I really loved Anna and empathized with her deep struggle to overcome her disorder. A touching, difficult read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

AWARENESS!.ENLIGHTENING!
So much more than I was expecting it grabs hold of you really shaking the reader up instilling the chaos and crippling reality of anorexia and bulimia of the individual them selves and the people in their lives! You feel the hopeless and helplessness being driven into you through the incredible writing that at times is extremely hard to swallow! Eye opening, raw, emotionally charged and painful, intense, edgy, brutally callous filled twists that make it hard to put down and at times painful to read!

First, thank you to the publisher and author for giving me a digital ARC of this title via netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am so glad I came across this novel on netgalley and that I was selected to read it. I don't know if I would have found it otherwise, and I really enjoyed reading The Girls at 17 Swann Street. The writing, while in a different style with jumps between the narration and excerpts from her medical records, was creative and powerful in telling the story. I appreciated seeing anorexia through both a medical diagnosis and through the personal eyes of someone suffering from it. The book was eye opening, tragic, touching, honest, and hopeful. I was quickly drawn in to the story of the main character and wanted to know what had led to her anorexia and cheered for her to get help. I was touched by her story and by those she met at 17 Swann Street.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an E-ARC of this book. I appreciated how this story was told in the first person which helped me stay in the main character’s head. The one thing that confused me was how the transitions between Anna’s memories and the present day. It may just be because of the formatting since this is an advance reader copy. I learned a lot from reading this book. Anna and the girls at 17 Swann Street are special characters.

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.

I really enjoyed reading about Anna and the other girls at the treatment center. This book gives you an honest look at what women with anorexia go through and how it can be a lifelong struggle to recover. This book hits the shelves on February 5th.

Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review. #netgalley #bookreview #thegirlsat17swannstreet #yarazgheib

Publishing Date: February, 2019
From the Publisher:
Yara Zgheib’s poetic and poignant debut novel is a haunting portrait of a young woman’s struggle with anorexia on an intimate journey to reclaim her life.

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.
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.
Every bite causes anxiety. Every flavor induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.

I am one of those people who doesn't have any friends that have suffered from anorexia, and therefore had no basis for understanding what it is. In this book, Anna becomes my friend, and I learn firsthand what it is like with this terrible disease. Anna and the residents at 17 Swann Street allow me to see their pain through the eyes of a sufferer. I was there, I know what happened.

Set in Missouri, I was intrigued by the thought that perhaps there is such a home here in my state. I would love to know but I believe there are rules against things like that. When I was going through treatment for breast cancer, I was showered with all kinds of support and love. Some groups made throws, painted rocks, sent cards, and knit socks for our cold feet. Do the women in these centers have that kind of support?

This book inspired me to look beyond the body, beyond the mental issues surrounding this disease, into the hearts, souls, and minds of the women with anorexia.

As to the craft of the author, I am reminded of a dream-like, foggy background like in She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. In this case, we see the world through the mind of Anna, who because of her disease, has a cloudy memory. We have to dig to find out what is happening that is real. I also was brought in by the author allowing the caregivers to show their pain as well. It was real and painful.

Even though this is heavy stuff, I highly recommend this book. I believe a book club could find lots of ways to discuss this book and get down to some real understanding of the life of a woman with anorexia.

This is an important book with insights into the causes treatments and recovery of anorexia and other eating disorders. I didn't think I was that interested until I started reading and then I could not put it down. The characters are still in my head. It is poignant, very sad and yet heart-warming. I had no idea about the severity of anxiety, guilt and depression in the patients and the support they receive from one another. Kudos to the author.

I absolutely LOVED this book. So much. The emotions were raw. The way that treatment was described. The thoughts in her head. The way her relationships were laid out. The progress she made....All of it was so REAL. I devoured this book in a little bit more than one sitting. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in real life situations or is interested in things that may not be part of their world. Five shining stars from me.

Though I have not myself had eating disorder issues, I have had numerous friends who have. I have never known what to say or what they want me to say because I do not understand enough about it. I know its incredibly hard and it’s a constant battle. The girls at 17 Swann street helped me to get a little peak inside that battle. I know a little more about the struggle and the constant fear and anxiety that comes with anorexia but also how important the love and support of friends is. I wish I had read this book earlier in life and I hope many people find it.

Anna Roux had it all, the perfect man, the career of her dreams, a loving family in Paris. After an injury put her career as a dancer on hold and a job offer for her husband moved her to the United States, Anna was left with too much time on her hands. Alone with all her imperfections. If only she could loose that one pound or smooth that one roll out. One by one foods left her diet, then meals all together. It put a strain on her family, and denial in her marriage. Until it nearly killed her and that is how she ended up at 17 swan street.

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The group of girls at the home are endearing characters and each had a unique voice. The story reads like an autobiography and a bit of a sad one at that. Anna’s story is not so uncommon but is heroic none the less. In the end it comes down to endurance and strength and sheer will to live and survive an illness of the mind that fights the body.

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The story is written well. Yara Zgheib writes with knowledge and insight that lets you as the reader know the ache and pain and desires of anorexia. If it is not autobiographical then the story was well researched. The Girls at 17 Swan Street will pull at this empathetic nerve and have you rooting not only for Anna, but the other girls as well.

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So my booklings, if you are looking for a serious no nonsense read look no further.

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I give this book a solid 3 out of 5 stars.

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I received a copy of this book from NetGally for a fair and honest review

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Oh my god. This was so... poignant and amazing. I cried SO. FREAKING. MUCH. I really have a lot of respect for the person who wrote this because they captured mental illness in a way no other author I've read has unless they struggled with it themselves.

After reading "The Girls at 17 Swan Street", I am much more informed about eating disorders and the way these conditions can easily evolve into significant life threatening events. I was, alarmingly, able to identify with the main character, Anna. Although I am sixty-one, I am the same height as Anna and weigh just four more pounds than when she was released from the home. This was a shocking revelation to me personally and a wake up call that I should take better care of my health. I thought , "The Girls at 17 Swann Street" was an excellent work of fiction and well written. The clinical, medical, nutritional and mental aspects and effects of eating disorders was well discussed and incorporated into the novel. If I were a health or nutrition instructor I would include this in my curriculum.

While difficult to follow at times, The Girls at 17 Swann Street read like a memoir. By the time I finished it, I wasn't sure if it truly was a memoir or not. I liked that aspect of it because there's something about a book that leaves you questioning whether or not it's real by the time you're finished. It did take me awhile to get into it, though. But. I did enjoy it by the time I finished it. I just wish that it was a little more clear between the flashbacks, her thoughts, and her speaking. I'm torn between believing this is a stream of consciousness type of telling or not. Sometimes it felt too jumpy and other times it helped. Overall. I enjoyed it but I felt like it could have been developed better, from a reader's standpoint.

Oh my gosh.... I don't even know if I will be able to give this novel justice through this review but I will sure try!

The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a breathtakingly beautiful novel that opens your eyes to the demons of eating disorders. Yara Zgheib swept me off my feet with her words that left me haunted, raw, and teary eyed throughout this entire novel.

The story begins with 26 year old Anna entering 17 Swann Street residential treatment center for women that struggle with eating disorders. What I loved most about this novel was the power of showing rather then telling through Yara's words. Yara takes us into Anna's life ever so delicately as the novel alternates between Anna's past of her spiraling down into depression and anorexia and present at the treatment facility.

Yara's talent shines with outlining the struggles that are associated with mental illness. Yara writes with compassion, empathy, love, and honesty in this character drive novel of Ana and her eating disorder. I was blown out of the water with how powerful this novel is.

I found this novel to leave such an imprint on my heart. I highly highly recommend this hauntingly heart breaking read.

5 raw and breathtaking stars!!

Huge thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for the advanced arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book is a beautiful, difficult read.

Anna was a ballet dancer in Paris. When her husband Matthias gets a job in the States, they travel over, Anna with ideas of joining a ballet company. When that doesn’t happen quickly, she decides that training harder and losing more weight is the answer. At 88lbs, Anna passes out, and Matthias is forced to put her in treatment for anorexia, and Anna finds herself at 17 Swann Street.

I have limited knowledge of anorexia, thankfully having never suffered from it myself or known anyone who has. Reading through this book was shocking, heartbreaking, and lovely all in one. Anna struggles immensely with food, and the irrationality behind it is so heartbreaking. The other women who are also in treatment suffer from either the same or different eating disorders, and they all have their own crosses to bear thanks to food. They form fragile friendships, sharing minimal stories about themselves as they try to recover.

This is not a light read. It often left me feeling sad and like I needed to set it aside, so keep that in mind when you decide to pick it up. It is, however, worth the read. It’s challenging but beautiful, and this novel gives great insight into a disease that I previously knew nothing about. Definitely recommend!

The Girls as 17 Swann Street is a novel about Anna, a 26 year old french woman who has moved to the US with her husband, Matthias when he is offered a job he can't pass up. Anna is a former ballerina, and the move away from her family and home has affected her in more ways that he, and even she, realize. As a ballerina, she is used to focusing on her body and weight. However, once she loses basically everything that anchors her to her life, except for her husband, she reacts and overcompensates by spiraling into anorexia. This book begins with Anna being admitted to a residential treatment facility to receive intense treatment for her disease. While in treatment, she struggles with the rules, confinement and boredom, but also forges meaningful relationships with the other women in treatment. The novel is about Anna being forced to decide whether she truly wants to get better, which means giving up the comfort her anorexia provides her.

The following passage hit me like a ton of bricks:
"Everyone around me thinks I have a problem. Everyone around me is scared. I do not have a problem. I just have to lose a little bit of weight. I am scared too, but not of gaining weight. I am terrified of life. Of a sad and unfair world. I do not suffer from a sick brain. I suffer from a sick heart."

I was really thrilled to receive both a paper ARC and a digital ARC of this book, and I am glad that I did. The paper ARC was much easier to read due to some formatting issues and the fact that quotation marks are not used to show dialogue. That being said, this book has very important messages for all of us, not just those who suffer from anorexia, or any other mental illness. It is about the myriad of ways that people cope with life. Some people drink alcohol, some use drugs, some throw themselves into their work, or their children. Some of these ways are just more self-destructive than others. The bottom line is that we are all just trying to make it through the day the best we can.

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is open to learning about the ways in which people seek comfort and control in this sometimes terrifying, sometimes out of control world. I feel like this book has made me a more empathetic person to the struggles of those around me that at first glance, seem like there is a simple solution-start eating, stop drinking alcohol, stop working so hard, etc. We never know the truth behind the struggles of others, and one of the best ways to learn is to be open to their stories. I applaud the author for writing what must have been a very difficult book to write. I wish her, and everyone else struggling in this world, the best and I thank her for sharing this story.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review**

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

This book hit a truly emotional place with me. Its a beautifully written book about eating disorders. The fact that this book focused on an eating disorder that a young woman and not a teenager suffers from which gave me a whole different perspective and created a whole different story than you might have read before. Honest and raw book.

A heartbreaking look into the world of anorexia nervosa, with a side of bulimia [sorry, couldn't help myself].

The background. Anna is French, 26, happily married to Mattias [theirs is a love story]; they have left France for his job and live in St. Louis. Formerly a ballet dancer, she now works checkout in a supermarket and weighs 88 lbs. After trying to ignore her decline, Mattias brings her to 17 Swann Street, a residential treatment center for anorexia.

17 Swann Street is a group home with a strict regimen/schedule--for eating [six meals a day, certain caloric intake], weighing in, BMI measurements, sessions with a psychiatrist, walks [when allowed] and so on. And, interaction with other patients, mostly also with anorexia.

Anna's battles with eating, depression, self-image and fear of failure--to name a few, are repeatedly detailed. In fact, this would be my criticism--BUT, it is a vital part of the story. I understand after reading this book, how the battle must be waged daily and bit by bit. It provided what I believe to be an accurate window to a world unfamiliar to me.

A few phrases resonated with me:

"The ring was glistening rainbows."

"...therapist with a loud smile..."

"...coats that covered their joyous fidgeting."

I'm uncertain how to rate this because I think the book was well done. BUT, the subject matter made it difficult to read. And the repetition [previous note--understandable]--though necessary--detracted/distracted. Still, I learned much about this disease.

I had a hard time reading this book, due to the subject of anorexia. I know someone who struggled with this its not a pretty sight.

Anna is a French ballerina who follows her husband to the states and struggles with anorexia. The story, while well written, isn't one that I feel like I will remember long term. In fact, the plot reminded me a LOT of the movie Girl Interrupted and I don't find it particularly innovative or compelling. Maybe it's just a subject I didn't particularly relate to.