This is a powerful, albeit harrowing read. The pain that is displayed by the main character is, well, painful. I would have loved a little more insight into some of the supporting characters, as well as some greater depth in terms of what the main character learns about herself. That being said, I'm really glad I got to read this book and would strongly recommend it to others.

A dark, intelligent, fascinating and probing tale narrated by a young woman whose husband has just placed her in a residential treatment program for women with eating disorders. When he finally avknowledges her illness, Anna weighs 88 pounds and is in extremely poor health. Of course, Anna is in complete denial of her anorexia.
As someone who lived with a close relative who suffered from anorexia, this novel provided me with greater insight into the mental and emotional state of the anorexic. While each person is unique, the control needed to starve oneself is paramount and it requires a vast amount of energy to invent all the ways one can continually increase an aversion to eating and to food itself. I had known about some of them, but there are so many more. However, most heartbreaking are the secrecy and isolation which both cause and exponentially exacerbate an eating disorder and this is explored extremely well in this nove.
The cure rate for anorexia is quite low. The families of those who suffer from this disorder are actually powerless to actively assist the one who is ill, much like families are often helpless when faced with a family member who is an addict. For Anna, being placed in a treatment facility was the most that could be done for her. The rest - the healing - she must do herself.
A must read for family members of an anorexic. Pehaps not the best for a recovering patient with her or his own demons.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street takes an in depth look at living with anorexia, primarily focusing on life during treatment. The main character, Anna, is a former ballerina who uproots her life in her native France to follow her husband, Matthias, to America. Once they have relocated, her own personal life and career are in shambles. Now unemployed and unable to find anything suitable to her skills, she is forced to work as a grocery clerk. Although it not explicitly mentioned, she also appears to be fairly socially isolated with no close peer group in their new home. Anna slowly begins to restrict what she will and will not eat while also developing an excessive exercise regime. It is not until a visit to her family that Matthias admits her health has declined to the point of needing professional help.
I found the writing almost dream like and some of the characters vague. Many girls in the care setting are introduced to us once and then never heard from again with zero explanation as to what happened to them. The descriptions became repetitive, but this repetition shows how well the author understands life with an eating disorder that is characterized by extreme anxiety related to food. Anna's thinking patterns and anxieties feel real, like reading a personal diary instead of a work of fiction. The subject matter is handled as beautifully as possible while not shying away from the harsher details. Overall, I would have liked to see more character development, or chapters told from an alternative POV so that we saw more than only Anna's reactions. However, this is a well done novel concerning a subject that is still glossed over with or treated with kid gloves.

This book wasn't my favorite. Not because of the subject matter, but moreso because I struggled even forming a connection to the characters. The writing, in my opinion, was rather cold. As a result, I had a very hard time getting into the book. I finished it, but would not likely recommend it.

I did receive this an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book and I finished this book in one day. I really enjoyed how the book quickly had Anna go into a residential rehab program for anorexia. At first the book did not go into the triggers for anorexia but the reasons were built into the story about her time at 17 Swann Street. The book showed the struggle the residents went through to try to get better but it was not a pity party, it was a fight to get better. I have been around anorexia/bulimia/malnutrition and I learned some things from this book about the diseases.

I liked the quote "How little of an eating disorder the naked eye can actually see." These diseases are a mental health issue that are very difficult to cure. While not a medical book on the diseases, I think this book will help people on the periphery of the diseases to have a better understanding and compassion about the struggle with anorexia/bulimia.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC....I was apprehensive after I accepted the offer of this book. The subject of anorexia scared me a bit. I was afraid it would be too gross, too clinical, too sad. I was pleasantly surprised to find the narrative interesting, easy, and compelling. While the main focus was anorexia, I especially enjoyed Anna and Matthias' love story. I actually would have liked to have gotten a bit MORE clinical, delve a bit further into the past trauma's of Anna's life. These were merely skimmed over. Sweet, heartbreaking, funny....I'm not sure about the way it ended was it realistic or overly simplified to wrap things up? But I did enjoy Anna's story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Not only was it something fresh and new unlike anything I've read before, but it was also brutally honest and real. It read more like a memoir, and maybe it truly is, but I could definitely see the author having experienced these same traumas.

“The Girls at 17 Swann Street” is an emotionally, hauntingly gripping and eye-opening story into a disease that many do not know is a disease. Working for counselors in the past I’ve known about anorexia but “The Girls at 17 Swann Street” gave an honest and deep look at this life deteriorating disease. People always think - ‘just eat a sandwich’ and they will be fixed, but there is so much more to it than that. My heart broke and ached for Anna as she fought the battle and demons inside of her over food. This was such a unique and honest story about a difficult topic. I think this would be a great book for therapists to give to families who have someone battling anorexia. It would definitely help the family to understand what their loved one is going through and what they are fighting.

My only issue with this book was that Anna’s flashbacks were a little confusing. I still am not 100% sure who Phillippe was and what he had to do with the story. Also, be forewarned that the story is a little sad and depressing. It had me thinking and evaluating about my own eating habits. It’s a heavy read but it’s a beautiful read that I think anyone would appreciate. I received my copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

For someone like me with little understanding of the disease of anorexia, this book was a real eye-opener. My attitude had been that these were spoiled little girls who wanted attention. After reading this book, I learned that this is a disease, not a choice and that recovery is very difficult and for some, impossible.

Anna is a ballerina from Paris who has moved to St. Louis with her husband Matthias for his job. She misses dancing, Paris and her family. As her husband works long hours and she is left on her own with no friends in a strange country, her anorexia begins to manifest itself. 'The chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound.' When Anna is down to 88 pounds and her body is beginning to break down, she agrees to go to a residential center for eating disorders. This book is about the struggle to get better when she wants to cling to her anorexic life and was about not only the physical part of the disease but also the mental part. It was difficult to read at times but the story itself was told quietly and beautifully.

My main problem with the book is that they kept repeating that Anna was going to get better for her husband. In reality, the only person you can get better for is yourself and I don't think that was stressed enough in the book.

Overall this was a beautiful well written novel that taught me a lot. Thanks to Netgalley for a copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This was not a book I would have normally read but got it from NetGalley to rate it. I am glad I read it. I know what anorexia is but nothing about the emotional part of the disease and tremendous battle back to eating. The character development was very good and the turmoil each girl went through made me feel i was with these girls. Good book, well written.

Honest declaration - I did not finish reading this book. I may, at some point. The writing is very good - descriptive, even lyrical. But the people drawn here are so sad, the situations so unhappy I could not continue. That is probably a kudo to the author - but I simply did not have the emotional stamina to continue.

So if you are up for what could possibly be a deeply moving book, you might want to give this a try. Mine is a very limited experience.

I devoured this book. I loved the brutal honesty, the heartbreak, the denial, the struggle. Finally a look at illness that isn't sugarcoated or magically cured by falling in love! Very well done. I'd definitely read more by this author!

This was a hauntingly lovely book about Anna, a 26-year-old dancer who battles depression, fear of failure, and eventually anorexia. Even though she is married to the love of her life, her illness spirals downward until her husband must commit her to 17 Swann Street for treatment. There she will meet other girls with similar issues--most with heartbreaking stories of their own. Imagine being literally disgusted and overwhelmed with having to force down half a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast! The penalty for not eating prescribed meals is a feeding tube--the ultimate humiliation. Told through sometimes clinical documents, the story unravels from present to past as we see Anna's rise to perfection through dance and then her injury and subsequent surrender to the disease that allows her to believe she is "thin enough." Told with compassion and beauty, the novel reveals her friendships with other girls, their struggles (and sometimes failures and setbacks) and shows how a loving family and community can unite to promote healing and hope.

This novel of anorexia and mental problems wasn't able to grab my attention. I could only read a few chapters.
I didn't feel any warmth or compassion toward the characters. The writing seemed flat and cold

This book was hard to get into at first. It contained a lot of medical terminology and lingo about Eating Disorders! As I got into the book the storyline captured me. Anna's struggle to become "normal" is captivating.

"...every one of us has demons, whatever the lipstick we wear." ~Yara Zgheib, The Girls at 17 Swann Street

First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley for this ARC of The Girls at 17 Swann Street. When I first received the notification that this soon-to-be-published book was available as an ARC, I was immediately pulled in by the description. Not only was the book set in my relative hometown of Saint Louis, but the main character is a former dancer.

Now, I realize that there is a difference between taking ballet, jazz, and hip-hop classes through high school (that would be me) and being an accomplished, touring ballerina (that would be the main character, Anna), but our love of dance is a connection we share, albeit fictionally.

My second interest in reading this book is my personal connection to eating disorders. No, I never personally suffered more than a mild case of low body image, but I have had close friends who have been either bulimic (bingeing and purging), or anorexic (food restricting). As someone who does not have an eating disorder, I will never fully understand; but I'd like to think that books such as The Girls at 17 Swann Street are making leaps and bounds in helping people such as myself appreciate the struggles of those who do.

With a topic as serious and as societally prevalent as eating disorders, I expected to feel "heavy" by the end of this book, but quite the opposite occurred. Despite the seriousness of the issue, Zgheib's writing is light, her characters interesting, and the emotions she pens are touching. She writes in such an elegant manner, and I found myself growing attached to the girls at 17 Swann Street, just as Anna does.

Anna was born and raised in Paris, and as an adult moved to St. Louis with her husband, Matthias, for his new job. Anna is searching for a life in the Midwest—a job, friends, a piece of home. But she finds herself unable to connect to the world she's found herself in, and her loneliness feeds into her growing compulsions.

Too many restrictions and too little food find Anna on the bathroom floor, unresponsive to Matthias' call. At 88 pounds, Anna is admitted into a rehabilitation facility located at 17 Swann Street. Anna has anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that is characterized by an obsession about weight and food consumption, typically resulting in drastic weight loss.

This book is Anna's story about her struggle with anorexia and her journey within the confines of a Bedroom #5, a locked bathroom, and six meals a day with girls who share her same struggles. It takes time to adjust to Direct Care's rules, but she soon discovers that the vanishing girls of 17 Swann Street have rules of their own, and they may just make her time there bearable.

Emm, Julia, Valerie, Sarah, Chloe, and others become the cornerstones of her increasingly small world. They support one another through the ups and downs of their treatment plans, knowing that there is no one better than they to understand what each is feeling.

This is a story of renewal. This is the story of a woman's rediscovery of the person she was and continues to long to be. There is no cure for anorexia, but there is hope, ambition, and dreams...one only needs enough strength to fight for them.

I absolutely loved this book, and I'm giving it a 4 out of 5 for my review. Zgheib's novel is touching, instructive, empathetic, and honest. I feel Anna's hope for her future, her sadness when it rains, and her love for her family.

Keep an eye out for The Girls at 17 Swann Street, available February 5th, 2019.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC copy of this book and especially to Yara Zgheib for writing the truth about anorexia.
I fully understand that Anna is having issues with an eating disorder and I feel that it is all brought about the fact that she is extremely lonely. She moved away from her family to be with her husband. However, her husband works a lot leaving her by herself. She knows no one. It is obvious that she has low self esteem issues and depression already but apparently her husband forgot that.
So Anna stops eating (why do you name an anorexic Anna?) to get attention from her husband and now she is admitted into a facility.
You refer to someone as "Direct Care"
You use italics when it is someone else speaking and we have to try to figure out who is speaking.
I did not like how Anna reached Stage 3 and was able to go home to her husband at night. You showed us the first night in regards as to how it went but her transition was skipped over entirely.. The next thing I knew she was going on vacation.
We were able to walk with Anna through all of her other stages, I felt rejected. I deserved to see the steps. I have been there with her throughout the entire thing. I was rooting for Mathias.. I deserved more.

Incredible, real emotional read. I found myself relating to all the women of Swann St, and rooting for Anna. I want to know if she made it - was she one of the lucky ones?
Anyone in that situation, or fighting any mental disorder, will be able to relate.
Five stars - it was a heavy read, but so worth it!

Overall this was a quick and easy read. The characters definitely pulled me in and I finished the book in just two days. As another reviewer mentioned, I thought that the onset of Anna's eating disorder felt a bit rushed -- we don't really learn much about how her past experiences led to the development of her illness, which makes it hard for me to believe in her recovery. The epilogue also left me hanging with regards to what happens to the other girls living at 17 Swann Street.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street written by Yara Zgheib tells of a young French woman named Anna who used to dance ballet until she was injured. She moves from Paris to the U.S. with her husband, leaving the only life she’s ever known behind along with her father and sister. We first meet Anna shortly after she enters into a treatment facility after being diagnosed with anorexia.

Through Anna’s memories and thoughts and experiences at the house, we follow her journey through anorexia and recovery. It was undeniably eye-opening to follow Anna’s story. Mostly because I think everyone always assumes that those suffering from anorexia can simply choose to eat and all will be well. However, just like any mental illness, it is not so simple. Yara Zgheib lets us see that struggle, in all of it’s heart-wrenching, raw glory, through Anna. She breaks it down day-by-day, showing Anna’s good days and bad days. She shows how every single minute in the day is a battle and she shows how Anna chooses to fight.

In the end, Anna chooses her life over her disease. She chooses walks with her father and rebuilding her relationship with her sister and returning to the life she built with her husband. She learns so much about herself through her treatment and the friendships she builds with the other girls living at 17 Swann Street. I think perhaps it seemed like she only chose to get better for Matthias and not for any other reason. That isn’t the case but even if she had, why would that have mattered? As long as she found something to keep going for just a single day, that is all that matters in the end. Today it might be Matthias but once she gets stronger and grows and finds herself, it might end up being herself.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street was painful to read at times, especially uncomfortable, because of how difficult this disease can be to manage, the everyday battle to eat, the way that the patients viewed themselves and the food placed before them. Through Yara Zgheib’s lyrical writing, I was left with a better understanding of something that I have never experienced. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity by NetGalley to read and review this novel.