Genre: Fiction
Published: February 5, 2019
Pages: 384
🍊🍊🍊🍊/5
My Review:
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.
I appreciated the overall tone of the book. There were parts that were shocking and sad but that wasn’t the focus. It was more about the relationships and camaraderie between the women.
My favorite character was Anna’s husband. He was her rock and her support and just a wonderful example of loving someone “for better or for worse”.
I learned a lot about the subject of eating disorders and have gained a new understanding and sympathy for anyone who suffers with this illness. It’s a candid and uncomfortable story but also relevant and hopeful.
[Tweet “The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib is on sale 2/5/19! Check out our review of this touching and engaging debut novel at orangecountyreaders.com”]
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”.
QOTD: Have you known anyone with an eating disorder? Has it made you more sensitive to the struggles of the disease?
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The OC Book Girl 
Agree with everything you’ve said here. This was a powerful novel!
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I had a friend who suffered for years with eating disorders and depression, starting in college. We lost touch a few years ago. I think she finally found some peace in her life–the struggles will always be there.
denise
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[…] Girls at 17 Swann Street” which was emotional and surprisingly moving (here’s my review). This title was much different in the tone and pacing, yet also contains an important […]
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