The Nanny Diaries

Rating:
Summary: Sharp and Funny
Review: As a preschool teacher serving a largely upper-class clientele, I found many characters and characterizations in The Nanny Diaries intimately familiar. This may make me a biased reviewer, but it made me a very appreciative reader. The novel's introduction offers nonstop wittiness and bitingly sharp observation. Every sentence made me chuckle, at the least. Luckily, this intense level of humor drops off a bit once the story proper begins, before it has a chance to become obnoxious. It certainly serves its purpose, however: by page three, I was hooked.

The X's, a satirical composite of probably all the employers the two authors ever worked for, are disgusting, horrific, and sad: in short, they make for great reading material. The mother is self-centered to unimaginable extremes, pointedly crushing everyone around her beneath the heels of her thousand-dollar pumps. The father is cold and one-dimensional, unfaithful to his wife and unavailable to his son. Despite, or perhaps because of, the pervasive unlikeability of the parents (referred to only as Mr. and Mrs. X), one can't help but fall in love with their troubled four-year-old son, Grayer.

Grayer is not troubled in a junior high, spraying-graffiti-on-the-side-of-his-school sort of way. Grayer's issues elicit much more sympathy: he refuses to leave home without a tattered copy of his father's business card pinned to his clothes, and eventually takes to wearing one of Mr. X's ties everywhere, too. At one point, in one of the most obvious cries for attention ever concocted, he takes to deliberately urinating on the bathroom floor.

In the midst of all of this emerges the lead character, known only as "Nanny". A college senior with a winning interview strategy and a remarkable empathy for children, she quickly becomes the emotional rock to which Grayer clings. While helping him navigate through the tangle of his overscheduled life (French class, swimming lessons, play dates multiple times a week), Nanny quickly bonds with the young boy and endures both heartbreak and humiliation to stand by his side.

Readers of this book will be appalled at the treatment both Nanny and Grayer receive from the X's. They will also be amused by the authors' skills of observation and satirization. Whether those unfamiliar to the child-care field will take this book to heart as much as I did I do not know. However, anyone who has ever worked with children, or even simply loved them, could not help but be at least deeply touched by The Nanny Diaries.

Rating:
Summary: Great, fun novel
Review: I would have given this 5 stars, but there were parts that drug along. Overall, it was an interesting and fun read, giving great insight into the world of the rich and famous who choose to ignore their children.

Rating:
Summary: Please write more
Review: I am an avid reader and have a very ecclectic taste in books. I'll read just about anything. I couldn't put this one down!! I absolutely loved the voyeuristic feeling of peeking at the rich and how they might live. I laughed out loud several times. I cried for poor Grayer and hugged my kids tighter and thanked God that I could never afford a Nanny even if I wanted one (although they get paid a lot less than I imagined!). Please let the writing Gods move these two brilliant girls to write more books!!!! What a wonderful escape from the daily grind. Thanks

Rating:
Summary: At times, heartbreaking
Review: I read this book in less than 2 days- I couldn't put it down. However, the thought that this story is based on true events, breaks my heart for those poor children. Surrounded by every possible material possession and parents who treat them like last year's Prada shoes. These people don't deserve children!

Rating:
Summary: How sad...
Review: What a sad state we've come to. Although I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh out loud during some of the escapades, I found it horribly sad. Sad because our culture finds this sort of neglect funny and somehow acceptable...
Nanny's are great if only they could stay in these children's lives forever...

Rating:
Summary: Not outstanding
Review: While the book was funny at times and somewhat culturally pointed, it did not live up to the hype that preceded its release. Just an average book. Ok book, but wait to read a used copy and don't spring for your own copy.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Year's Funniest Books
Review: The two authors provide their readers with a laugh a minute journey through their composite nanny career in New York. Just pricelessly funny!

While fiction, as a born and bred New Yorker, some of the tales told here in The Nanny Diaries are not very far from some very real and current day situations. Without attempting to stereotype any group, there are some folks who have their priorities all mixed up and have the money to afford to keep them that way. A joyful read!

Rating:
Summary: The end of this book made me want to cry....
Review: This story not only depicts the bizarre relationship between a demanding, self-absorbed Park Avenue mother and her 4-year old son's nanny, but successfully portrays the loving bond that forms between the child and his caregiver. The end of this book truly tugged at my heartstrings.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Hello. I am a 14 year old girl from Orlando and I do a lot of babysitting. Luckily, none of the people that I babysit for are as awful as the Xes in the book. Regardless, I think that The Nanny Diaries was great and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about reading it. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Been there to see this craziness in person
Review: I have seen this type of living and not from a employee's point of view but as a guest. These Manhattanites show up with one child (the nanny is carring the child) to pop in at the Hampton house. They usually talk about the artwork, antiques, or even mondane things such as their hand painted lunch dishes. (the ones only used for fish) The nannies take total care of the children while the moms delegate how they should do it. Every request is ended with a "thanks so much, you're great" so their is no room for the nanny to actually answer to some stupid request. The kids constantly hit and kick the nannies while the mom says to the child that the behavior is "unacceptable" but fails to do anything about it. These girls work up to 18 hours without a break. One mom was insulted because her nanny wanted to be compensated for the 4 hour ride from the city when called last minute because the weekend nanny didn't show. Imagine!! She was expected to leave at 4am so she could be on duty by 8am. The mom couldn't understand the fuss. Seriously these millionares are so not with reality. This girl gets paid maybe $10 a hour. This woman spends a fortune of a gift for a friend's baby, five hudred dollars for a sweater, mactching hat and socks. She does this without blinking an eye. This stuff truly goes on. It's scary!!!