope they're coping fine and that Emm is having a walk with Anna right now...

This book should be read by all females! And dads! And boyfriends! In fact, everyone.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Full review will be posted on my blog and Goodreads, and shared on Twitter and Litsy, closer to publication day.

3.5
Some people didn’t like the writing style in this book but I really did! I loved getting in Anna’s head. This story was complex and Anna and her relationships were well layered. Anna is a kind character and it was easy to feel sympathy for her struggles. The women she encounters in treatment add to the overall story and knowledge of this dreadful disease. Through this story you learn how much everyone associated with the sickness suffers, not just the patient. There were some good moments also, not all bleak. The ending felt real, hopeful but realistic. I would recommend this story and read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy in exchange for a review.

I never thought I would so enjoy a book about eating disorders, but I never expected a book about eating disorders to be so thoroughly engaging - an understated story of a life and death struggle. I simply could not put it down. The characters are so well-drawn and completely fleshed out as to effortlessly provide an interior view of eating disorders - and in doing so provide understanding and empathy for a topic that is so difficult to understand. I would recommend this book for anyone and everyone.

This book is truly amazing. Yes, it is about eating disorders, but so much more. It is about control, strength and the ability that food has to control out thoughts and minds.

Eating disorders are a serious mental illness and the author does a great job and describing this is a real, raw, poignant, often heartbreaking way.

A MUST READ!

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC.

Story about the battle with anorexia in an ex-dancer and the treatment center she is stuck in. I did not
really love the characters and felt they were one-dimensional a little bit.

Excellent book. I am a therapist and I have worked with individuals with eating disorders. I thought this book did a great job with the portrayal.

This book portrays a candid look at eating disorders. An invaluable book for anybody who has concerns about themselves or someone they know. It has made an indelible impression.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a painstaking look at the world of anorexia nervosa. What a hideous disease it is.

It takes place in a recovery home with Anna, a former ballet dancer, and several other girls revealing their stories bit by bit. The major portion of the book takes place in about a six-week period with flashbacks to other parts of Anna’s life, both before and during her life with Matthias.

While the whole concept of living with anorexia is foreign to me, I was absolutely mesmerized by this book. I could hardly put it down, even when my eyes were on the verge of closing. It clearly depicts the struggles, ever present, of the anorexic. It is not a disease to be taken lightly or scoffed at with comments like, “Just eat!”

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It captured me. Well done, Ms. Zgheib. Thank you to you and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review your book.

I’ve made it 100 pages in and will not be finishing. The writing is had to read at times with the way she does speaking parts. I have zero interest in the character because it’s only about her eating disorder. I rolled my eyes at naming a character with anorexia “Anna”. Two stars because maybe someone will have interest in the subject and it wasn’t comically bad writing, it just isn’t for me.

This was a somewhat tough read because eating disorders are a tough subject. But I was immediately taken in by the characters and wanted each one to succeed in defeating their diseases.

Wow!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, I received an ARC of "The Girls at 17 Swann Street." It sounded promising based on the synopsis and I looked forward to giving it a shot.

This book was nothing short of compelling.

I had trouble putting it down and the characters stayed with me, not only the main character but the other girls in the house, Anna's husband Matthias, and even "Direct Care"- the somewhat ominous and initially confusing name given to the Staff at 17 Swann Street. At first I did not get at all why a character would be given such a name, but somehow it worked, and worked well.

I can't speak to how true or "on point" this book is from the perspective of what it might be like to be anorexic (or to put it more properly, a person with anorexia, or bulimia) although Lord knows I struggle some with weight and food, but I honestly enjoyed reading this book and I also felt like I learned something as well.

Highly recommend!

4 plus stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a ARC of The Girls at 17 Swann Street. All opinions in this review are solely my own and I received no compensation.

A job offer he cannot refuse brings Matthias and his wife Anna from Paris to America. While he goes to work every day, Anna sits alone at home doing nothing. In France, she had been a ballet dancer until an injury made her stop. In the US, she is nothing and she is getting fatter day by day. She starts to work out, plans longer runs and eats less. Until she doesn’t eat anymore. That’s when Matthias brings her so 17 Swann Street to cure her anorexia. Accepting the illness is hard for Anna, butr finding a way back into life is even harder.

Yara Zgheib focusses in her novel on Anna’s stay at Swann Street. What happened before is told in flashbacks and fragments, it takes some time until you get the full picture of what lead the young woman there. But much more importantly than the Why is the question how and if she can be cured. The rules are strict, yet, that’s what they have got to be. And it is all but easy for Anna.

To me, Anna as well as the other girls are portrayed in quite an authentic way. It is easy to follow their thoughts, even though it’s the thoughts of girls who are ill and suffering from an eating disorder. They have their own logic and demons that they have to fight. I guess people who have never been confronted with this disorder can better understand what is going on the head of a person suffering from it after having read the novel. Yara Zgheib doesn’t embellish the hard way back to life and she doesn’t conceal relapses either. But she gives hope that there is a life after anorexia and that there are reasons why you should keep fighting it. A wonderfully written novel which hopefully gives some a goal worth living for.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a deeply intimate portrayal of eating disorders. The author executes the story with care and impressive knowledge in the area making it a realistic story. I deeply connected with the characters and felt as if I were on the journey with them.

It's refreshing to read a book about an adult woman with an eating disorder (i.e. not YA) because, although eating disorders most commonly develop in adolescence, when it comes to fiction - they tend to, like, stop existing once people reach adulthood. But contrary to the stereotype that eating disorders are a 'teenage girl' problem, they are nonetheless experienced by many individuals of all gender identities beyond and sometimes before one's teenage years.

So that's one of the more unique perks I can attribute to The Girls. The prose is poetic at times, wistful in both tone and format - not dissimilar honestly to the mental fog that one can experience with malnourishment. It's interesting to have an ED protagonist who is married, as the spousal relationship - and other familial relationships within the novel - introduce more complexity to protagonist, Anna's experience with anorexia.

The treatment setting is always one of intrigue, too. As someone who has knowledge of eating disorder residential/inpatient settings, I was disappointed by some of the author's descriptions of treatment within the novel, although I'll readily admit that treatment centers can vary greatly in their attitudes and approaches. I felt there was a decent amount of hyperbole that tended to bring me out of the story - either because it was amusing, or just unrealistic. But yes yes yes, experiences of eating disorders as well as one's experiences in treatment vary person to person.

I was also a bit disappointed by the stereotypical descriptions of fellow patients, as well as Anna herself at times. I mean #letsstopnaminganorexiaprotagsAnaorAnna2k18. In general, the population of patients described very much mirrored [mythical] mainstream, cookie-cutter ideas of individuals with eating disorders: thin (unless you're *sweats nervously* bulimic), "pale" (read: white?), aged 20s or 30s. The lack of diversity, or lack of openness to even acknowledge that people with anorexia are not always thin, etc etc - was not new or unique to this novel, but it held The Girls back from being more of an outstanding example of ED lit.

Regardless of my criticisms, I still enjoyed this book. As someone who has personal attachment to eating disorders and mental illnesses in general, I tend to be drawn to books exploring these topics, anyway. Zgheib's writing is beautiful at times in this, insightful, and still sort of lovely for what aspects of living with anorexia she does explore with more depth.

**I would, however, add a strong trigger/content warning for readers who struggle with their own eating disorder, as numbers (weight, calories, BMI, etc) are mentioned throughout, as well as descriptions of restrictive and bulimic behaviors.

3.5/5 stars

This is one of those books that I wasn't sure I would appreciate but wow! Zgheib has done a fabulous job of helping laymen understand what it's like to go through the mad world of eating disorders. She wove the story beautifully around a young wife and her struggle to overcome her disorder.

I did not anticipate liking a story about anorexia, but I was very wrong. Picked up the book and couldn't put it down. Very touching storyline with very believable characters. Thank goodness there are places like 17 Swann Street for people who struggle with anorexia!

I wasn't sure about reading this book, but I am really glad I did. It is the story of Anna, a young woman who is suffering from anorexia. It has got to the stage where she needs to be in a residential institution, and she moves in to 17 Swann Street. Here, she and a number of other women undergo treatment for their eating disorders. Obviously this is not the most cheerful of subjects, and I found myself close to tears a number of times, but I feel that it helped to give me an insight in to the horrors of these illnesses. For that reason, I would recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

This may just be my fave read of the month! This book is so beautifully written, and the main character has such a compelling voice that I could not put it down. It is filled with lovely vignettes that really enhances the reading experience.

I have been fascinated with anorexia since I read The Vegetarian by Han Kang. As much as that novel was a mesmerizing, surreal experience, The Girls at 17 Swann Street has impressed me not only with its lyrical writing but with hard facts that really helped me understand the disease. This novel is such an eye opener: anorexia is not just about lack of self confidence or vanity. It is a mental health illness that has to be addressed or else it will have deadly consequences.

I spent the whole time reading this book rooting for the main character and all the girls at 17 Swann St. I laughed and I cried with them. It is really an intense experience. This is a must read if you like stories about fighting your own demons and celebrating life. It teaches that not only should we learn to love ourselves, but also take responsibility for those that love us.

The Grils at 17 Swann Street is an incredible book. Beautifully written with heart and soul. The description of a young, married anorexic woman almost takes my breath away. The writing shows feelings and fears that I have never read before. It's utterly amazing. There is no question that this will be a best selling book.