The Nanny Diaries

Rating:
Summary: For Kid Lovers
Review: The Nanny Diaries is a quick and easy read. It offers insight into the goings on of the rich New York Park Ave set. If you have ever walked by a brownstone or high rise in New York and wondered what kind of person lived there, this may be interesting to you.
The issue I had with the book is that I personally could never imagine persuing or having a job as a nanny. I like kids, but at a distance, so I was constantly thinking--QUIT this job! I certainly would not put up with everything that Nanny (the main character) did in order to keep such a grueling job. I also did not find Grayer (the child in the novel) a very endearing character. I did not see the bond that was keeping Nanny there as his nanny. I felt sorry for the often neglected boy, but I can't imagine staying in that situation for so long for someone else's kid.
In short, if you are in the child care field, you will love this. If you are not so baby/kid crazy, this is not your sort of read.

Rating:
Summary: A great read, but very sad.
Review: The Nanny Diaries was, to me, one of those books you just cannot put down. I cried, I laughed, I yelled, I read parts out loud to anyone who would listen. I enjoyed every second of the witty and well-written text. However, the story is tragic. I ache for the little boy in the story and for every boy and girl in the world that lives the life described in the Nanny Diaries. Cynics will say "it could be worse" but I believe it is the worst. It doesn't matter to a child the amount of money his parents make, but their love and admiration. Regardless of social status, the story of a child desperately searching for love and apprecitation from parents that aren't giving it breaks my heart. Coming down from my soapbox, the authors of this story did a fantastic job combining their experiences and talent into this mastery of words.

Rating:
Summary: light and pleasantly entertaining.
Review: This book allows the reader to take a peak inside the lives of rich Manhattanites through the accounts of their nanny. This light, entertaining reading appeals to the voyeuristic side will all have when it comes to the rich, famous, select fews of the planet.
It will make a good gift for a hopelessly romantic young woman dreaming to marry the perfect guy,any young woman addicted to "lifestyles of the rich and famous" or for an ex-nanny!

Rating:
Summary: Overrated
Review: This book is completely overrated. I bought it because it was getting great reviews from editors and magazines, plus the fact that it was supposed to be extremely funny. As I read through the book the more stereotypical it becomes and the jokes less amusing and even less funnier. The first few chapters are devoted to how rich this nanny's clients were and how awful they are to the help. Mrs.X is supposed to be a character that you love to hate but in fact she is just as bland and shallow as the nanny who narrates in the book. I found this book thoroughly unentertaining since it is gives horribly exagerrated accounts of the relationships between nannies, their employers and their wards. This one is guaranteed NOT to make you laugh.

Rating:
Summary: Depressing
Review: This book was well written. It kept me reading and reading until I got to the end and through out the book I became more and more depressed.

Being a mother myself I wanted to cry and cry for this child who was ripped away from person after person that accually cared for him. I kept hoping for some resolution. I know that there are woman out their who treat their children and their employees like this but frankly I didn't want to read about it.

The other thing that really bugged me was that this woman couldn't stand up for herself.

I don't know I just had a hard time with the whole situation.

Rating:
Summary: Engaged with from the start
Review: Altho I expected more depth and maybe even a kinder funny tale.
This book openned my eyes to the sad way some people treat their children. I wanted Nanny to quit from day two.
Guess in some lives there really are no consequences for being a Mrs. X.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry I wasted my time and $
Review: When I hit page 100, I started to skim the rest of this book. Usually by page 100, scenarios have been set up to pay off with something really outrageous or interesting. But all this one does is PLOD along page after page of what Mrs X does to her (if-I-don't-go-along-with-the-group-and-have-a-kid-even-though-I-don't-really-want-one-but-I'll-be-regarded-weird-if-I-don't ) child/pet. Yes, it is pathetic, all these women in the kid's life (no men, I wonder what affect that will have on him later) micro-managing everything he wears/eats/touches, yet psychologically ignoring him except the nanny, who is not allowed to really discipline him and has to watch Grayer become a spoiled rich brat.

To be honest,I can't remember what I've read, truly, and probably won't remember the rest of the book IF I can finish it.I should have listened to all of you who panned it.

Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant Distraction
Review: While I was supposed to be reading a book for English class, I chose to read The Nanny Diaries instead, and I could not put it down.

From the Harvard Hottie to little Grayer (or Grover), all the characters were developed (or not developed) in the way they should have been. The plot was not predictable. The seedy underbelly of being a nanny was slowly uncovered. The fake relationship between Mrs. X and Nanny was perfect. Authors McLaughlin and Kraus have done everything right with this book.

If you do work that's not properly rewarded, have ever been a nanny, or just plain like to read, I definetely recommend picking this up. It's a fabulous read. Being a little behind in English class was never more worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Literary cotton candy
Review: Not unpleasant as you're experiencing it, but afterward, you'll wonder if there weren't better things you could have spent your time reading. I don't doubt that this book reflects real-life individuals and situations. What I wonder is whether it could have been done in a less unilateral fashion, and more fairly.

I didn't find the main character, Nanny, to be particularly sympathetic. In fact, she seemed to me to be exactly the same as everyone else in the book. She was just as materialistic and selfish as the rest. The only thing that set her apart was her love for the child, Grayer, but even that relationship was never provided any real depth. You never knew why Nanny cared for him, only that she did because she was his caretaker, he was an innocent child, and his parents didn't seem to love him. I don't know that that's enough on which to base a major relationship in the book.

Also, there was Nanny's relationship with H.H., or "Harvard Hottie" (really, that's what those initials are supposed to stand for). There's never any exploration of why she's attracted to H.H., aside from the fact that, well, he's a hottie that goes to Harvard. And there's never any exploration of the converse, except for the fact that Nanny is kind of hot, too, I guess. From the start, H.H. completely kow-tows to Nanny and there never appears to be any real reason why. As the relationship progresses, you'll find yourself wondering why she cares so much for this guy, because it doesn't appear as if they know each other too well.

All in all, this book is a quick and easy read, but ultimately disappointing. There's no texture nor depth to the story and panders to the audience's pre-conceptions of the privileged and rich without lending any extra dimensions to the caricatures portrayed.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious Page-Turner
Review: This novel is truly engaging. I hreally enjoyed it. I read it on a cross-country flight and finished the entire thing before I landed.

It's the story of Nanny, a college student working on her thesis, and Grayer, the little boy she's charged with raising while his parents are off doing mroe important things. nanny has the responsibility of managing his busy life, including play dates, lessons, and even a vacation.

I laughed at almost every page, because they are thrust into situatins that would make the average person say "Quit this job, already!!!" but the love between Nanny and Grayer is apparant.

You will no doubt enjoy this book. :) Happy reading!