Rating: 
Summary: GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!
Review: ONE OF THE GREATEST FUNNIEST BOOKS OUT THERE!
DEFINITE READ FOR UNDER APPRECIATED BABYSITTERS OUT THERE!
Rating: 
Summary: Not What I Was Expecting
Review: First off I have to say I had two misconceptions about this book when I started it:
1)It was going to be a non-fiction tell all of what goes on behind closed Park Avenue doors in the upper nanny echelons.
2)It was going to be gut busting funny.1)Instead it's a fictionalized story of a graduate student named appropriately, Nan who goes to work for Mr & Mrs X, and their son Grayer. The X's are an amalgam of many of the varied experiences the two authors had in their many years of nannydom. 2)And I found it to be very sad. Yes Nan's observations at times can prompt a hearty chuckle, but the situation for me becomes so desparate I wanted her to kill Mrs X and abscond to Brooklyn with the poor child. The book is being adapted for a feature by "Sex & the City" alumnus Jenny Bicks, who seems like the exact choice to capture the tenor of Nan's voice for the big screen. However I can't help but wonder, without giving anything away, if the ending may not be altered to leave the audience more satisfied. I for one would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I loved this book. Everyone said it was a "good, summer read". It was definitely a good read but it was also written very well unlike some other "summer reads". I don't want to give too much away but it's about a nanny, appropriately named "Nanny" and her adventures with a well-to-do family. Her charge, the four-year-oold is great... it's just the parents she has a lot to deal with. Definitely bring this one home.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: I became engrossed in this book, because I could not wait to see what sort of retaliation, if any, the put-upon Nanny would get on the parents she worked for. I was satisfied with the ending. As for the rest of the book, I thought some of it was hilarious. My interest waned with the subplots, but was solid during the main story - her relationship with the Xes.
Rating: 
Summary: Wahhh! I'll show you!
Review: ... The basic writing itself isn't bad, but so many of the characters are flat and there are too many loose ends in this book. It tries to have an element of romance-- or does the Nanny just want a romp in the hay? What was the deal with her Dad and the school? Where did THAT come from? And the ending is so depressing. Sorry, I just didn't feel any empathy with the Nanny at all. She should have listened to her mother. Seems like Nanny wanted the prestige of being a nanny to Somebody, was after the great money. After all, what else was the payoff for her to stay in the position? The only thing we seemed to have in common was the pity for the child. But she stayed so long, she let the kid come to love her, when she knew she'd be out on her ear sooner or later. Now, where did the hilarious part of it come in? But the PR firm and agent did a good job. I was suckered.
Rating: 
Summary: Writing Does Not Do Subject Matter Justice
Review: The Nanny Diaries seems to have disappointed those who expected of it a supeficially humorous searing of the Park Avenue set as parents. These readers were no doubt led on by the publisher's devotedly deceptive marketing campaign. I, on the other hand, was led on by the possibilities of the concept itself and didn't necessarily require that the book have the episodic humor of a British comedy, as long as it imparted a sense of the wealthy, East-coast, urban parent class--that distinct and mysterious culture. Good writing, I figured, was a given. On the contrary, several problems combine to make this book quite a problematic read. First, the writing is inconsistent, lacking continuity and suffering from rocky or non-existent transitions which have the effect of unnecessarily confusing the reader. This abruptness of scene change is not stylistic, rather, it is clearly the result of careless writing that managed to escape the scrutiny of an editor's pen. Second, the device of shrouding the narrator and her employers with anonymity through their names does not hold up once the authors choose to develop several idiosyncracies to this character and her situation at the expense of establishing greater themes. It seems that the authors are often torn between keeping situations and characters universal or detailing their personal travails. Third, the book is full of lazy vocabulary. An example of this is the use of the verb "shimmy" on several occasions. No one knows exactly what this word means, and indeed, it assumes several different but equally vague meanings throughout the book, but the authors choose to use it presumably because it is a word-of-the-moment. This book is a brisk enough read that it doesn't leave one regretful of the amount of time lost to it, and, despite its faults, it holds reader interest until the last 70 pages or so. The Nanny Diaries is essentially an example of a book that self-publicized its way to the best-seller lists. This is its distinction.
Rating:
Summary: very funny
Review: This book is hilarious. My husband and I read it during a recent plane trip (he couldn't keep himself from reading over my shoulder) and we were laughing out loud the whole time. This is a wonderful voyeristic view of how "the other half lives". The best parts though were "Nan's" comments about the silly rules the child (and nanny) were supposed to live by and the ridiculous comments and actions of the parents. This book lives up to all the hype.
Rating:
Summary: All hype and no plot makes "The Nanny Diaries" a bad read!
Review: First off, have the common sense to get books from the public library instead of forking over hard-earned bucks for [a book] like this. At 300+ pages, I figured I could finish this book in 3 days but after 100 pages, I knew it was horrible. Maybe it's because I'm a bit older than Nanny but regardless, who in their right mind lets themselves be treated repeatedly like garbage? I found myself screaming at this "child" to wake up! If this is based on their lives, then the authors have some serious life lessons to learn such as MYOB! Unless it's a family member or a very close friend, it's none of your business! And my personal favorite - three strikes and I'm out! I would have been long gone before the Halloween fiasco. But then, there wouldn't have been much of a story since that happened BEFORE page 100! Like I said, save your money and get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: More sad than funny
Review: If you are reading these reviews, one should make up their mind if this book is 'for them', or not. I read the 'Nanny Diaries' because I read the hype, and seemed like a good time passer. It was for me! Not only did i feel for the poor child (children, for that matter) involved, but there's obviously personal experiences drawn upon by the authors. The book is far from perfect, and obviously a 'first time' novel, however it is something many people will read, and hopefully think about child care in a different light. The ending is heart wrenching, and to use a bit from the opening aknowledgements --for these children, *I* root for you still.
Rating: 
Summary: Cute but sad
Review: I was really into this book and really found that I couldn't put it down. In fact I read it in something like 72 hours - a record for a gal who goes to school and works during the week. The book is incredibly entertaining, I found myself being frustrated with the main charater's lack of a backbone the whole time - WHY doesnt' she stand up for herself??? The book was cute, but had no REAL plot. It's a simple, light read for those times you don't feel like reading something too heavy. It's like a mindless movie on a rainy day...
| 
