Rating: 
Summary: journal of complaints
Review: This was like reading the journal of complaints from a college student's summer job. Anticipating humor, I was only dissappointed to find what I felt was a weakly developed main character that lacked maturity and had an over rated value of herself. The name dropping of expensive or exclusive became boring. The final result was disgust with the employers as well as the myopic employee.
Rating: 
Summary: clever and horrible
Review: I was expecting a quick, fluffy read - Bridget Jones with tots. It was indeed a quick read (one afternoon) but is surprisingly unfluffy, considering the nature of the hype surrounding the book. It *is* very funny, but it's the sort of humor that makes you queasy with the shock of unpleasant truth. If any parent sees him or herself in this book, they need to give their children up for adoption NOW. I have certainly known and known of parents far worse than these, but they were worse only because they had no money and therefore couldn't cover for their neglect with hired help and heaps of stuff. On the technical side, this is a nicely crafted story. I usually avoid books written by more than one person - you can often see the seams where the parts are patched together. Happily, the voice and style stay singular, consistent and strong throughout. I can see this being a fun book to discuss in a group, though the talk would probably degenerate into gossip about whose parents or parenting skills are most atrocious. If, like me, you are childless by definite choice, this book will provide you yet another opportunity to feel smugly superior to people who produce kids they are ill-equipped and/or disinclined to truly care for.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't look for laughs
Review: I expected a rather hilarious take-off on the odd and perhaps wicked ways of the super-rich. Instead, even though this is a "novel," I am heartsick at the neglect of the innocent children. It is particularly distressing to see the nanny, the only stable and caring person in the child's life, snatched away on a whim.
Rating: 
Summary: Or, "How to Torture Your Husband"
Review: What better way to inflict pain (in classic Woodstock generation passive-aggressive style) than by withholding care and affection and substituting a disinterested third party into the relationship? There is absolutely no question as to the real villain of this piece. The central character spends most of her time trying not to be the screen on which the displaced desires of this sick family are projected.
Rating: 
Summary: COULDNT PUT DOWN!
Review: This book was a comforting bedfellow during a bout with the flu. It's witty, shocking, and entertaining. I just hope that the authors will put out another book and make a series out of it.
Rating:
Summary: The treatment of hired help never changes.
Review: As a former caregiver of infants I appreciated this book. The treatment of the Nanny was so true to life. She was a non entity expected to care for a child not appreciated by either his parents. The hired help who loved her charge and was hurt when she saw how callous his mother was toward him. I had a hard time putting the book down and could not wait to see what was going to happen next. I wonder about all the priveledged children blessed with so much but with so little love. They probably will end up just like their parents.
Rating:
Summary: Expected funny, heartbreaking too
Review: I'd heard a lot of hype about this book and I expected to like it for its satire, humor, and dish on the "upper classes"--I wasn't prepared for the degree to which I thought about this book after finishing it. Even beyond the outrage at the entitlement of "Mrs. X", I was heartbroken by the portrayal of this pawn of a child and the way he was unable to be protected by the one person who truly cared for him. Although I wouldn't necessarily consider this book a classic, I do think the authors did an admirable job of highlighting the conundrum of being a caregiver in a situation where you have little final power to protect your charge. As a developmentalist and child care advocate, I commend the authors.
Rating:
Summary: Like one of those Frothe commercials
Review: This book is littered with cliche and expected situational comedy. It is almost like a screen play - the character banter is so predictable, you can skip several pages at a time and still be stuck in the same scenario. I feel sorry for everyone involved in this book, but mostly for the Nanny. She went to a glorified baby sitting job the night of her college graduation! Hopefully Nanny Diaries II will come out, Nanny will get gusty and finally tell the Xes to kiss her well-educated rear end.
Rating:
Summary: A look at the lives of the rich and deficient
Review: The plot is simple. A nanny works for a wealthy NYC couple with one child who, at first, seems boorish but soon is a wonderful being trapped in a lousy family that defines disfunctional. The nanny learns her lessons on life that wealth itself doesn't attribute stellar qualities to people but just means they have a lot of cash. The book is a jem and a highly suggest it be read. The star of the book, the Nanny, is a good charactar as well as the child, Grayer--who is shown to be a loving soul tossed into a wealthy version of emotional hell. In the end, we feel and pray for the lives of those who have to serve the banal rich that are featured in this book but, more importantly, we pray for the children who find themselves the hands of emotionally vacant people as are written about in the Nanny Diaries. Great book. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: Sad but riveting tale of life on the upper east side
Review: Oh the splendor of the homes, the lives, etc but oh how sad to be a child of the women illustrated here. The book is a very good read but breaks your heart-and shows just how the kids of those who "have it all" can end up with nothing at all.
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