Girls at 17 Swann Street was a tough one for me to stomach-- pun intended-- hence the delay in writing a review. Having struggled with my own relationship with food for as long as I can remember, I related to this book in a way that felt more truthful than most fictional accounts. The constant thoughts, the push-and-pull, the one step forward, two steps back, it's all portrayed with uncomfortable accuracy in Zgheib's debut novel. As frustrating as I found it, reading about Anna's ongoing battle, I also know intimately what it's like to allow your fears of food to wreak havoc on every element of your life, including your relationships. I've read a lot of accounts of mental illness and eating disorders, usually in memoirs, but sometimes fictional as well, and I don't think I've seen any account explore the destruction of interpersonal relationships as well as this novel. It's a hard read, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is prone to being triggered, but I do recommend it to those who are "on the other side", so to speak-- to anyone who has loved someone with an eating disorder, to anyone who has an eating disorder but is actively seeking treatment and is able to honestly evaluate what he or she is dealing with. There's not a ton of plot here, but that allows the character study to be fully explored and felt, which I appreciate fully. Kudos to the publisher for releasing such an honest portrayal, without forcing it to be "more dramatic".

Very heartbreaking, but a story that needs to be read! For anyone, even those lucky enough not to struggle with extreme body issues, this book is a good stepping stone to teaching others about it and how they can help, Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is an honest, eye opening account of the day by day struggles of a 26 year old woman’s plight with anorexia. Anna Roux is a Paris born ballerina, who lost her position in the corps de ballet after an injury. Three years later, she has followed her husband Matthias to America. Unable to find a job at a local ballet company, Anna works at a grocery store, and spends most of her days exercising and avoiding food. The story really begins one evening when Matthias has found her, collapsed in the bathroom, and decides it is finally time to take her to get help. She is committed to an eating disorder rehabilitation program at 17 Swann Street.

Anna, who would fast for a day before she knew she had to eat in public, and only willingly eat apples and popcorn is now put on a meal plan with 6 meals a day. Every bite is torture and it takes help from the other girls to get her through the first few days. As Anna progresses at the house, she reflects on her life with Matthias, her childhood, and what lead her to this point. The other women are each struggling with their own disorders, and we get a small glimpse into what life looks like for them.

I am fascinated by reading about other people’s struggles with illness, and love reading for giving me this opportunity to see into other people’s lives. Although this novel shows the tortuous, all-consuming side of the disease, it also leaves room for hope and gave me a new appreciation for the small things, like going to coffee shops and sleeping next to my fiancé each night. The focus of the novel is really on Anna, and her story. Because of this my one picky thing is that the title is a bit misleading. We do learn a little bit about some of the girls in the house, but many are introduced as just a name. I also couldn’t understand the symbolism of calling some of the staff at 17 Swann Street “Direct Care”. Others had names, but very little characterization so this was lost on me.

I really did love this book- I could not put it down once I started. I especially adored the relationship between Anna and her husband Matthias. I appreciate that this novel showcases how disease affects a truly loving and healthy relationship. I am very grateful that Yara Zgheib chose to tell this story. Clearly from the acknowledgements some aspects are personal to her, and it shows through her honest, harrowing writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel really shines a light on otherwise silent eating disorders. I think most people have a love/hate relationship with food, but I think for most it’s more a fear of overindulgence. I think this fact is what makes understanding this disease so difficult, or difficult to empathize with. I liked that the novel was told from Anna’s POV. It allows us to understand what she experienced minute by minute during her day, which helped me to better understand how people struggle within this disease. My most important take away is that these diseases are not about food. Food is used as a tool to cope with their emotional struggles. Hopefully, with more open conversations about these diseases more people can get the help they need. Reason for 4 star rating: transitions could have been more smoothly done. Still well done.

‘I am not undernourished. I am starved for a meal I would not have to eat alone. For someone to love me and tell me that I am more than enough, as I am.’

Our striving to be thin has become an obsession. We indulge in costly diet plans, spend hours exercising, cut our food intake, all because the image of success and beauty is a thin body. If you are a dancer, a figure skater, a gymnast, or any other athlete, weight is the foremost idea in you mind. Don't gain an ounce, don't get any taller, don't grow and most of all don't eat. In this book, The Girls At Swann Street, we are taken into the life of a young woman, Anna Roux, as she and others battle the disease known as anorexia. They live together at 17 Swan Street where everything is monitored all in the hopes that they will somehow rediscover the world of eating. Anna is married and is loved by her husband, but he is at his wits ends as he watches the woman he loves disappear before his eyes.

Anna had been a dancer studying ballet in Paris. She was totally focused on dance and of course staying thin is ever so critical if one wants to dance. Perhaps if she weighed less she could jump higher, spin faster, be someone special, something meaningful, something she doesn't hate when she looks in the mirror. She and her husband move to America, and Anna's life and her own self begin that spin into decline and possible death.

Anna, eats less and less and her weight in a 5'4" body drops to a precarious 88 pounds. She is dying from the inside out. She is admitted to Swan Street in the hopes that this program will save her. Her husband is her ally, but that doesn't seem to be enough. She discovers the girls who with her, are suffering from the same inability to place food into their mouth. They have lost the joy of eating, and have lost the joy of living. Will this program save Anna and the other girls, or will they succumb to the ravages of anorexia?

This compelling story comes at the reader like a train rambling along a track that is filled with anguish and sadness. This is a story that many know, that many find themselves in, that many will die from. I heartily recommend this book to all and feel that you will be enhanced and informed by Anna's story.

As an aside, my oldest daughter was a competitive ice skater for eight years. I know, first hand how coaches would frown if weight was gained. They would be upset if a growth spurt set in for that would throw off a child's balance. They would try to control the life of a child to further their own ambitions to maybe someday be the coach of a winner. My daughter's ballet teacher would scream at parents waiting for their children that the parents were too fat. At that time, I weighed 110 pounds. I couldn't even, though I was an adult, get that thought out of my mind. Was I indeed too fat?

It's insidious. It comes upon you, wrecks your mind as you constantly think and live weight.
Is it all worth it?
I watched and interacted with the children, the ballerinas at Lincoln Center. What they ate and placed on their lunch trays was pitiful, all in that attempt to be thin.
Watch the TV, look at magazines, listen to jokes, we worship thinness. We look to normal people as if they are obese, and we fat shame those who have weight issues. This is who we are so is Anna and the other girls's stories so hard to understand?
Thank you to Yara Zgheib, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this moving story.

Anna Roux, 26, weighs 88 pounds and her body is shutting down; her last hope is 17 Swann Street, a residential treatment center for women with eating disorders. What follows is the sometimes heartbreaking, yet hopeful story of Anna's road to recovery. Her journey is paved with the support of the Emm, Valerie and Julia, who, like Anna, struggle every day against their diseases. Can Anna get her life, her love and the Anna she remembers herself to be back again?

The Girls at 17 Swann Street, is an intimate look at anorexia, of finding the will to live, being brave enough to fight the voices and learning to accept yourself. I devoured this book full of insightful dialogue and I highly recommend it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advanced review copy; all opinions are my own.

Anna was once a dancer, living in Paris and deeply in love with her husband. After her husband moves to America for a job opportunity, Anna follows and finds herself deeper and deeper into her internal struggles.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is the story of Anna's time in an eating disorder clinic. This is not just a story of Anna, but of also Emm, and Victoria. Of other women struggling with Anorexia, of women who are aware of the disease, of women who have lived in denial for far too long.

This isn't a light, fun read. This deals with mental pain and struggle. Of secrets. Of internal pressure of be perfect, to be in control.

Yara Zgheib has written a powerful book about a traumatic situation. She's able to cut to the pain and struggle of these women.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

A story set in Marietta, Montana brings together two people with great differences in their past, but both making changes in their lives. I love small town romance stories and throw in a cowboy with a bit of checkered past and I am hooked. Now I have to buy more books by Ann B. Harrison!

I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for my open, honest review.

I was given an ARC to review this one through NetGalley. This is another one of those - so glad they did situations!

Anna, originally from France, moves into Bedroom 5 at 17 Swann Street and that's where this tale takes off. She's a dancer but had an injury that has kept her from going back to what she loves. Her husband, Matthias, receives a job offer to work in the US and she's all for it. It is here that she goes through a period of trying to find herself and pick up pieces of things she may have lost in herself over time. She struggles with if she'll ever dance again and if things will get better in her marriage.

She finds her way to 17 Swann Place which is a treatment center for women. The door then opens up for exploring hidden attributes about her personality that have been hidden for some time; her eating disorder. The reason that she may struggle with current issues. As a clinical mental health psychology student, I loved the real exploratory level of mental health that was explored. From intake, to finding hidden issues, treatment and resiliency this tale was fantastic. I really hope that a lot more people read this novel and pick up on some real-world, sometimes hidden, disorders that take place and how to help. This is an amazing novel!

This was an intriguing and thought provoking read. A good insight into what living with an eating disorder must be like. I would have like to see the characters fleshed out a bit more, because I felt as the reader I really didn't get to know them as well as I could have.

Told from the perspective of Anna, the girl with anorexia, this book was completely different from other books I had read. This was not only heartbreaking but also informative. I loved the role that Anna's husband, Matthias, in the book. He was as supportive as he knew how to be and Anna's evolution throughout the book was powerful. I respected the characters and the struggles! It is important the the author portrayed the other girls at 17 Swann as although there with struggles, they were different to each girl Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Anna Roux is a Parisian ballerina who has recently moved to St. Louis from France with her husband for his job. Anna is a girl who likes sparkling wine in the late afternoon, ripe and juicy strawberries in June, quiet mornings, and grey and foggy cities. Anna is also a girl with debilitating anorexia of the restricting type.

After limiting her food intake to only apples and popcorn, twenty six year old Anna is admitted at only 88 pounds to 17 Swann Street, a residential facility that helps women overcome their eating disorders. At 17 Swann Street, meals are carefully prepared primarily for high-caloric value. Those meals are then monitored to be sure that every bite is eaten. The girls are weighed in and have their vitals taken at 5:30 AM daily. Exercise is regulated to prevent the girls from losing weight, but those with good behavior can go on the morning walk. Even restroom use is not a matter of privacy at 17 Swann Street for those with bulimia, or self-harming and suicidal tendencies, as the girls must ask permission and be monitored while utilizing it.

Anna, who once had a beautiful life and a husband who adored her, no longer recognizes the woman she has become. While at times she wants to get better, more often, her anorexia consumes her life. Yara Zgheib’s eye-opening debut novel, The Girls at 17 Swann Street, follows Anna on her difficult and harrowing journey in the treatment facility. The book follows Anna day in and day out as she agonizes over every morsel that she puts in her body, and celebrates the days that she makes it through okay. Zgheib’s novel opens readers’ eyes and minds to what it is like to be a young woman trying desperately to control her life by controlling her body. If intriguing character studies are your cup of tea, then you will likely thoroughly enjoy this novel. With a compelling, heartfelt story and memorable characters, I immensely look forward to more of Zgheib’s work in the years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Anna arrives at 17 Swann Street with Matthias her husband not knowing what to expect. The women there are there because of eating disorders and support each other as much as they can. Emm has been there for 4 years off and on. She tries to be strong for the other women there and help them. Julia and Valerie are both struggling. Matthias comes to visit his wife every evening trying to support her and let her know he is on her side and loves her . This book shows the struggle and how hard it is for these women to try and capture their life again. The tricks their minds play to keep them from eating and breaking bad habits. The hurt the families feel and helplessness. Everyone wants to see their loved ones get better. This book showed me how difficult it is for the women and families.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from Netgalley.com and the publisher St. Martin's Press. Thanks to both for the opportunity to read and review.

There are rare books that come along that grab your attention and demand to be read. From the cover photography to the opening sentences, Ms. Zgheib has created one of those books.

A non-flinching look into a women's descent in anorexia and her stay in a residential treatment facility. Ms. Zgheib has written a deeply moving and human story full of characters that you'll find yourself caring about. She does not sugar coat her characters' anxieties and fears. Descriptive and emotional without melodrama.

I read it in one day. It is unputdownable. 5 out of 5. Add this book to your TBR list now.

This tale of one woman's struggle with a eating disorder leads to being involved with others when she is placed in a treatment facility. The story is written from the very real perspective of one person's struggle with the addiction of an eating disorder.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was so well done. The central focus is of girls at an inpatient clinic that are suffering from eating disorders. Anna, the main character, is suffering from anorexia. This book takes the reader through her journey of trying to fight this disease. Eating disorders are extremely complicated and can seem impossible to get through to someone that is suffering from one. 

I appreciated how this book explored Anna's history and how past experiences triggered behaviors that led to her suffering from anorexia. This book is not an easy read, but it is an important one. I think that it can help show readers how anorexia is not just not wanting to eat. I like how the book emphasizes the mental health side to this disorder because it truly is a disease. The characters in this book aren't magically fixed. The author walks the reader through the ups, downs, and everything in between when it comes to eating disorders. She wrote about the challenges and hardships. If Anna wants to get better, she has to change her entire way of thinking, which is not an easy feat.

This debut novel by Yara Zgheib gives us a glimpse into the lives of the women living and being treated at 17 Swann Street. Each woman has her own back story and reasons for being there but our main character is Anna, an ex-ballerina struggling with anorexia and depression. It was disturbing and shocking to read what goes on in the mind of someone with anorexia, how excruciating each meal can be for them. It was important to have this book told in first person to truly get an understanding of that she was going through. Although I enjoyed this novel and think the topic is extremely important I was a little disappointed overall. There wasn’t enough character development for the other girls at the treatment center. We only got little snippets of their lives and maybe that is an accurate reflection of how it is but I wanted to know more! It was hard to get truly invested without getting to know them on a deeper level. The writing was also confusing because it was constantly moving back and forth in time. Quotation marks were not used so it also was hard to follow conversation. Overall I would recommend this book because it shed light on an important topic but there were a few detractors highlighted above that kept me from giving it a higher rating. That you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-galley!

It starts in bedroom 5 in a pink house on 17 Swann street.she didn't pack much but a little bit of make up not that she was going anywhere.she displays some pictures in her room including her wedding photo to Matthias from three years ago. "my name is Anna .Im a dancer,a constant day dreamer . I like sparkling wine in the late afternoon ,ripe and juicy strawberries in June.Quiet mornings make me happy,dusk makes me blue.Like Whistler,I like gray and foggy days.I believe in the rich taste of real vanilla ice cream,melting stickily from a cone.i believe in love . Im madly in love ,I'm madly loved."Anna is 26 years old but feels at least 60 years old.I liked the description of what's going on.Anna is at the house for anorexia.she lost her breasts and shrank into herself becoming all bones.Anna weighs 88 pounds at her intake.Anna has troubles with her heart,organs and brain from anorexia.They moved from Paris to America living in an apartment.Matthias is often at work.Anna remembers when she first met Matthias bumping into him sharing fries and wine leading to their January wedding.Anna had a hard time dancing and finding a job in america.her anorexia starts off simple dieting to lose a few extra pounds. I like learning more about what could be the reasoning for Annas anorexia.

Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears – imperfection, failure, loneliness – she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile women with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran; quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and face six meals a day.

First, let me say that I did not expect to love this book. I was interested and curious about the story and wanted to see where it would go, but, let me repeat, I did NOT expect to love this book.

This book was so well written. I am a licensed medical professional (professional reader in my spare time) and I know how difficult it is to write medical notes. The author did a FANTASTIC job of writing medical notes throughout this book. Also, being a medical professional, I did not realize how little I actually knew about anorexia nervosa. The physiologic component and the mental component were so well explained that I felt the emotions of Anna, the main character. I was truly rooting for her the entire time and when she would "fail" i felt like I was failing because I connected so well to her.

I read this book very quickly and at no point did I feel like i just needed to get through it or that I had committed to reading it so finish it I must. The first few pages drew me in and set a tone for the book and those were all it took to hook me in.

I am SO GRATEFUL to NetGalley and St. Martins press for giving me advance readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was wonderful and powerful. It felt very realistic and not contrived. I cared about the main character and wanted her to succeed, but I also was able to have a sense of the minor characters and their emotions. The entire story was beautifully woven.