Imagine being terrified of eating--so terrified that you would be willing to sacrifice everything you love in order to not eat? Imagine knowing that you need to eat to live but your head tells you the opposite? Imagine having to sacrifice all your autonomy in order to save your life? Yara Zgheib takes us on a journey of anorexia and of recovery; a journey of love as therapy. It is a very real and heart-wrenching account. – Leza Bredenkamp

4 1/2 stars

When I recieved an ARC of The Girls at 17 Swann Street from the publisher, I honestly didn't have any idea what genre this book belonged to. I would call it contemporary fiction, which is a genre I usually don't enjoy, but I really enjoyed this book. This book follows Anna, a Parisian girl in her mid-20s, a professional dancer, suffering from an eating disorder and finally is forced to seek treatment. I haven't read many books about eating disorders or mental illness as I usually avoid them, as it takes a very special author to write fiction in this area accurately. The author did a great job in this book writing about a fairly complex illness, along with the treatment center and the patients themselves. A very well written story about a very complex mental illness.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for sending me an ARC of this book.

This is a dramatic yet truthful portrait of eating disorders - especially anorexia and bulimia. The girls at 17 Swann Street are actually at a group house to try to recover from their eating disorders. At times, the story becomes very dramatic - when we read about these girls struggles to eat 6 meals a day. While for anorexic girls the trouble would be eating all that, for bulimic, the drama would be eating only that. So different, yet so similar diseases. Anna, the main character, arrives at the 17 Swann Street after slowly stopping eating many types of food - to the point that she got way to thin. Even though I don't have this particular eating disorder, I could totally relate to the rest of Anna's story - a girl that moved from one country to another to follow her husband and ended up not having an opportunity to pursue further her original career. With that, she ended up getting depressed (although she didn't admit it), which eventually led her to the eating disorder. This is a very interesting book, and I highly recommend if you want to understand more about anorexia, or are just curious to know how the disease works. It's ultimately also a love story, and a story about how love can make you surpass even the worst adversities in life.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a an honest, unflinching, but fundamental hopeful portrayal of anorexia and the struggles of recovery. Anna enters treatment at the beginning of the novel primarily at the behest of her husband, who is at the end of his rope and fearful that he wouldn't be able to keep her alive on his own. She is resistant to the idea of treatment at that time, filled up with fear and denial.

Zgheib explores the triggering events that led up to Anna's situation, from her demanding background in ballet to her sense of isolation as an immigrant in America. Anna's background felt like one of the biggest strengths of this novel. There is no single factor which led to her developing an eating disorder; the reasons are myriad and the descent was gradual. As is often the case in real life, compounding traumas and pressures slowly built up to a mental health crisis, and it's difficult to say how Anna would have fared if even one of these factors had been different. 

Zgheib seems to take pains to lend a sense of realism to Anna's recovery efforts throughout the novel. Progress is treated with caution, as relapse is very common with anorexia, but the overall tone does not come across as pessimistic. The reader sees Anna's mindset change slowly but drastically, spurred in part by a desire to reconnect with family members who have grown distant during her decline and in part through fear of ending up like some of the other girls she encounters in treatment. 

There is nothing remarkably original or unique in the telling of this story; a woman hits rock bottom, enters treatment for anorexia, falters and makes slow progress, and the story ends on a hopeful but still somewhat ambiguous note. If you've read a lot of novels about mental health, the structure will feel very familiar, but Zgheib's writing style is engaging and it feels very easy to connect with Anna. The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a rewarding and poignant read, and I look forward to seeing what this author writes in the future.

"Anorexia is the same story told every time by a different girl. Her name does not matter."
This is a poignant story about the toll eating disorders take on a person; physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, etc.

Anna Roux was a french professional dancer who due to her husband's job, moved from Paris to Missouri. There, due to loneliness and discontentment, her anorexia and depression completely take over spiraling her life out of "control" and her weight down to 88 pounds. After years of denial, her husband eventually commits her to 17 Swann Street to seek treatment and there she meets a number of other women all fighting to conquer their own demons.

This story is raw and emotional and beautifully written.

I really enjoyed this book and while it was quite depressing at many times, I felt like I was right along side these women watching their story. I cannot imagine what these women (and men) go through daily- what an awful struggle they deal with every second of the day. I was rooting for Anna from page 1, a  lot of her actions were heart breaking &  I wanted to reach through the book to shake her: it also gives you so much hope.   Extremely powerful book and I will definitely be telling my friends about it.

An absolutely heartbreaking and accurate account of eating disorders and the toll that they take on not only the mind and body of the person suffering from the disorder, but their loved ones as well. Anna was well written, brittle, sometimes hard to love, but she flowed off the page and was relatable in a way not all fictional characters are. This was a really well written read.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a beautifully written, captivating story of a young woman battling anorexia who finds herself in residential treatment at Swann Street. Anna, a French ballerina, finds herself in St Louis after her new husband, Matthias, receives a job opportunity. In a new country without a career or family or friends, Anna begins to restrict foods and exercise until one night she passes out after reaching 88 pounds. Her husband checks her into a program at 17 Swann Street, where we meet other woman battling their own demons. 

The story is told exclusively through Anna’s point of view as she proceeds through treatment, with frequent flashbacks to meeting and falling in love with Matthias, and then her decline with the disease. 

This is not a story filled with twists and turns and surprises. It IS an authentic, heart wrenching, brutally honest story of battling an eating disorder. Honestly, I have never battled those demons and anorexia has never been a disease that’s been very interesting to me. Despite that, I was enthralled with Anna’s story. I cheered for her. I got frustrated with her. I wanted to shake her. But mostly, I fiercely wanted to see her conquer her demons. 

It’s an emotional story, and could certainly be triggering for some, but well worth the read.

17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib.

This is a heart-rending book about Anorexia.   Anna, the main protagonist at twenty-six year now living in Kansas with her husband Matthias after living in Paris all her life.   The story is told through the main character Anna, her dream was to be a premier ballerina .She is married to the love of her life Matthias but she battles depression, fear of failure which eventually leads to anorexia. Her husband eventually commits her to 17 Swann Street where eating disorders are treated. We live day by day, hour by hour through the rigorous program where specialists monitor the girls at 17 Swann Street. The reader is taken through the treatment and the lows and highs that the girls experience. Not everybody has a successful conclusion at 17 Swann Street but Anna was determined to try for her husband and her family.
The book gets a solid four-star rating.

Beautifully written, this book was both heart wrenching and hopeful.  Anorexia is a deadly disease and it changes the lives of not only the patient, but of family and friends as well.  Emotionally packed, this book was a captivating read and once started was very hard to put down.  Zgheib does an amazing job of putting the reader right into the day to day lives of The Girls of 17 Swann Street.  Sharing their agony at meal times, encouraging them on their journey, crying with them at setbacks and loss and cheering for them at the tiniest of accomplishments.  This is a book that will stay with, and perhaps even haunt you as it brings new life to the image of anorexia.

I received an advanced reader's copy of The Girls at 17 Swann Street from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. First, let me say that you should not think for a minute that just because it has "the girls" in the title it is a thriller. It is about anorexia and the devastating effects it has on the body and mind. 17 Swann Street is a residential rehabilitation facility for women who are struggling with eating disorders. Anna, the main character goes to live there to regain weight and learn how to overcome her disease.

The book is very short and uses italicized text instead of quotations for speech. This approach made it seem like you are living inside of Anna's head. It also jumps from the present back to other moments in Anna's life that led her to developing the disease. I have never struggled with an eating disorder, yet I feel like I have a much better understanding of it now that I have read this book.

There are definitely plenty of trigger warnings in this book, especially if you have ever suffered from an eating disorder, but I think it does a very good job at bringing awareness without glamorizing this disease. I strongly recommend this book if you want to learn more about anorexia or disordered eating.

DId not care for this and did not finish the book.................................................................................................................................................................

This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It started out confusing and was depressing. I did learn a lot about the disease

A great account, albeit fictional, of life inside a residential treatment facility for women with eating disorders. No sugar coating things, the author delves into the dangers and emotional aspects of life with an eating disorder. I would have liked a little more backstory on some of the secondary characters, but a book can only be so long I guess

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This is the story of a treatment facility for women suffering from anorexia or bulimia. We witness the trials and tribulations that must be endured through the eyes of Anna, one of the patients who is a former ballet dancer. The women try to support each other as they face the dietary and exercise regimens necessary for recovery. This is an eye-opening view into diseases that are often hidden and the struggles to overcome the afflictions.

This book really wasn't my cup of tea. The writing style was really good. But I just couldn't relate to the characters. Thank you for the advance copy NetGalley!!

Told through a variety of flashbacks of her life “before” and falling into anorexia, we meet Anna. A girl who seems to have it all, a loving family and most of all a loving husband. But all is not as it seems with our main character, having left the life she knew in Paris to follow her husband who’d gotten a better job in the states, Anna finds herself essentially losing herself. Eating meals alone, being in a strange new country where things are so different from Paris, Anna begins to develop anorexia. This disease that not only affects the body but most of all the brain in its distorted views of the self and world, Anna feels more alone than ever and so close to giving up. After a disastrous Christmas trip to Paris where her family and husband see just what had become of Anna who stopped eating long before any of them had noticed, Anna voluntarily seeks treatment. 

Enter 17 Swan Street, a place meant to help those with eating disorders and Anna meets a variety of girls who teach her that though anorexia may be a lonely disease, the girls here watched out for each other. Through relapses and a great amount of strength we read that what is considered by many as something trivial and second nature, to the girls at 17 Swan Street, eating is the equivalent of hiking up a mountain without any form of aid.  We read just how difficult it is to eat one meal let alone 6 daily. And though Anna struggles so much to the point that she almost gives up, through the help of the girls and staff at 17 Swan Street, Anna realizes that she wants to live. Live even though the thought of food is so mind numbingly terrifying, Anna wants to live for herself and for the man who loves her above all else. 

I honestly thought this book was going to be so difficult to get through due to the heavy subject matter, but what I found this book to be was a show of strength and survival of a woman who was so close to losing it all. This book was.. healing and therapeutic and a must read for anyone who wants to both know more and understand these victims of anorexia.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street was a captivating and powerful novel!  I enjoyed the relationships portrayed by the girls at 17 Swann Street and their journeys during their treatment.  I could not stop reading this book and finished it in two days.  17 Swann Street is the home where women stay for treatment of different eating disorders.  Anna is married to Matthias.  She has things in her past that include loss and disappointment.  So much has happened over the years and she finds herself struggling with eating, anorexia, and with her life in general.  Anna’s family begs her to get treatment at 17 Swann Street.  What she goes through during her treatment at 17 Swann Street is moving.  I could just feel what Anna was going through during her days of treatment.  Anna’s husband Matthias and her family sound wonderful and supportive.  The women at 17 Swann Street all have their own touching stories and their own disorders.  The women help each other as best they can.  The story was not at all what I expected it to be, but ended up being much more and one that will be hard to forget!

Subject matter was intense and I still find myself thinking about this story months later. 
Anorexia is difficult to overcome and the backstories of the girls help to keep this story true.  This author has been able to tell us more about the emotional struggles of women suffering from anorexia and hopefully is beneficial to some.

This book was amazing and insightful.  I admit I did not read the description very well so when I began reading it I wanted to put it down because of the subject.  I have a very close family member that suffers from bulimia.  She is currently in remission and did not have to enter residential care.  Anna is very relatable and I could understand how someone can be tricked by the lies our mind tells us.  I feel for the families that suffer with these diseases.  I encourage people to read this book for awareness.