Rating: 
Summary: Quintessential Nanny of the new Millennium.
Review: A delightful read, written by two women who have worked in the field for several years. A fictional look about the life of one particular well to do charge, Grayer X, and his self centered parents Mr. and Mrs. X who wean him to a life of excess and need. Need for the parents that are never there.Nanny is a student working on her masters at NYU and about to graduate in June. As she tries to juggle her studies, and the constantly increasing hours needed to meet the demands her condescending employer continues to place upon her, we are first amused and then angered. Nanny learns to love Grayer and above all put him first, handling him and her employer with a finesse that is nothing short of exemplary, till the bitter end. This is an excellent book and I would give it 4.5 stars. This would make a wonderful movie. I am already wondering if there might be a sequel in the making. I enjoyed the even flow of the writing and would be only too happy to pick up another book by these authors. Kelsana 5/28/02
Rating: 
Summary: Great Fun
Review: Great book. I could not put it down. I just wanted to see what the parents would do to this poor nanny next. Should be read by every girl who is thinking of being a nanny. Great writing and honesty. A great book to take to the beach.
Rating:
Summary: Delightfully Wicked
Review: I believe the Nanny Diaries is one of the freshest, most delightful books to hit the market in a very long time. It is a well written book that flows smoothly,is snappy and is both hilariously funny and tearfully poignant. From the very first page your interest is grabbed and you come to care for the little boy in Nanny's care as much as she does. It also is an interesting insight into how little childcare providers are truly valued, and how they are expected to step in and fill many other roles, perhaps just a step above slavery, withstanding abuse from the kids and their parents. It also provided a thought provoking window into the thinking that seems to prevade the non-child care providers in that those who do tender the little ones have no other life outside their charges. I think it is a great summer read, and I highly, highly, recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: An easy , entertaining read--I couldn't put it down!
Review: This is the ideal summer beach read--entertaining, and impossible to put down. The only drawback--it was so good, I read this book in one day! People who aren't familiar with the whole "nanny scene" might think this book is fictional, but trust me, I know people just like the ones depicted here. In fact, many of the high-brow, preoccupied parents I've known are even worse to their nannies than the characters in The Nanny Diaries. The book jacket describes this book as The Bonfire of the Vanities meets Mary Poppins--a perfect description for a really fun read!
Rating:
Summary: Calling All Childcare Workers
Review: So you have been a nanny? oh, you havn't. A babysitter, that's alright. You too can enjoy The Nanny Diaries. Learn how the other half lives. Upscale apartments, cheap labor, kids without the hassle of kids.
The real joy of the ND is in the realness of the characters. (Trust me, I have done the nanny/babysitter thing). First we have our Nanny, bright, educated, trustworthy. Then we have the Mr. and Mrs., Wealthy, oblivious, and obvious. Then the child, misunderstood, pushed and damaged.
This is real. Nannies are expected to clean, cook, drive, punish, and love a child that is not her own.
This book brings all of those tasks to the forefront and lets the reader sit back and enjoy the ride. So hop on board and read it. And if you are one of those nasty people that employs a nanny, read the book and then give him/her a good raise.
Rating:
Summary: I AM the Nanny...
Review: Was this book written about me, or what?! I am also a nanny for 2 wealthy families in a very affluent town, and I just couldn't believe the simliarities between my job in "Snobsville, Suburbia" and Nanny's job in Manhattan. If you are a nanny, I am HIGHLY reccommending this book to you. I was laughing so hard there were tears streaming down my cheeks... and it was only page 5!!! And the laughs just kept on coming. She nails it right on the head. She KNOWS what we deal with every day. And even if you aren't a nanny, you will still love the hilarious ordeal that ensues. But I do have to warn that if you are a very wealthy, beautiful, "stay-at-home" mother, and you have a nanny... please do not read this book. thanks. :o)
Rating:
Summary: A funny look at how the other half lives.
Review: We all have our assumptions about the way the privledged in our socitey live. According to nanny, many our worst assumptions are true. This is a juicy peek into the world of a Park Avenue family and given the professional background of the authors, I found myself fearing that there was more than a sprinkling of truth in what seem to be almost cliched characters. The ice queen-socitiety mother, workaholic-cheating father, spoiled-neglected child appear with too much vivid detail to be merely figments of the writer's imagination. The story is told with a great deal of humor and the environments that the characters inhabit are vividly described, with quirky little details that help to bring you into the bizarre and emotionaly stunted world of a wealthy New York family. A fun, quick read.
Rating: 
Summary: Deeply Disturbing
Review: Don't believe the reviewers who call The Nanny Diaries "hilarious" or "fun." With a subject like this, one naturally expects satire, and that there is--but eventually the plight of the children being cared for by nannies in New York gets under your skin. Though the plot makes for page-turning suspense, the authors would have done better to choose a more ordinary family situation to explore rather than the tragic relationship between Mr. and Mrs. X. Mrs. X in particular is painted so one dimensionally that she becomes mere caracature . The subject matter here is ripe for exploration, but the authors blew it with exaggeration. The children they portray are the next generation of the Masters of the Universe--and if what these authors have to say about their upbringing is true, we're all in trouble. In the end, your heart breaks for Grayer and all the poor little rich kids like him.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing
Review: This was like reading about a foreign country - one full of shallow, ultra-materialistic, insecure people. Are all nannies this spineless? Are all Park Avenue families this caught up with their image and neglect their families like this? I certainly hope not but I can only wonder. Vocabulary choices were substandard and I can't get over the shallowness of the characters (besides the nannied - Grayer). I kept telling myself to stop reading this book but I couldn't - I guess that's what earned the two stars.
Rating:
Summary: Good for a laugh&feel better about your parenting skills
Review: When a book is surrounded by a media blitz it is easy to hesitate before reading it, especially a first novel. Don't let that stand in the way of reading The Nanny Diaries. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have crafted a funny, sharp look at the nanny business from the working end...Nanny, as she is to be known, has decided that part-time child care will be the perfect way to pay for her final year at NYU. After all, she has been babysitting for years, been a nanny before and knows what to look out for. When the X family finds her,and she becomes the part-time tender for Grayer her careful plans seem to be working, for a moment. This humerous, bittersweet novel looks at the lives of the people who care for Grayer and no matter how she tries, Nanny is swept into the web of the X'es lives. Soon it seems every waking moment is to be available to cater to Mrs. X as well as to follow odd, intricate instructions regarding Grayer's food. Despite the mountains of lists and educational enrichments,and unrealistic expectations, Nanny and Grayer soon do what nannys and kids have done for years ....play and have fun. And as Nanny sees the adults in his life seemingly fall apart she is determined to help him just stay a little boy. I talked to several friends who have worked as nannies and they said the book ran true with them, not so much the specifics, but the tug of war of trying to balance concern for a very snmall boy with "it's just my job".
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