Rating: 
Summary: True to Life: Kinda Freaky-- but in a good way
Review: Having recently been a nanny for an affluent family originally from New York, I found the description and detail greatly entertaining. From the Manolo Blaniks to the Spencer school, it all inhabits the life of New York's high-society. At times the description was a bit too much if you can believe that...but a great 3 night read. Bravo to McLaughlin and Kraus on their premier piece of fiction and congratulations to them on their sale of the movie rights to this book as well.
Rating:
Summary: I know the X's!
Review: I lived in NYC and this book is so sadly believable! I know a woman just like Mrs. X (my ex.'s sister). She lives in a penthouse over looking central park - the house is constantly filled with staff one to do the laundry and cook, another to keep the kids out of their parents way, a male personal assistant to keep her company, [kiss up to her], and to have an affair with, a husband completely involved with work and very absent from the family, and 2 children starved for their parents attention and affection. I cringed when Mrs. X states that she is pregnant again. People like this should not have children! The X's certainly didn't respect their Nanny's so why should the Nanny's respect the X's privacy. This is a story that needed telling! I think I will mail this book to the X's I know - but they probably won't get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Crazy, but true!
Review: As a former nanny in Michigan, taking care of children in Manhattan is a completely different story. After moving to New York, I attempted the nanny scene. But after a short flight to Martha's Vineyard with the family on their tiny jet and a weekend filled with confusion (too many adults for just 2 children), I vowed never to be a "mommy's helper" in Manhattan again. This book was right on, and it made me sick to think of all these disfunctional children created from homes with so much money and opportunity, but so little heart. This book is a champion of a first novel, and I'm excited to see if there is a Nanny - part 2.
Rating:
Summary: Just finished it--it is great!
Review: This book is 100% right on. I was a nanny for a very wealthy family and it felt like I was reading about myself at times! It is well written, smart, and very funny! If you work with kids at all, or have ever nannied, you will LOVE this book. :)
Rating:
Summary: You will love this book!
Review: I am constantly reading and rarely do I come across a book that I would so highly recommend. The brilliant satire and realistic characterizations are reminiscant of the best of Tom Wolfe. I haven't enjoyed a novel as much since "Bonfire of the Vanities". Get it, you will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Mary Poppins meets Brigid Jones
Review: The Nanny Diaries is a cross between Mary Poppins and Brigid Jones' Diary, and is wonderful! If there is even an ounce of truth to it, I fear for the Manhattan's preschoolers.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing...And Here's Why
Review: I picked up Nanny Diaries with great expectations. I was looking forward to a funny, entertaining look at nanny life in New York City. What I got instead was at times a one-sided diatribe where it seemed the authors were venting their dual frustrations at being nannies. The book can be very funny at times--as writers I think at least one of them (maybe both, hard to tell) shows great promise. Their observations are many times right on, perfect. Ultimately, however, I found the plot and the characters to border on the ridiculous. I have to confess upfront: I am a working mother and have had "nannies" (although I never use that term) for about six years. Given my experience and those of numerous other working mothers I think I can say that this book does not ring true for a number of reasons. First, let me say that I would hire Nanny, the character in the novel, in a heartbeat. A caring, responsible college student with a true love of children, someone hardworking and honest--if she's for real she can find a job anywhere. For some reason, Nan takes and keeps a job with perhaps the most selfish character in all modern literature. She and her husbands are absolute monsters. For some inexplicable reason, they have the world's most wonderful child, which is why Nan doesn't just walk right out of their wonderfully furnished Park Avenue apartment when she gets her first sense that her employers, the Xes, are the devil incarnate. The whole thing just struck me as unrealistic. It seemed that every parent Nan ran across was a wicked nightmare. Every nanny, on the other hand, was a vision of saintliness. That's where the one-sidedness comes in. The little plot available covers her involvement with a nice guy with hideous friends and the affair Mr. X has with a woman essentially as equally horrible as Mrs. X. You may think, as a working mom, I've got a chip on my shoulder, an axe to grind. Perhaps. But I have been their down in the trenches, have hired two nannies, interviewed countless more, listened to many friends horrifying babysitter stories. Believe me, there is a lot more to the story than McLaughlin and Kraus share. If you are not a working mom, or mom with a nanny, you may find this novel amusing. But characters as evil as the Xes and as wonderful as Nan belong in another novel. The Nanny Diaries takes itself far too seriously to contain such exaggerated characters. These characters belong in a farce of some sort--a work where you know they reflect a distorted version of reality. Instead McLaughlin and Kraus have inserted in their witty, observant novel--and for me, it just doesn't work. I wish them well, they can write, but frankly, I found The Nanny Diaries a little too spiteful for my taste.
Rating:
Summary: Pure fun.
Review: It's a continuation of The Bonfire of the Vanities, and it leaves you with one question: When are they going to come out their next novel?
Rating:
Summary: Great talent vs. flat abridgement
Review: I've just finished listening to the Nanny Diaries. If the printed book had any evidence of being even-handed in the audio edition it is gone. The X's here are a collection of the flatest characters I've ever run across. It all seems to boil down to Nannies equals good, saintly surogate mother, Mr & Mrs X equal evil, self involved devils, and Grover is the innocent victum caught in the middle.
Maybe this flatness is a result of the abridgement, but from what I heard, the title character of Stephen King's "Christine" had more emotional depth than 99.9% of the characters in this novel.
All of this said, Julia Roberts did an excellent job reading and I'm glad to hear such first rate talent venturing into the audio book field.
Unfornately, however, even such extraordinary talent can't breath originality into this cliched material.
Maybe the unabridged, printed version was better. Let's hope so.
Rating: 
Summary: Good concept, boring read
Review: I found this book to be a disappointing read. After a couple chapters, you get the point: the main character is a great nanny and cares about the child; the mother/employer doesn't spend a lot of time with her child and tries to take advantage of her nanny, timewise. So what? This would have made a good New Yorker article; as it is, it doesn't fill a book.
Borrring.
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