Rating: 
Summary: Not What I Thought
Review: The Nanny Diaries was a good book, I couldn't put it down, but it wasn't at all what I expected. I expected a funny story about what it was like to be a nanny. Instead it was poignant, at times funny, but mostly sad and distrubing. If this is based on the authors experiences as nannies, it is indeed a sad comentary on contemporary life. The "mother" was such a horrible character, like a train wreck, you didn't want to look, but couldn't tear your eyes away. This woman goes way beyond self-centered and self-indulgent. She brings new meaning to psychological/mental child abuse. Her treatment of the nanny was reprehensible, but her treatment of her own child was something I never imagined. If people like this really exist, and I believe they do, it's no wonder our society is in such turmoil. I couldn't put the book down, but it was very distrubing.
Rating:
Summary: Borders on absurdity, but not in a bad way!
Review: I don't want to ever be a nanny! Having said that, this book is a complete riot.I found this "novel" (see disclaimer at front of book) to be very, very insightful and funny. It seems to me, the story the author's are trying to tell is one of complete absurdity. Mr. and Mrs. X are just so over the top, but in way, it makes them more real. Other good books that border on absurdity (but not in a bad way!): "Heartbreaker" (Kim Corum) and "Bad Heir Day" (Wendy Holden).
Rating:
Summary: They actually let these people have kids?!!?
Review: There is a noxious type of denizen who resides on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, that produces a child for reasons know only to God and themselves, and then spend the next 20 years seeing as little of that child as possible. This type is hilariously and devastatingly portrayed in "The Nanny Diaries" in the persona of Mrs. X, a thirty-something wife of a millionaire mergers and acquistions businessman living in a tony apartment on Park Avenue that has all the charm of a mausoleum. Mr. and Mrs. X have a four year old son named Grayer whom they spend enormous amounts of time and energy avoiding. They schedule Grayer for French lessons, play dates, ayurvedic therapy, buy him the most expensive toys, feed him only wholesome food (no Mickey D's for this kid), and dress him in the most expensive clothes, but as far as actually raising, loving and caring for him -- what are you, kidding? They have nannies for that. Which is where Nan comes in, a 21 year old NYU student on the brink of graduation, who becomes the central figure in Grayer's life, mainly by his parents' default. Grayer has to wash his hands before he can touch Mrs. X's mink coat. Mrs. X is so stressed out from Christmas shopping that she requires a full day at the Bliss spa to de-stress. Actually, she is so in need of private space for herself that she buys a studio apartment for her own personal use so that she doen't have to be actually stuck in the same space with her own child, but is near enough to be "involved" with him. When Mr. X is not pulling down billion-dollar deals at the office, he is cheating on his wife in her own bed, so of course he has no time for his son either. Mrs. X is so self-centered she treats Nanny as an extension of herself to be there at her beck and call. She actually expects Nanny to forego her graduation from NYU to accompany the family to Nantucket, and when Nanny insists on delaying her departure by a day so that she can attend her graduation, Mrs. X starts shopping around for Nanny's replacement. Mrs. X thinks that the world revolves around her and her needs. She's brought up short, however, by the realization that, just as her husband dumped his first wife for her, she is about to get dumped for another woman. There's a remedy for that, though. Mrs. X decides to make Mr. X stay put by giving Grayer a baby brother or sister. Imagine this woman producing another child to foist off on another succession of nannies. There oughta be a law. Kraus and McLaughlin actually worked as nannies and, supposedly, have seen it all. Mrs. X is said to be a composite of some of the women they have worked for. It's hard to believe people like this actually exist, but the Xes, however obnoxious the appear, are eminently believable. These are people for whom a child is a trophy, who spend thousands of dollars on "problem consultants" and "image consultants" grooming their tykes to survive the cutthroat competition for admission into New York's prestigious private schools (thinking that this will guarantee their child's admission to the Ivies twelve years down the line), who are advised by the "experts" they consult to prep their child for the admission interview by reading him articles from the "Wall Street Journal". Do you think these people could ever be bothered to read the kid "Goodnight Moon" even once? Fuhgeddaboudit. (That's Nanny's job.) The Xes themselves are admirably drawn; despite their outrageous behavior, they're people rather than caricatures. Mrs. X may be a monster of selfishness, but we have to pity her; we know what's in store for her, a growing desperation as Mr. X bounces from one affair to another, certain to be traded in like a used BMW for a younger and prettier model, probably ending up a nervous wreck with nothing to fill her empty life. Grayer is the poor little rich kid; we hurt for him as we realize how little he means to his parents and how little they will ultimately mean to him. And Nanny herself wins our respect as she tries to hold onto her sanity in this beautifully appointed nuthouse, while trying to give Grayer the love and affection he should be getting from his parents. "The Nanny Diaries" is not only great fun, but as social satire it's bang-on. One of the better books I've read in quite a while.
Rating: 
Summary: confidentiality isn't important to the author
Review: Even though this story may be entertaining, it loses all charm when it as billed as an expose and pokes fun at the family. It is clear that the person that wrote this book was working only to support herself through school, and wonder if she thought at all about the job she was supposed to do, and the impact she was having on the child. No matter who I am, when I hire someone in a small business or my home, I have the right to expect my wishes to be followed and my privacy to be protected. Today employers are very limited in what they can say about employees when called for references. If the employer were to write a sequel to this book, the author would probably sue.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazon oversold this one!
Review: With a 5-year-old grandson in New York, I was interested in the nanny scene and, on impulse, ordered this book from Amazon. While in some ways it was an entertaining (though often painful) read, it felt more like an extended cartoon than a genuine novel. Literature it ain't! Be forewarned.
Rating:
Summary: funny, engaging, and worth your time
Review: This book was a complete riot! it was just non-stop funny and entertaining. quite a fast read. everything moves smoothly and brilliantly along until the dreaded end. oh, how disappointing it was to read the ending. i kept thinking is this it? what happened to some of the characters like her Harvard boyfriend? Where did he go? what happens to grayer? will there be follow up book to tie things up? even though, i still give it 5 stars and recommend it.
Just take this one tip- don't expect much at the end and you won't be disappointed.
putting the ending aside, kudos to the authors for a great first novel.
Rating:
Summary: It's All About the Benjamins...
Review: To borrow from the current movie of the same name, this book is all about the benjamins, though in a way not intended by the movie. To be precise: this is a novel, much like _American Psycho_ or _Bonfire of the Vanities_ that represents a very strange and very competitive version of modern, urban America. Specifically, that world is the Upper East Side of Manhattan between roughly the years of 1978 and 2002. That is not to say this novel takes place during that period, but the people who populate its pages are of the same ilk as those that populate _American Psycho_, _Bonfire of the Vanities_, and for that matter, Gordon Gekko and his _Wall Street_ cronies. OK, so what am I getting at here? Well, the novel is a very acute sociological study of upper class Manhattan and its obsessions, its pathologies, its dysfunctions and its gossip. Ever wonder why Lizzy Grubman rammed her SUV into the inn at Conscience Point? Ever wonder why Robert Chambers murdered Jennifer Levin in Central Park? All of it revolves around the lure of money--copious amounts of money--that flow freely from one pocket to another in the foyers and anterooms of Upper East Side duplexes. It's all about the benjamins at heart.
Rating:
Summary: we all know someone like mrs x
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and really rather sad. Any one who has sat on a playground with their child knows someone like Mrs. X. She's the one who thinks she is so envolved in her childs life but always seems to be at home resting while all the other Moms are sweating in the sun and running after her kid. you don't have to own the pent house to appreciate this poor child and the daily anguish that must take place in his little heart. Anyone who reads this book(especially a mom whos child does not eat steamed anything) is almost certain to have something to discuss at the water cooler,supermarket, or playground. By the way-if anyone has a tip on how to keep the tail of an oxford shirt in on a four year old,let me know.I'd love pass it along to my 19 year old.
Rating: 
Summary: Spot On
Review: I live in NYC, on the Upper East side. Not only do I have a close friend (with stories to tell!) who was also a nanny for similar reasons as this book's "Nanny", but I know a few of *these* women, and will say - quite easily - that this expose tells it *very much* like it is. While there are many wonderful and caring mothers here in this peculiar subculture of the USA, there is also, unfortunately, more than one "Mrs. X" (and "Mr. X.", for that matter). I'm firmly convinced that the public outcry and lambasting of this book (Katie Couric's show, I believe is one) is only about the shame these women feel about being exposed (mind you, this is about the exposure of themselves, not their actions!) to not only the world, but their husbands and neighbors as well. Four star rating only because I would have like to see a bit more character development of the supporting cast (i.e. H.H.) "Administrative Assistant" diaries next, and please???
Rating:
Summary: Great story with a bad ending
Review: The Nanny Diaries is a terrific read with one terrible flaw - the ending. (Don't worry - I won't give it away.) The characters are finely detailed and the dialogue is frequently so pitch-perfect it hurts to read it, particularly when spoken by the chillingly authentic Mr. and Mrs. X. These are definitely real people anyone who's ever lived in New York has encountered at least once (but preferably no more than that). The love story between Nanny and her Harvard hottie pales in comparison to that between Nanny and her four-year-old charge, Grayer (or Grover, as she calls him). The reader becomes as smitten with him as Nanny does. Therein lies the central flaw of the book. Unlike Bonfire of the Vanities - another satirical book about rich and hateful New Yorkers - ND creates a character you root for, knowing there can be no happy ending for him. The reader realizes about halfway through that Mr. and Mrs. X are not going to morph into Parents of the Year, and no NYU student (Nanny) is going to stay a nanny forever. From then on, one begins to worry about Grayer's chances for happiness. The book ends on a very bitter note and leaves the reader wishing somehow things could be different. As the book is set up, this is the only possible outcome, but that doesn't make it any easier to take. My recommendation: read this book, but stop before the last two chapters and imagine your own happy ending. Maybe Ms. McLaughlin and Kraus will write a sequel in which Grayer has grown up to become a well-adjusted and happy adult, despite a childhood ruined by a pair of nightmarish parents.
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