The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib

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.

Genres
Fiction
Contemporary
Mental Health
Audiobook
Adult
Adult Fiction
Literary Fiction

Book Review by Kelly Lacey

The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib is a haunting and gripping audiobook that offers an intimate portrayal of a young woman’s struggle with mental health. Through an all-too-real and lyrical voice, Anna Roux is brought to life in all her fragile complexity as she battles anorexia and depression, with only the unwavering support of her peers at 17 Swann Street.

This extraordinary tale of courage, friendship, and ultimately recovery is filled with vivid images and subtle emotions.

While it is classified as fiction, The Girls at 17 Swann Street paints a painfully realistic picture of life for many. Highly recommended for readers seeking thought-provoking contemporary and mental health-based adult fiction.

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