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The Nanny Diaries: A Novel

The Nanny Diaries: A Novel

List Price: $13.95
Your Price: $10.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A study in masochism but a good read nonetheless
Review: Although I enjoyed the writing style used by the authors of "The Nanny Diaries," I was appalled by the plot. The book seemed to be a study in financial and emotional blackmail. I found Nanny (the main character)'s refusal to stand up for herself disappointing at best and saw her plight wholly of her own making. It was next to impossible for me to respect her, and that made it difficult to enjoy the book. I kept waiting for the book to get interesting, maybe take an unexpected turn, but it never did, the outcome was spelled out at the start. Bummer. Such potential for an interesting story that never got off the ground.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as funny as I expected
Review: While The Nanny Diaries has a humorous premise and many hilarious episodes, I found the underlying story to be more sad than anything else. After a few encounters with the horrendous Mrs. X, I was no longer amused: I simply felt sorry for her son, Grayer. Perhaps "son" is bit strong to describe how she and her husband saw this little boy: "accesory" or "status symbol" might be more accurate. As the book went on, I couldn't help but think what an awful life Grayer had, being shuttled from one inane lesson to another, routinely "spatula-ed" (read the book and you'll understand this term) away by his mother and rarely seeing his father. By the last page, I want to slap the parents and kidnap their son.
But sympathies for Grayer aside, I found the novel engaging and well-written. It kept up a quick, consistent pace and didn't drag in the middle section, as some books tend to do.
Overall, I would recommend The Nanny Diaries but would warn readers that it's not quite as light and funny as it might appear.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun!
Review: I had trouble putting this book down -- it had a "Bonfire of the Vanities" feel to it, sucking me into the decadent and ultimately empty lives of the ultra-rich in Manhattan. I kept turning the pages to see what other indignities Mrs. X would heap on Nanny (and on her poor son). In this way, the book was a little like a literary (and literate) version of the Jerry Springer Show -- you can't believe that such awful and crass people actually exist, so you stay tuned.

I thought the book was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the light social commentary it offered on the lifestyles of the rich (and on modern child-rearing). The only thing I didn't like was the ending, which just seemed to peter out and leave a few threads hanging...rather disappointing since the rest of the book was so cleverly written.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Fast food for the urban brain
Review: I find it hard to resist books set in New York City, let alone books set in my own neighborhood. This one started well, but by the end, the authors' ability to trigger vicarious glee and "shock" at the antics of insensitive rich people and the too-good-for-her-own-good heroine wore off. After 50 or so funny pages, the book becomes boring and predictable. This is exactly the right book to read while doing something else--getting a pedicure, on the treadmill, at the beach. If it gets left behind before you finish, you won't care.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Compelling take on Upper East Side Life
Review: I found this book to be a interesting look on the life and styles of some of New Yorks Rich. Although at times a little slow, it kept my interest the whole ways through showing that no matter how much money you have, in some things you are still incredibly poor, event though you pretend you're happy. The contrast between Nanny's family life and that of her employers was huge, even though they have "everything".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unbelievably True
Review: A non-stop reading. Living in NYC and seeing these rich women without their children, knowing they have children, you can't help but believe what you're reading-which makes it very interesting. Definitely recommend it...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A top notch book...
Review: The Nanny Diaries: A Novel is one of the best reads I've found in a while. Thoroughly engrossing, funny, smart and sad. An all around excellent plot with engaging characters. Nan is a wonderful and very realistic heroine. Read this book!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hilarious and Touching
Review: The book doesn't really have a plot in it. Mainly, it tells us about the life of a nanny. Nanny, is a college student trying to live it up in Manhattan. She gets a job as a nanny for the Xs and find herself being taken advantage of many times by the Ice Queen, Mrs. X. While trying to balance of life, love and career, Nanny finds herself in the middle of the Xs family crisis.
This is a funny and touching book, with lovable and realistic characters involved in it.A very down-to-earth novel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great summer reading!
Review: I loved the book & had trouble putting it down. Its a great summer read. Very funny!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Gratitude Journal
Review: As a professional nanny I can confidently say that the main character in the novel, Nan, should not have wasted time complaining about her employers. Instead she should have found another job.

Nan works as a nanny to make some extra cash for the summer. The book exaggerates a dysfunctional family with parents who have no appreciation for their nanny and the care she provides for their child.

The authors blame the parents for the nanny's bad experience. The main character, puts much effort into placing the explanation point in the right place in her classified ad. Had she used a nanny agency, she might have actually worked for a family that valued her work with their child.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of in-home child care providers who choose to work full-time as professional nannies for families that appreciate and validate them as the most important person they will ever hire.

This novel shows how uninvolved and egocentric many of the "upper crust" are in the raising of their own children. Some parents have no appreciation for any domestic work. Instead of filling the nanny diary with negativity Nan should have kept a "gratitude journal"! All jobs have bad days. Nan should find a better job and remember the joys of caring for children rather then another "nanny diary" filled with negativity.


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