Rating: 
Summary: Light hearted read...or is it?
Review: I just finished the Nanny Diaries and loved it! I couldn't put it down. But, I'm completely perplexed by the negative reviews it has been getting from some readers....The main complaints seem to be about the main character who is pursuing a degree at NYU, and at the same time trying to foot the rent bill, and pay tuition. She had taken on the task of looking after a fabulously wealthy couple's 4 year old son. I completely related to Nanny, the main character, in her various pursuits; career, money, suitable housing and employers who remember her name. The ending did take a serious turn, and turned the focus away from Nanny's adventures and focused more on the family she is looking after. However, by that point I found myself actually caring for this crazy, dysfunctional family (along with Nanny) and didn't mind the change in tone. Good book for anyone, but I would recommend it to college students and anyone else just coming out of school and trying to make ends meet.
Rating: 
Summary: A story you want to keep reading
Review: This book is fabulous. I want more stories. This is the first book I have read in a long time that I did not want to put down. I wanted the book to keep going and going. I want more nanny stories. I hope these two wonderful authors decide to write a second book. The read was humorous, touching, and quite enjoyable. I recommend "The Nanny Diaries" very highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Satisfactory
Review: The Nanny Diaries wasn't the best story, but on the other hand it wasn't the worst one I've encountered. I was expecting it to be more lively, which it wasn't. Recommending: Gold Heaven
Rating:
Summary: Compulsive Reading
Review: Wow. These two young women have done a masterful job of capturing the absurdities of upper class life in Manhattan. I am from that environment myself and as I read this book I was reeling from repeated shocks of recognition. The details are fantastic; as social observers the authors deserve equal standing with Tom Wolfe ("Bonfire of the Vanities" and "A Man in Full"). However, unlike Tom Wolfe, these authors have succeeded in creating full and wholly believable characters. The rich woman who hires "Nanny" is not just an evil or ridiculous caricature -- she is a real person who suffers and struggles. The child is not simply adorable, but frustrating and difficult at times, too; just like a real kid. And the reader can fully understand why Nanny can't pull herself away from this horrible family situation. I only hope that the people whose lifestyle is laid bare in the book, recognize themselves, and make an effort to change their ways. Don't wait for the movie! Read this surprisingly poignant and hilarious book today!
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been so much better
Review: This book is a must for those who farm out their children to nannies and day care workers. It is also a must for real moms who raise their children. Those who have nannies raising their children may just finally realize that it takes more than "stuff" to be a mother and those at home with their children will rest assure that they are doing the right thing. The book would have been much better if the characters were given believable names and if it was maybe in a journal format that exposed the feelings of the nanny more clearly.
Rating:
Summary: A little overated, funny for awhile and then depressing.
Review: I had very high hopes for this book, and I did enjoy it for the most part, but I wished I had skipped the last chapter or two. It is very far from funny in those last two chapters and is probably more disturbing that anything else. It had me thinking long after I read it, but thats not really what I wanted out of a book presented as "funny". Do not expect a laugh-riot.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing and Obnoxious
Review: I found this book excessively whiny. What is so great about Nanny? She sounds like she comes from a somewhat overpriviledged family herself. When she is in need of a place to stay due to a roomate kicking her out, her beloved Grandmother says sorry sweetie, I have an artist already coming too bad but good luck. When Nanny goes with the family to Nantucket her way of dealing is by downing vodka out of the freezer. She's supposed to be in child development and while French lessons might be over the top, she never reads to him, she only wants to play with Grayer. She also chooses to get wasted at a Halloween Party. There are lines crossed by both parties. She entangles herself and becomes obsessed with the X's. Nanny thinks she is entitled to more then her paycheck. I found Nanny just as shallow as any of the other characters if not more so. Having babysat in Manhattan for people, I could relate but if you don't like the situation just find another one. Nan feels she is superior to everyone and let's life happen to her. Does an undergrad 'struggling' student really need to be seen in prada while she is on juice patrol?
Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous read for anyone (not just nannies)...
Review: I found this book fabulous. There's no need to be a nanny, mother, or child care provider. I'm a father of a 14 month old and I found it amusing. Once I got started, I found it difficult to put down. The relationships developed in this book are priceless. The hidden agendas and the drama that surrounds the heroine of the story line are too extraordinary to believe. I writing style is perfect - humorous and captivating. This novel is very well written. From the development of the storyline to the absolutely hilarious descriptions of the people involved. The only problem I have with this book is the ending. I found it to be rather lacking. With as fabulous as the rest of the story was, the conclusion left me wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: not even good airplane reading
Review: It's a great idea and I had high hopes, but these young writers need an editor - badly. Take a bad episode of "Friends" and then commit it to paper. If that isn't dreary enough, dilute it some more so that all the pithy quips are gone. You then have the basic technique of TND... They'll make a bundle with the book anyway. I hear it will be a movie. It might also make a good HBO series. I got it at a half-price bookstore for 12.50. I was going to save it for friends who need something to read on an airplane, but don't think I can recommend it even for that. I think I'll try to sell it today. I read the authors are working on another book. Wonderful, another team-written novel. what's next, a committee?
Rating:
Summary: Not Worth the Time
Review: This book was a real wallbanger for me. By the end of the first hundred pages, I was shouting at the narrator: If you have so little respect for these people, and you're making so little money, why are you working for them?! If she had had a compelling reason for taking/keeping the job, (i.e. she was an illegal immigrant and she couldn't get another, she had a sick child to support, etc.) that would have gone a long way toward making the book more readable. But not only did she have a family she was theoretically close to, they live in Manhattan! Why couldn't she live with her family until she found a FT job, like most people? And they must have had money, because somebody was obviously paying her tuition at NYU - there is no way the narrator could have paid that bill on the money she was making as a nanny. In short, what ruined this book was the shallow and hypocritical narrator. She was just as into the shoes and clothes as her employers, and she spent money just as wildly. Since she was only 21 and had no kids, this might have been excusible if it weren't for her smug, self righteousness. Many people are in a position where they have to put up with the vagaries of nasty employers, it's true. But since this woman didn't, she should have just walked away.
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