Rating: 
Summary: fun, entertaining
Review: i thought this book was a quick and easy read. I especially enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the parents form hell. I could actually conjure up a vision in my mind. I would definately recommend this book if you want to be entertained.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and Insightful
Review: This book brilliantly captures that subculture we love to hate: the selfish rich who abdicate their parenting responsibilities to women they pay poorly and treat like garbage. The authors provide us with fascinating studies in self-absorption in their characterizations of the employers-from-Hell in this story, and with a sympathetic and interesting protagonist with whom we can identify on every level. The authors are astute observers of life, in particular "family" life on the Upper East Side of New York City.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL
Review: I am amased by this book. I laughed out loud, was mad, and even cried. This book definately pulls you in. I could see it all and was right there with her. Excellant book. And I recomend it to everyone!!!
Rating:
Summary: Quick read
Review: I liked this book, but the whole time I wanted to jump into Nanny's body and yell at Mrs. X for being so damn nasty!
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea ruined by a non-credible narrator
Review: You know the coworker you had once who just couldn't seem to get a break: everything went wrong for her through no fault of her own, her entire extended family and every man she ever dated were all impossibly evil, and despite her unremitting sweetness and wonderful intentions, circumstances always kept preventing her from being happy?You know how you eventually realized she wasn't telling you the whole story? Well, this expose on the soulless socialites of Manhattan and the problem of child neglect could have been really good if the narrator wasn't precisely that woman (her identity blandly disguised as "Nanny.") According to Nanny, she is a selfless, intelligent, kind, wonderful, moral, deserving young lady who through no fault of her own is cruelly demeaned by her stupid, shallow, selfish, mean, child-abusing boss. Through no fault of her own, Nanny somehow can not get any other job in the entire city of New York, despite desperately needing money. Through no fault of her own, Nanny gets fired. We never learn the other side of this non-believable and over-the-top story. I would have enjoyed the book if we'd eventually discovered why Nanny was REALLY trapped in this low-paying, time-consuming, abusive job. Did she actually have character flaws making all the other would-be employers except New York's most neglectful mommy pass her over? Was she hypnotized by the wicked mother's glamour and unwilling to give up being close to such grandeur? Was she actually the one sleeping with the husband, and made up "Miss Chicago" to make herself sound better? Unfortunately, no such chinks in Nanny's self-reported perfection ever reveal themselves, nor does any humanity in the thoroughly repugnant mother, so the book never rises above the level of water-cooler conversation with the perpetually-wronged coworker about her latest breakup--which, frankly, gets tiresome very fast.
Rating:
Summary: Nanny was NOT spineless!
Review: I did not think Nanny was spineless, as some other reviewers have suggested. I think that she a) loved Grayer very much, and b) needed the job. Standing up to the Xes would have ended her relationship with the little boy, cost her the job, *and* ruined her chances of getting even a halfway satisfactory reference. The book's ending was shattering, and my heart broke for little Grayer. I cannot imagine how he could recover from such a trauma. While there were amusing sections in the book, I found it, overall, tragic. It was a very good, quick read, but I hope for a sequel to tie up some of the loose ends.
Rating:
Summary: Thankful for the families I worked for
Review: As someone who put herself through college partly by babysitting other peoples' children, I felt oddly drawn to this book. I realize that the disclaimer at the front of the book makes no mistake that The Nanny Diaries is a work of complete fiction, but I have to believe that the only part that's fiction is the fact that it's a conglomeration of two girls' experiences in raising poor little rich kids. The book was well put together, well written, and an uncomfortable view on what many people don't pay enough attention to: the care of their children. This book, which I read in one day (I couldn't put it down!), made me very thankful for the families whose children I cared for, and loved.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: This was my "airport" book. I found it a fun read, and --speaking as a college student who is just as impressed as Nanny is with Prada, Gucci, etc. while struggling to pay the rent -- easy to relate to. While I don't think it was funny (nothing is funny about neglect and abuse), I found it witty and entertaining. It could even make a better movie than a book, if someone took the time to streamline the story. My big complaint was the subplots involving Nanny's family and boyfriend. I felt that Nanny's family was way too supportive of her; in fact, there was no conflict involved anywhere with either Nanny's family or the boyfriend, so I wondered why they were even there at all -- other than to provide a stark contrast to the Xes' horrible family values. Luckily, the passages involving Nanny's family and boyfriend are relatively short, so they don't detract too much from the plot. It would have been much more realistic and interesting had the authors spent more time developing Nanny's family and boyfriend into a real family (with its fights, jealousies, etc.) rather than give her the perfect family to run back to when the Xes step out of line again and again. Regardless, this is a fun book to read. I think the only people who could possibly dislike it are the very same people that the "Nanny Diaries" decries: selfish adults who think nothing of their spouses and children. The "Nanny Diaries" is definitely worth reading at least once. However, if you want social commentary wrapped-up in a great story, try "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin. Now that is literature....
Rating:
Summary: Heart-Wrenching
Review: I held off a bit before buying this novel. It did not seem very interesting, but when my friends began to strongly recommend it, I caved, and went out and bought it. To my surprise it was superb. At times you will be enraged in anger with Mrs. And Mr. X, at others you will be falling over laughing at Grayer, Nanny or the other characters, but for the most part in the end your eyes will be filled with tears. It truly was a fantastic novel - heart wrenching yet hilarious.
Rating: 
Summary: The Charm Escapes Me Completely!
Review: I couldn't even get through half of this poorly-written book. It was as though the authors were trying way too hard to think of catchy descriptive words to fit in ad nauseum. I thought it would be "hilarious", but I didn't find it funny in the slightest, in fact it was very boring and empty. It didn't hold my attention, the characters were one dimensional and the writing was oh, so completely bad!
I found myself thinking after turning virtually every page, "what a waste of time this is". I finally tossed it into my garage sale box after forcing myself to read almost 1/2 of the book. The popularity of this mindless piece (rather than the subject) makes me worry about the state of society!
| 
