review: the girls at 17 swann street by yara zgheib

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Told partly through medical reports, but mostly through Anna's almost stream of consciousness narration of her days, Yara Zgheib's debut novel tells of Anna's stay at 17 Swann Street as she battles anorexia. With a tragic childhood and her days of being a professional ballerina in Paris behind her, Anna struggles with a new life in America after her husband takes a job in Missouri for, as Anna puts it, "St. Louis was not a ballet kind of town." The Girls at 17 Swann Street is a powerful tale with Anna experiencing realistic struggles, heartbreak, and triumph. Anna, her husband, and the other women at 17 Swann Street are all amazing characters who are beautifully brought to life by Zgheib.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, St. Martin's Press.