Happy Wednesday, everyone! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Girls at 17 Swann Street, and thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the invitation! Today I have a review of this beautiful book available now!
About the Book:
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.
Yara Zgheib’s poetic and poignant debut novel is a haunting, intimate journey of a young woman’s struggle to reclaim her life. 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.
My Thoughts:
17 Swann Street…It’s the peachy pink house where patients with eating disorders are sent for treatment, not always by their own decision; the condition is so insidious, it can be difficult to decide that for yourself.
Anna Roux arrives at Swann Street as a former professional dancer. She gets sicker and sicker and finds herself weighing less than ninety pounds. At the house, she meets Emm, Valerie, and Julia. They seek comfort together and walk the rigorous path of treatment.
Yara Zgheib brings these women’s stories to life with lyrical writing. It is a dark, haunting, authentic journey, with bumps, bruises, baby steps forward, and leaps backward.
The girls learn that through each other, the path to healing is easier. The balance of that dynamic is tenuous, formidable, emotional.
I was enrolled in dance at a young age. I was tall for my age and that would dismay my dance teachers who wanted a perfect “formation” line. I couldn’t control my height, and early on, I equated “tall” with “big.” When dance becomes a big part of your identity, how others define you becomes ingrained in your soul. So, in that respect, I could relate to the topics in this book, to some of the feelings of the women.
Overall, I found The Girls at 17 Swann Street to be a thoughtful, important, realistic portrayal of this disease. There’s brutal honesty and steadfast hope and everything in between present in Anna’s story.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
About the Author:
Yara Zgheib is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University and a PhD in International Affairs in Diplomacy from Centre D’études Diplomatiques et Stratégiques in Paris. She is fluent in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. Yara is a writer for several US and European magazines, including The Huffington Post, The Four Seasons Magazine, A Woman’s Paris, The Idea List, and Holiday Magazine. She writes on culture, art, travel, and philosophy on her blog, “Aristotle at Afternoon Tea.”
Have you read The Girls at 17 Swann Street, or do you plan to? Happy reading! ~ Jenni THR
Sounds like a really well-written book about a difficult topic. I also did dance and was tall for my age. Like you, it always felt like it meant “big”. Outstanding review!!!
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Thanks, Mack! It took me a while to be grateful for the “tall.” I hope you are, too, now. ♥️
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My new Audible read.
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I look forward to what you think of the audio, Bill!
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I think we can all line up with some aspect of this wonderfully told story. Glad you got to red it, Jennifer!
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Thank you, Marialyce! I absolutely agree with you! ♥️
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Shame on those teachers for making you feel awkward about your height, Jennifer. 😡 I’m short. 😔 I’ve always thought being tall was cool. 😌
Thanks for your review, and for sharing your personal experience that relates to the book.😊
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Thanks so much, Laurie. ♥️ It took me a long time to accept my height as something positive, but I’m grateful now! Most of the time!
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Good. 🥰 Just remember, being short has its disadvantages. I can’t reach things on the top shelves at the grocery store. Frustrating. When I buy clothes the sleeves are usually too long. 🤦🏽♀️ And I get fatter faster because there’s hardly anywhere for the food to go when I eat it.
I hope you feel even better now. 😊
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I was pleased with how the author handled this subject – with compassion and empathy…and hope. Oh and her husband. What a guy!
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Agreed, Jaymi! Loved the husband, too! Youare so right about the compassion and empathy. It was all written with such care. ♥️
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I heard your connection throughout your review, Jennifer. Lovely and sensitive…well done.
This disease is just insidious. I had a young woman working for me, years ago, who suffered from anorexia. The toll it took on her family (we became closely connected because of the disease) was heart wrenching.
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Thank you, Jonetta. I was hoping my review would come across as sensitively as the manner in which the author wrote the book. I hope the young woman you know is in a place of healing. ♥️
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Very nice review. It sounds like this author took a very difficult topic and portrayed well. While I never had to deal with anorexia, I went to performing arts schools in my youth and had lots of friends in the dance program who were constantly dealing with this sort of pressure. It was heartbreaking. I’m always glad when an author takes a topic like this and humanizes it, helps people understand how difficult it is.
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Absolutely, Denise. She definitely humanized it and handled it with such care that hopefully made it approachable and also modeled empathy. Thank you so much for stopping by to read my review. ♥️
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Wonderful review and picture, Jennifer. I am reading this one now and enjoying it. Happy Wednesday! 💕😊📚🌹
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Thank you, Virginia! I’m so happy you are enjoying this book! Let me know what you think at the end! ♥️
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Enjoyed blog tour also. 😍🌸
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Thank you! 🌺
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Great review, Jennifer. I have a friend who went to NYC to be a ballet dancer and struggled with bulimia for years, which was just so heartbreaking and scary to watch her go through; she’s recovered but says that it’s a struggle at times not to obsess about her weight or binge and purge. It sounds like eating disorders were handled very well in the book. I hope you’re having a great day! xoxo
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Thanks, Steph! They were handled with such care and authenticity. It was a beautiful book! I hope you’ve had a lovely Wednesday too! Xoxo ♥️
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You’re welcome! It sounds beautiful. ❤ I did, thanks! Xoxo
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Wonderful review. I enjoy stories which have realistic issues with character growth.
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Thanks, Anne! Me, too! This was well-done!
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Beautiful review of a beautiful book! So thrilled that you loved it! 💛
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Thank you, Berit! It was so special! ♥️
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Wow wonderful review my friend! I have no idea what it must be like to have anorexia…..I love food too much!😂💙
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Thanks, Sus! This was such a beautiful book! ♥️
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Sounds like this author did a great job handling a very sensitive topic. Wonderful review!
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Thanks, Suzanne! She really did a wonderful job.
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Love this photo and your review. This was an amazing book.
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Thank you so much, DeAnn! It really was. So memorable and emotional.
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Lovely review. Did you find it to be an emotional read? Was the subject matter handled respectfully?
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Oh, yes, super emotional and definitely handled with so much care. ♥️
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Thank you so much for this Jenni it sounds like a moving read! I have a friend that I think would really benefit from this so I’m passing your recommendation on. 😘
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It was so lovely and handled with care, Beth! I hope your friend enjoys it too! ♥️
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This sounds like a very interesting book dealing with quite a hard hitting topic that I can imagine is hard to get right. I like that you said it includes brutal honesty and steadfast hope because I like those two things in books like these.
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Me, too, Gerry. It makes it more real and easier to connect to the storyline and characters. I keep thinking about this one.
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Sometimes the best books are the ones that stick around despite the subject matter. I like finding ones that make me take a moment or two even after I’ve read them.
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Awesome review!
Sounds like a thought provoking read. I’m interested 🙂
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Thanks, Norrie! It was SO good. The characters really stay with you and so much emotion!
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I’m curious about this book. Looking at the cover I had no idea it would deal with some difficult subject matter
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It’s a wonderful read, Shell. I read an article written by the author and how deeply personal this book was. It made me love it all the more.
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I’m going to put this on my library list!
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