Rating: 
Summary: Very entertaining and insightful look at the life of a Nanny
Review: This is a good read, and I enjoyed it tremendously. I'm not a nanny,nor have I ever been one. However, after reading this book, I feel like I have been one. Alternatingly touching, humorous, and depressing, this story shows us the best and worst of people with and without their "masks" on.I highly recommend this to anyone who likes some light reading.
Rating:
Summary: Totally engrossing, but so disturbing!
Review: I read the book over the course of two days (and for the mother of a very active toddler, that says a lot!). Since I finished it, I haven't been able to get the whole disturbing story out of my head! I know it's "fiction" but based on the background of the authors, I'm horrified! I guess this makes for effective storytelling and great entertainment for the price.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick Read, Couldn't Put It Down!
Review: I really loved this book! I laughed as I breezed through the pages, unable to put this one down. I had just read Shade of the Maple, another incredible debut novel which also keeps you thoroughly engaged, but moves you emotionally as much as The Nanny Diaries makes you laugh. Read these two together and you will laugh and cry!
Rating: 
Summary: quick read, little depth
Review: This is a fun, light, and entertaining book. Offers a brief look into the life of a NY "surrogate" mom.... a nanny. But if you are looking for literature, don't bother.... this book is a quick read, and you do wonder at the end what will happen to the main characters.
Rating:
Summary: These people really do exist!
Review: I found the book to be delightful! A very fun and quick read for the summer. The scary thing is I know people like this in Chicago too. Entertaining book. Great storytellers. It's just too bad there are so many shallow people out there. No wonder so many rich kids are [frustrated] adults.
Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down!
Review: This book was very enjoyable and easy to read. You immediately get sucked into the story and feel for Nanny, the main character. The book was different than I thought it would be, I thought there would be a lot more gossip about families with nannies- like a tell all book. This book does give details of the family but the details that are more relevant to the story. I would definitely recommend buying this book!
Rating:
Summary: Talk about ubiquitous
Review: Lately, this book is everywhere. It is simply not worthy of all the hype. The authors used some clever ideas, such as giving the characters abstract names, such as Nanny, and Mrs. X, and the book does give us a glimpse into a world most of us will never know. But the authors seem bent on making Nanny seem entirely sympathetic, and perfect despite the situation in which she's found herself (make that put herself). Does the fact that this woman spends most of this book acting like a doormat frustrate any other readers (and she acts like a doormat from day one - long before she's formed any attachment for Grayer)?
Rating:
Summary: There is no Mary Poppins......
Review: I really resisted reading this book for a long time. I didn't figure it would be funny or refreshing, and was afraid of "the dark side" of wealthy parenting. I finally succumbed, and my worst fears were realized. The Nanny diaries is really heart-wrenching. The book stars a "composite" nanny, telling the story of many events that are culled from the authors' and others own experiences, with (hopefully!) a touch of exaggeration. The authors tell a compelling story, without a lot of writing skill, and feature "composites" of many socialite "mothers and fathers" that nannies have run into on the upper East Side, and in many homes throughout America. Central to the story, and a great writers' trick, are the "notes"...the actual text and penmanship of directives given by Mrs. X to Nanny. If you go through just the notes that she leaves, it becomes obvious that Mrs. X is so self-centered and mean, that there is no feeling sorry for her when her husband cheats with other women. There are some very funny moments in the book, and an ongoing struggle between Nanny and the people she loves..P>The Nanny Diaries, in the guise of humor and satire, tells a cold
and difficult tale of family relationships, and makes you examine your own life to insure that the mistakes being made here are absent from yours. Yes, it entertains, and is difficult to put down, but overall, the impact is not the gossip in NYC about "who they were really talking about"...its in the
disengagement of parents who shouldn't have been parents in the first place, and the feeling of helplessness that all caregivers have when they are not calling the shots...be they nannies, teachers, foster parents, what have you. Thought provoking...the Nanny Diaries is an interesting read and a departure from my usual suspense thrillers. No regrets at spending some time with this book!
Rating:
Summary: An Almost Perfect Read
Review: I thought this book was an almost pefect read. Mostly because of the outlook it is written from. Nanny armed with: a love for children, a sense of humour, and a need for money to pay the rent while she gets through college. She takes on what has got to be the most awful, hillarious, self-centered, uncaring, just plain stupid upper class family in New York. Nanny devotes her entire self to the lonely, full of love, and mostly completely ignored four year old boy that it is her job to keep out of his parent's sight. While his family (which is barely there) and his always unstable world falls apart around him Nanny is there to support him and most of all love him no matter how much misery his parents pour on her. Nanny is competely unable to draw her line of what she will and won't do out of loyalty to the X's (another demonstation of her complete selflessness)and the nasty X's take plain advantage of her. The situations that follow are rib crackingly hilarious (told from Nanny's point of view). There is only one thing that keeps this modern twist on Marry Poppins from being my perfect read. It is the constant and unecessary use of foul language. The authors seem to need to show that they know how to use dirty words. I think there book would have become much more popular and just a much better book if they hadn't used such awful words. It doesn't add to the appeal of the book at all. I put up with the use of foul words because of it's undying plot and comody, but I probably won't read it again. It is an almost perfect read, to bad they ruined it unecessarily.
Rating:
Summary: True, funny and deeply sad...
Review: the book could be funny. But it personally reminded me too many sad experiences. I've been a nanny and a babysitter. I live in San Francisco, not Manhattan, but I guess it's the same in all rich areas.
I've met a lot of Mr. and Mrs. X, and unfortunately a lot of Grayers. Parents too involved in their couples, or their careers, or their charities, or their shopping, or their nails; parents too demanding because their "world" has standards about the way you're supposed to raise your kids (extra-curricular activities). In any case parents who didn't listen to their heart when raising their kids, parents who don't hear their children. Children who send signals left misunderstood. Obviously it would be amazing to meet a family that has ALL the problems the X family has. And not all the families I babysat for where snooty.
I'm sure the authors invented a family that had all the dysfunctions they encounter during their babysitting years; it's impossible to find all these in a single real life family... I hope! Let's just hope that all the Mr. and Mrs. X out there will be able to read this book. I hope that, instead of offending them, this book will allow them to open their hearts and look at their kids. The book is good, but it's not the best book I've read ever, and I don't think it was meant to. I reserve the 5 stars for my favorite books.
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