Powerful and poignant. This story of a 26 year old woman facing her eating disorder is one you'll remember. Zgheib has created a special character in Anna, a ballerina married to Matthias. Their move from France to Missouri, of all places, reignites her issues but luckily, she checks into 17 Swann Street. Anna's story, as well as the stories of the other young women, will touch your heart. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Sensitively written and thoughtfully plotted.

Thank you Netgalley for the ebook ARC in exchange for a honest review. When I read what this was about I was intrigued. Upon starting the story of Anna and her battle against anorexia I was immediately drawn in. This book was well written and very inciteful and gave me a glimpse into the daily battle theses women faced. I was rooting for Anna the whole time. Once I started reading it was hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Yara Zgheib for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Like:
- Good representation: adults of various ages and stages in life are shown, not just the stereotypical upper middle class teenage girl
- Each couple of days is punctuated by the staff’s treatment plan update: physiological observations, psychological observations, summary, target calories, meal plans
- Not a fluffy feel good book, but the realistic ups and downs of getting help for an eating disorder

Love:
- The details that go into the world building - In reality it’s only an eating disorder treatment house, but the author makes it seem like a whole different world
- The main character: Anna - kind, relatable, vulnerable, courageous
- The concept and daily life is oddly fascinating — weird?, I know
- The relationship between Anna and her husband, Matthias
- Beautifully written

Dislike:
- That so many of the characters are missing out on life.
- Emm: one of the long term patients. It doesn’t seem realistic that she could be at the treatment center for years. Also she didn’t seem to add much to the story, except as one of the many cautionary tales.

Wish that:
- There was more about the psychological aspects of eating disorder treatment such as group therapy, individual therapy, etc.

Overall, a beautifully written book about the brave struggles of a woman working to survive and eating disorder. It’s hard to explain, but there’s something absolutely captivating about this story.

I was intrigued by the storyline of this book. I thought it would deal more with the pressures of being a ballerina. What I got was a real, heartbreaking, honest look inside a disease that’s difficult for most people to understand. This is a great book to open up discussions for what people are going through. How isolated they must feel.
How easily Anna could pluck food groups away until she was left with popcorn and apples. She was trying to be in control of her body while in reality Anorexia had already taken control of her...filling her head with all the wrong things.
I’ll think about this book for a while. I’ll hope for those struggling with eating disorders. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

4.5 Stars: The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib (Out February 5, 2019)

Suffering from anorexia, Anna's husband brings her to Swann Street for treatment. There Anna goes through therapy and a difficult eating routine. Every move she makes is monitored, including when she can use the bathroom. As readers, we are there with these girls hearing about what has brought them to this house on Swann Street.

When I first read about this book, I did not request it due to fear of it being too graphic for me. When the publisher reached out and asked about a blog tour, I changed my mind. I am so happy I did. I read the book in two sittings and was fully vested in not just Anna, but Matthias (her husband) and every other girl there.

What I Loved: Well written, without stereotyping this illness or giving so much detail just to shock the reader, Zgheib takes us on Anna's journey of recovery. Never suffering from this disease myself, it was heartbreaking to read about what women who struggle with eating disorders go through. EVERY single character. Not one character felt forced or unnecessary.

What I did not Love: I loved Anna's backstory, but the Phillipe part did not seem as necessary. The ballet competitiveness was placed well, but that relationship not so much. Also, the ending seemed a little abrupt. I think the book could have had 50 more pages to give me a more detailed forward in time-- not to make everything neat and clean but to tell more about the recovery process 6 months later.

"I do not suffer from anorexia, I have anorexia. The two states are not the same. I know my anorexia, I understand it better than the world around me."


I was immediately captivated by the lyrical writing and the tone of this novel the second I started reading it. It is a hard book to set down, not because of the plot, but because of the writing itself. The support that the girls give one another lightens my heard when reading about such a heavy subject. I devoured this book in a day. The writing is incredible and while it was sad, it was also full of hope. Most of all, it was real.


"It is too late. I no longer know how to live without anorexia. I do not know who I am without it."


While Anna is a fictitious character she truly comes to life in this book. Her struggle with anorexia is one that many people struggle with and it is a horrifying reality. This book really opened my eyes to what it really is like to be an adult woman who is terrified of food. I have read other novels about eating disorders before and none have felt as genuine as The Girls at 17 Swann Street. I think part of that is because it is written from personal experience, but also because the writing is so incredible.


"There were signs. There are always signs for those who know to look for them. They just never flash in red neon, warning: Danger: Risk of Death."


Yara Zgheib shines light on an incredibly heavy topic, but also filled this book with enough hope and happy moments to keep it from being depressing. This book is so important, especially for those who relate to it's content of eating disorders. WHile reading it I cried, I smiled, I hoped and most of all, I rooted for the girls in the story to get better. Terribly sad, but absolutely riveting, The Girls at 17 Swann Street was a book that I had a hard time setting down once I had started it.


"I know you tried, Anna. I know you really did, but if you could have fixed this you would have. If this were 'just a problem' you and I would not be sitting here."


This is a story based on personal experience that needed to be told. After reading it I felt like I understood more about eating disorders than I thought possible. When a book is written that represent mental or physical illness, I think it is important to be shown truthfully, but also tactfully and Yara Zgheib manages this balance perfectly. I am left stunned that this is her debut novel. All I can say is to give this book a chance. It is important, and it is real.


"Anorexia is the same girl with the same story, told over and over again. It does not matter what she is called; her name designates nothing. My name is Anna but anorexia got rid of it, my feelings, body, husband, life."

Strongly written, poignant storyline and memorable characters makes this debut novel one to share. Heartfelt and emotional story about the life of an anorexic and the people in her life, before, during and after treatment.

I have to say that this book really brought things into clarity for me on the facts of anorexia, as well as other eating disorders and all of its other problems. I will not forget this book because I was so emotionally invested in this book from the first chapter.

Anna is a woman in her mid twenties, who is being driven to 17 Swann Street to enter a treatment program for anorexia. Here we read about her and other girls. Anna is admitted weighing 88 pounds. It is sad to see how these girls suffer so much just to get food down, and he restricted life they are about to live.

The plot moves rapidly through this book, and through it all we see what the eating disorders do to Anna's body, mind and spirit, and the others as well. This book was heartbreaking with a sad outcome for some of the girls.

This book also explores how their disease has touched lives of their families, friends, parents, children, spouses. This disease has far reaching consequences for loved ones, and shame from the ones who are suffering from it. and losses they to suffer.

I am glad I read this book and learned about the subject of eating disorders, I had never given it much thought, and I think everyone should read this. I gave this book 5 stars!

It’s kind of hard to say I liked this book, but I thought it was well done. It was well written and sad and lovely all at the same time. The formatting was strange, not sure if it was just my ARC copy, but otherwise I would recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this book.

I requested this novel, because I was intrigued by the main character's backstory -- that she had once been a professional dancer but now due to a struggle with anorexia, had lost her career. This is not, however, a book about a dancer. It is a book about a patient in a fight for her life -- a battle being waged by a woman against herself.

The beauty of this book is its raw and unapologetic depiction of anorexia. It gives the reader access to the thought processes of someone consumed by their illness in a sort of stream of consciousness rumination as she navigates her way through treatment. It reveals the inner workings of the mind of someone suffering from an eating disorder, all the twisted logic and despair. (I also appreciated that Anna came from a loving family and had, for all intents and purposes, a perfect marriage. This disease does not discriminate.)

I do wish there had been more about her dancing. Ballet is what sparks this fire. And it is also what she ultimately sacrifices. But there is very little about her life outside of her disease (beyond her relationship with her husband).

A compelling and quick read.

(Note: this book is not for anyone who might be triggered by the use of specific weight and BMI measurements.)

This is a powerful, raw story of anorexia, of how it takes hold and won't let go. It's also the story of recovery, and though there isn't a "happy ending," it's full of hope. The first person account elicits emotion and understanding in a way that medical explanations can't. The juxtaposition of Anna's story against the clinical forms and assessments and the third person flashbacks provides a balance to the narrative. This is not an easy read, but I'm glad I picked it up. It will stay with me for some time.

Fascinating look at anorexia and one young woman's fight to fight her way out òf it hold over her. 17 Swan Avenue is a treatment center for young women with anorexia...the book reads very much like Anna's diary...and is a riveting story of her fight to get back to "normal". Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This book was extremely difficult to read but very eye opening to the awful disease of anorexia. I have a family member struggling with this currently and it breaks my heart to know that she struggles with this every day.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street

A beautiful yet haunting tale of Anna’s struggle to eat and to survive.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SUMMARY
Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to St. Louis, Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears —imperfection, failure, loneliness—she spirals down anorexia and depression until she weighs a mere 88 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. Anna, together with the other women in the house must fight their demons every minute of every day to survive. Many do not make it.

REVIEW
Anorexia is a difficult subject to read about. Particular if you know someone that has suffered from it. But this book is worth the read. I walked away with a much better appreciation and understanding and I am so glad I read it. THE GIRLS AT 17 SWANN STREET is a beautiful, yet haunting story of Anna’s struggle to eat and her struggle to survive.

The story is about Anna’s journey as an inpatient and the women she encounters there. The other patients like Emm, Valerie and Julia help show the many faces eating disorders can hide behind. My favorite part was Anna’s amazing relationships with the men in her life. Both her gorgeous husband, Matthias, and her devoted Parisienne father. The descriptive writing captures Anna relationships in such a way as to give you hope for her. Anna is loved and she loves. I loved Anna phone calls to her father in Paris when she was allowed out of the house for a group walk in the mornings. I loved the advice her father had shared with her as a child that resonants even more so today, ‘Keep walking Anna. Don’t stop. Keep walking, Anna.’

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is Yara Zgheib’s debut novel. She is a Fulbright scholar with a masters degree in Security Studies and a PhD in International Diplomacy. She is a writer for several US and European magazines. Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Yara Zgheib for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Published February 5, 2019
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

I give The Girls at 17 Swann Street 4 stars. I read this in about 24 hours because I could not put it down! I forgot how enthralling books like this are for me. When I was in high school, some of the most memorable books for me were books like The Bell Jar, The Virgin Suicides, James Frey books, (this was before the truth came out), books about teens who had been committed for various struggles, and even a book about Munchhausen by proxy. But I cannot say I’ve ever read a book where the main character suffers from an eating disorder, and oh my goodness, it was so believable I had to set it down and take a breather. Her character is written in such a real way, the way it was in her head, I panicked with her, my heart raced or stopped with her and I was truly worried about her. I found that this book was well-researched, I enjoyed the fact that there were definitions, but not in a Lemony Snicket kind of way, (explaination for children), and I found the chart notes to be fascinating and helpful to give context to the story. I also found the format to make the book easier to read. All in all I really did enjoy this book and recommend it to anyone that may want to learn more about treatment for eating disorders in a fictional story.
Trigger warnings: there is talk about traumatic pasts, clinical explanations about eating disorders, but in a delicate way, and discussion about self-harm and suicide.

This book took me by surprise by how incredibly honest Anna was. I’ve seen documentaries but I honestly never have read a story about this illness. I am so glad this story is coming out and told by one character’s truth. While I don’t know how close to accuracy this is, I said WTF several times. Girls at 17 Swann St helped me understand what someone suffering is thinking and going through. I appreciate the author putting me in Anna’s head. I felt for her family, but getting Anna’s side helped put a bigger picture together and made me see a new perspective, everything isn’t just black and white. I will admit the ending felt rushed and I am happy for Anna, that’s one part that I felt could’ve been a little more.

Anna Roux was a touching and honest character. She's a woman who has anorexia and weighs just 88 pounds. She's been checked into a full time residential program at 17 Swann Street.
The plot was fast paced and the chapters were short with lots of dialog. The women in treatment with Anna show many different sides to eating disorders and the terrible toll the disease takes on their bodies and spirits. The anorexia has affected Anna’s marriage and relationships with her father and sister. They are all understandably devastated.
I learned a lot about the subject and have gained a new understanding and sympathy for the women who suffer with this illness. It's a candid and uncomfortable story but it was hopeful too.

Interesting topic: Anorexia

Anna Roux age 26 is brought to 17 Swann Street by her husband to be treated for anorexia.

At 17 Swann Street there are lots of rules and everything is monitored. There are 7 women currently at the center. 5 of them including Anna are anorexic. The other 2 are bulimic.

Anna soon makes friends with Valerie, Emm and Julia. Emm has been at the center 4 years (this is her 4th stint).

Meal times brings out everyone's great struggles, everyone must eat what they're given . After 3 refusals to eat a feeding tube is placed in them.

The meals are prepared to gain weight: to gain 2-4 pounds each week per person.

Anna is given the choice to plan all her meals once a week. There are 3 meals and 3 snacks that are to be eaten every day.at 2-3 hour intervals. If a meal or snack is unfinished then it is served at the next meal or snack in addition to the food prepared for the meal or snack

She can choose 7 substitute meal choices for the week.

Valerie curs herself in addition to being anorexic and one day after getting a hold of a pair of scissors she is taken away by ambulance. Anna later learns Valerie has died.

Anna gets more privileges as she "cooperates" . One day she hides what she deems as an "excessive" amount of cream cheese in her napkin and throws it away. Unfortunately that is discovered, so she is given a liquid nutritional supplement to drink to make up for not eating the calories in the cream cheese..


The next day she refuses her meals and her snacks thereby warranting feeding tube be placed in her.

The nutritionist tells Anna she must eat an alarming number of calories per day, ,more than she would eat if she were healthy since she's been starving her body and she has to repair the damage to done to it.


Julia tries to sneak some sweetener packages and becomes combatant. She hits one of the staff and is taken away from the center

During her time at the center Anna's husband continues to visit her.

After reaching her lowest point Anna decides to get better and as she does she is allowed to eat out with her husband once a week but she is given instructions on what she must eat.

She improves enough to be able to leave the center and go to a daily treatment center only from 8 am to 6 pm and allowed to have dinner and a snack at home and sleep at home..


At the end of the book, which is 6 months in the future we see Anna and her husband preparing to fly to Paris.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “The Girls at 17 Swann Street” by Yara Zgheib, St. Martin’s Press, Publishing February 5, 2019

Yara Zgheib, Author of “The Girls at 17 Swann Street” has written a poignant, heart-wrenching, emotional, enthralling novel. The author has an amazing way of writing a novel and describing the characters that is feels so realistic in every way. The Genres for this story are Fiction and Women’s Fiction, but it reads so much like a biography or non-fiction book. The timeline of the story is in the present , but goes to the past and future when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her characters as dysfunctional, troubled, complex, and complicated. This is a story of sisterhood, emotional support, growth, loss, love, hope and faith.

“The Girls at 17 Swann Street” is a novel of all kind of women with the most extreme of eating disorders that have to make a choice to live or die. When they enter 17 Swann Street, they are signing many of their rights away. There is almost no where else to go.

Anna Roux is one of the main characters, and has entered 17 Swann Street at 88 pounds. She is begging her loving husband to take her home. Many of her bodily functions have shut down, and there is a plan set in place to restore her health. Anna was once a professional dancer, who never felt good enough. Anna is confronted with all kinds of restrictions. She is given 6 meals a day that she has to eat, or there are unpleasant consequences. As a patient , Anna has a team working with her. She also becomes vested in some of the other girls that are there.

Unfortunately as the statistics show, a high percentage of the girls are not able to make it. This is an important book that describes honestly what happens in the world of people with anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders. I would highly recommend this book for readers who have experienced or know someone who has had an eating disorder, or want to try to understand more about this. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib
Source: NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press
My Rating: 5/5 stars

I only intended to read a few chapters of this book, just get a start on it before sleeping. Several hours later at 4 a.m. I finished this book and woke a few hours later with zero regrets.

There is no preface, no baby steps to this book just an immediate and totally appropriate jump into the deep end from the first page. Anna Roux is 26 years old and weighs just 88 pounds when her beloved husband checks her into the treatment center at 17 Swann Street. Nearly every system in her body is damaged, her brain tells her food is the enemy, the thing that will keep her from being perfect, and yet, she still isn’t convinced she has a problem. Thankfully, the staff at 17 Swann Street understand Anna’s situation perfectly and know how to help her; they simply must convince her she has a problem and wants help.

Understandably, Anna’s first days at 17 Swann Street are some of the most traumatic of her life. The staff, though seemingly uncaring, have only her best interest at heart yet Anna is too broken, scared, and defiant to see the situation clearly. All Anna can see are the treacherous foods before her she is required to eat if she doesn’t want to have a feeding tube shoved up her nose and down into her stomach. What’s more, the staff, her team, want her to talk in private and group therapy, acknowledge the pain and circumstances that have led her to this place, and make food choices from a menu that is filled with nothing but damnable foods meant to invade her body and force her to gain weight.

To say her time at 17 Swann Street is difficult and sometimes debilitating doesn’t even come close to describing Anna’s experience. The only things that seem to get her through the minutes and the meals are knowing her beloved husband will come to see her every single night and the other women, all equally broken who also occupy rooms at 17 Swann Street. Her husband, though loving and supportive and cannot even begin to understand Anna’s situation, yet the other women understand her perfectly. As the days go by, Anna slowly begins to know the other women, their individual stories, and their demons. She begins to understand a kind of support she has never known and a kind of fear she never thought possible. Not all the women at 17 Swann Street have Anna’s strength and when several die or are carried away to a more intensive treatment/level of care, Anna understands, if she doesn’t battle her own demons, she will die!

The Bottom Line: I was completely engrossed in this story from the very beginning. Zgheib doesn’t just tell a story but lays out a medical study with the notes from Anna’s medical team; the startling facts and numbers of a real anorexic’s life in black and white. While Anna is the primary focus of the book, she isn’t an island and in many ways, her interactions with the other women very much define her own journey. Anna sees successes, achievements, and spectacular failures in her housemates which all help her get her own thoughts and feelings in order. While these women are by no means friends, they are a support and, in some cases, a warning to a woman who finally realizes she wants to be healthy and commits to her own recovery. Make no mistake, this isn’t a jaunt toward a completely implausible rainbows and unicorns ending, but a long, winding, and difficult journey of a woman who will be healthy but will also struggle with her demons every day for the rest of her life. In this way, I found this book to be even better and completely appreciated the truth and the honesty of the writing. This is a hard topic, a hard read, a hard story, but it is beautifully and honestly written and that gives it and the men and women who struggle with this terrible illness a strength.