Minding Ben

Feb 21, 2011 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-edition

Having read but not especially liked The Nanny Diaries, I wasn't sure I wanted to tackle another novel bashing clients, employees and children alike, and filled with whining. I decided to give this one a try because it is about a young Trinidadian woman, a girl actually, who comes to the United States to make her way in the world.

16-year old Grace has a good family in Trinidad but thinks her new life will be better in the U.S. Her aunt arranges a job with her cousin, living in her home, caring f...more Having read but not especially liked The Nanny Diaries, I wasn't sure I wanted to tackle another novel bashing clients, employees and children alike, and filled with whining. I decided to give this one a try because it is about a young Trinidadian woman, a girl actually, who comes to the United States to make her way in the world.

16-year old Grace has a good family in Trinidad but thinks her new life will be better in the U.S. Her aunt arranges a job with her cousin, living in her home, caring for a child, with time to go to school. Too bad the cousin wasn't on board with the plan. So, of course, things go terribly awry. Grace's unlikely savior is Sylvia, wonderfully 3-dimensional, raising three children in a dangerous dump of an apartment. With Sylvia, you always knew where you stood. She screamed when she was mad and a minute later, having heaved her anger off, asked if you wanted rice and peas and turkey wings. Sylvia is not modest. She was definitely topless. Her huge breasts weighed down like two freshly slaughtered baby seals, dark noses still wet, that had been flung over her shoulders.

Of course, Grace's eventual employer, Miriam, is not very nice to Grace. Her husband treats her better, for the wrong reasons, but is on the slimy side and won't stand up to his wife. Grace frustrated me because she accepted such bad behavior without a fight, over and over. But then, she was still a teen with no safety net, trying to get by the best she could. Neighbor Dave is wonderful, and provides something of a safe place to fall. And all the other nannies in the neighborhood are good and bad and mostly somewhere in between. I'll never look at rhinestones again without thinking of Kathy and her BeDazzler.

Ben, the little boy in Grace's care, was for the most part, a sweet little guy – no monster children in this story. But the story wasn't as much about being a nanny to Ben as it was a coming-of-age and coming-to-America story.

The story bogged down a bit in places, but then this isn't an action adventure. It was also a little predictable at times. Nevertheless, it is a sweet, entertaining story written by a woman who came to America from Trinidad, on her own at the age of 16, and the truth of her experiences shines through in the story.

I was given an Advance Reading Edition of the book by the publisher. The quotes may not reflect the published edition.(less)

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Mar 05, 2011 Tara Chevrestt rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-release, arc, shelf-awareness

This is a novel about slavery in the 1990s. I'm serious. Slavery. Only it doesn't take place on a southern plantation, however, but in a Manhatten apartment. The slave, the heroine, Grace, is not brought on a slave ship against her will either. She comes via airplane from Trinidad and she willingly enslaves herself. This is what I had a problem with more than anything. I personally, would rather live an uneventful life in a cottage by the sea than enslave myself. Anyways, Grace agrees to work as...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Sunny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nanny, foreigners, immigration, trinidad, new, york, childcare, coming-of-age

I read a very different type of book this weekend. There are many novels out there that discuss nannies and babysitters. They are generally very funny and the main character usually ends up with a rich man. What makes Minding Ben unique for me and therefore qualifying as shining in the dark is that it brings light to a group of nannies in NYC that I knew nothing about or had read about. There is a very large community of West Indians in NYC and usually when one thinks of immigrants they think of...more

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May 21, 2013 Kate Baxter rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a book that came unbidden to my reading pile, but came it did and read it was. It is a a well-written portrayal of the difficult and often dangerous life of urban America for the immigrant in search of the elusive American Dream.
A sixteen year old Trinidadian girl flies to New York City seeking adventure and the opportunity to work and study. Her cousin fails to meet her at the airport and she makes her way into the city on her own. From the getgo, she is very much alone. Not yet stre...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Jean V. Naggar Literary rated it 5 of 5 stars

“What makes this title stand out from other nanny fiction is the author’s focus on Grace’s island culture and the West Indian nannies and friends with whom Grace spends time. Revealing New York’s melting pot at its most complicated, this interesting first novel is told from the perspective of someone who has been there and done that. Brown drew from her personal experience as a young immigrant nanny, and her story is fascinating, tender, and heartbreaking.” --Library Journal, starred review

“Refr...more “What makes this title stand out from other nanny fiction is the author’s focus on Grace’s island culture and the West Indian nannies and friends with whom Grace spends time. Revealing New York’s melting pot at its most complicated, this interesting first novel is told from the perspective of someone who has been there and done that. Brown drew from her personal experience as a young immigrant nanny, and her story is fascinating, tender, and heartbreaking.” --Library Journal, starred review

“Refreshing...What gives this story its momentum is Grace’s endearing personality and strength of character.” --The Baltimore Times

“One great book.” --People

“Part of the novel’s appeal lies in Grace’s spirited voice, but the fascinating insider details on the nanny life also add an extra dimension...Although a social satire in some ways like The Nanny Diaries, Minding Ben is also a moving immigrant story. Brown vividly depicts the vibrant and diverse West Indian communities of Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood...Especially notable is the author’s knack for the colorful patois that distinguish various Caribbean nationalities...Brown was...not afraid to tackle the thorny issues of race, religion, and class.” --Library Journal, Editor's Pick Review

“Troubling and touching...The language of the Caribbean sings through the pages.” --Publishers Weekly
“Brown is a new voice with much to offer.” --Kirkus

“Like The Nanny Diaries and The Help, Minding Ben probes the racial and class dynamics between nannies and their wealthy employers ...Brown, herself an immigrant who worked as a nanny, brings alive both Grace’s quest to be independent and her resourcefulness in dealing with the condescension of Manhattan’s elite. ” --Booklist

"A realistic and utterly compelling immigrant story that is also hopeful and witty. I look forward to more from Victoria Brown, who is a lyrical, arresting writer and a fresh new voice in fiction." --Amy Sohn, New York Times bestselling author of Prospect Park West

“Grace Caton’s pursuit of the American Dream is a story of courage and elegance in circumstances that are not always easy or even kind. Brown’s writing is at once gritty and big-hearted, full of deep pathos and, also, celebration. Like Jhumpa Lahiri, Brown chronicles the immigrant experience with affection, grace, and depth.” --Caitlin Shetterly, NPR contributor and author of Made for You and Me

“A fresh, new look into the life of the American landscape...Interweaves the sensibilities of several ethnicities seen through the eyes of an immigrant...It's a story about an interwoven, complex society with rituals, prejudices and insecurities...A peek into a world that we are not so familiar with...Refreshing and original.” --Hue-Man Bookstore

“Wholly authentic...Kept me turning the pages eagerly.” --For the Love of Books Blog(less)

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Oct 07, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit

The synop in on the inside cover of this book was not a very good example on what this book was really about. It's funny when you compare the two. The synop concentrated on describing that this book was about a recent immigrant from the Caribbean and her trying to make her way in New York City via nanny jobs and what happens when someone takes advantage of her. That was what maybe 40% of what the book was about. The other 60% was about the girl’s life outside of her job, dealing with other recen...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Denise rated it 2 of 5 stars

As a young woman Grace leaves her home in the West Indies for a job as a nanny in New York. She doesn't have the resources to obtain the correct papers, so she has to work illegally. This means she has to take whatever work she can get. Subsequently she ends up in an awful position, underpaid, overworked, and often humiliated. In the end she has to chose between her job and her loyalty to family, friends, and ultimately to herself.

In the beginning I found myself sympathizing with Grace and I qui...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Rebekah ODell rated it 1 of 5 stars

Sixteen-year-old Grace leaves Trinidad and everything she has ever known for the hope of living the American dream in the Big Apple. Her dreams soon come crashing down around her, though, when her cousin, with whom she is supposed to live, doesn’t show up to pick her up at the airport … ever. Grace eeks out an existence through the Caribbean immigrant community and finds work as a nanny — her only hope of getting legal citizenship. As you might guess, Miriam and Sol, Grace’s employers, are less-...more Sixteen-year-old Grace leaves Trinidad and everything she has ever known for the hope of living the American dream in the Big Apple. Her dreams soon come crashing down around her, though, when her cousin, with whom she is supposed to live, doesn’t show up to pick her up at the airport … ever. Grace eeks out an existence through the Caribbean immigrant community and finds work as a nanny — her only hope of getting legal citizenship. As you might guess, Miriam and Sol, Grace’s employers, are less-than-perfect and less-than-accomodating. Though Grace loves her charge, she has to figure out what she really wants — the comforts of home in Trinidad or a life of virtual slavery in Manhattan.

Notably, author Victoria Brown based this novel on her own experiences as an immigrant and nanny in NYC. And, to its credit, Minding Ben isn’t exactly what you would think it would be. The Nanny Diaries it is not, although the archetype of nasty, rich bosses is alive and well in Brown’s rendition. Minding Ben is darker and sadder than your traditional chick lit nanny book. Brown does a good job painting a realistic picture of life and work in New York for those who don’t live in grandiose brownstones. Brown’s New York is real and lonely.

Unfortunately, her characters don’t come across as three-dimensional as the story she aspires to tell. Grace is sympathetic and conflicted, but she doesn’t jump off the page as someone who truly lives and breathes. Nor do her employers. In fact, the characterization of Miriam and Sol is one of the books biggest weaknesses. Brown tries to give them depth and problems, but never goes the extra mile to give those issues and missteps motivation. Worse than being cardboard cutouts of the World’s Worst Bosses, Miriam and Sol don’t fully make sense as characters. The closest thing to a really fleshed-out character is Sylvia, the obese woman who takes Grace in when she’s on her own in the big city.

And neither does the plot. The novel, while completely interesting, has bad pacing. The story raps up in a matter of pages, but it doesn’t rap up any of the real issues of the book. The end of the book felt like a giant shrug. Sadly, a lot of this could have been fixed with the aid of good editing.

In the end, Minding Ben is an okay book. Brown has promise as an original voice. I think a memoir of her real experiences might have read better than a poorly-plotted fictionalized version.(less)

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Feb 21, 2011 Lily rated it 2 of 5 stars

Minding Ben by Victoria Brown
Reviewed by Moirae the Fates book reviews

The Nanny Diaries meets The Help in a riveting debut novel that follows an idealistic young woman as she leaves Trinidad for a new life in New York City---as a nanny.

Minding Ben invites readers into the private world of one of the anonymous West Indian babysitters who have peopled the lives of so many young urban families for decades. Grace left Trinidad for New York with hopes for a better life and education. As she struggle...more

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May 09, 2011 Norma rated it 4 of 5 stars

I guess the fact that I went into reading this not expecting a Nanny Diaries clone is a very good thing. I didn’t have any preconceptions on what this book should be like. Instead, I let it stand and breath on its own.

And what I found it to be was a wonderfully, dark piece of literature about the human soul and its will to survive. It is difficult for a girl at the age of 16 to travel to a new country, attempt to find work, and manage to survive all on her own. I know this because my own grandmo...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Kara Huggard rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, early-readers, contemporary-fiction

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover and the plot synopsis (young woman becomes nanny for upper class family and somehow finds herself) led me to think this would fit squarely in the chick lit category, a genre which I am not too fond of. However, it ended up being a well-written and compelling immigrant story. I liked that Grace, the protagonist, was from Trinidad as I have not read very many, if any, stories about immigrants from this area and their unique experiences.

I did have...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Mary (BookHounds) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, arc, from-publisher-author

Grace comes to New York as a sixteen year old in search for a better life and ends up as a child care provider to a four year old, Ben. She learns to grow up fast and deal with some strange and new customs like the daily nude photography of her pregnant employer. While most kids this age would decline, Grace realizes that she has limited choices and adapts. She must also deal with playground politics that would stun the most hardened business person. The story follows Grace through her adventure...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Meichler rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sometimes you read a book and get nothing out of it, and wonder why you bothered. Hence, my experience with Minding Ben. Minding Ben tells the story of a girl from Trinidad who comes to NY at age 16. She finds work as a nanny. She works with a Jewish family. They are disrespectful and take advantage of her. She has friends. The way I'm describing this is just about the way I felt about the experience of reading this. I didn't care about any of the characters; even the main character was so poorl...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Grace Caton boards a plane heading to New York from Trinidad, she’s only sixteen years old. Promised a home with a distant cousin in America, Grace is both excited and scared as she makes her way abroad. But when Grace arrives, she finds that she’s been stranded with no one to retrieve her from the airport and nowhere to live. Soon Grace is living with the mercurial Sylvia and her patchwork family. Though Grace isn’t exactly freeloading at Sylvia’s, her luck in the job department has been p...more When Grace Caton boards a plane heading to New York from Trinidad, she’s only sixteen years old. Promised a home with a distant cousin in America, Grace is both excited and scared as she makes her way abroad. But when Grace arrives, she finds that she’s been stranded with no one to retrieve her from the airport and nowhere to live. Soon Grace is living with the mercurial Sylvia and her patchwork family. Though Grace isn’t exactly freeloading at Sylvia’s, her luck in the job department has been pretty meager. As Grace searches for the perfect position, she is also considering marrying Sylvia’s brother Bo for a green card. Just when she thinks she’ll never get a job, a call comes for her regarding a nanny position. But Miriam, the woman offering the job, wants to hire Grace to be her maid, nanny and helper, all for ridiculously low salary. What is Grace to do with no other options on the horizon? With a sinking heart, she agrees to the job, and her life is never the same. Moving between the circles of Island immigrant nannies, her party-loving friends, and her mish-mash family at Sylvia’s, Grace discovers that life in New York isn’t as easy as she once imagined it would be, but despite the hardship and disadvantages she faces, she will not turn tail and run back home. At times funny, at times tragic, this is the tale of a young girl left on her own to manage life in the big city, and of the people she meets who will sometimes help and sometimes hinder her.

This was one of those books that was really hard to put down. From the very beginning, I was caught up in Grace’s unusual tale. She had a great head on her shoulders and was very responsible, which is really unusual for a sixteen year old girl. Grace is living in an untenable situation at Sylvia’s because the family lives a very low income and restricted life. Grace’s presence is a godsend for Sylvia, who uses Grace’s services in minding her small children in exchange for room and board. But Sylvia is not always the best roommate, and the five residents are living in a two room apartment that may or may not be hazardous for their health. Sylvia can also be demanding and uppity, which is one of the reasons Grace must find herself another situation soon. But her lack of a green card is something that hinders her time and time again.

When Grace finally lands a job with Miriam Bruckner, she knows she’s being taken advantage of but has no better option. Miriam is not only overly demanding but can be racist at times, and her inappropriate comments sometimes went over Grace’s head. Not so with me. When I read how Miriam would exploit Grace and then treat her with racist contempt, my blood would boil. I felt a little angry with Grace for standing by and taking all this ridiculous abuse, but time and time again, I realized she had no other options available to her. There were also some subtle sexual tension between Miriam’s husband and Grace, which did not go unnoticed by Miriam. Grace’s only respite from this horrible family was her connection to the other nannies in the building. But even there, there were rivalries and factions that Grace was loathe to get caught up in. There was a lot of internal and external conflict in this book, and it was all very realistic and emotionally charged. In spite of Grace’s innocence, there was a lot of messiness to her life and the lives of those around her, and in her struggle for freedom and independence she began to grow both in wisdom and experience.

The third aspect of this book had to do with Grace’s ties to her island acquaintances living in New York, and these, I think, were my favorite sections. The interactions between Grace and her friends were sometimes portrayed in heavy patios dialect, and having had a few friends from the small islands many years ago, the patios brought back a lot of memories. Grace’s friendship with Kathy, another girl who immigrated from her village to New York, was full of gentle teasing and genuine affection. Often it was Kathy who saw Grace through her toughest times, and the two girls did a lot of leaning on one another over the course of the story. There was even a love component in this story in the form of another islander named Brent. As Grace begins to realize her own worth and to navigate her own struggles, her friends, including an American from her building, become the heart of her support system. I had a very affable reaction to her growing social ties and their effects as the book wound its way forward.

I really enjoyed Minding Ben for a lot of reasons, primairly because of the interplay between the dramatic tension and the character creation of the story. Brown does an exceptional job imbuing her story with all the elements that a reader will find engrossing and takes the narrative through many believable twists and turns that kept me hungering for more. It was a really diverting read, and certain sections had a deliciously scandalous feel to them. This book would be a perfect beach read, and I can’t imagine anyone not falling for the unapologetic and winsome Grace. A very intriguing read, and one that I won’t soon forget. Highly recommended.
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Feb 28, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

In the hovels of New York, from the hovels of the West Indies, come the child-watchers, the nannies, the maids. They work five days or more a week for the well-to-do and then go back to their rooms in Brooklyn until it’s time to mind the children again. Some are old, young, beautiful and not. They all have a plan in place. Whether it is fulfilled remains to be seen.

Sponsorship. An entry into being a citizen of the USA. That’s the bottom line here and young Grace Caton from Trinidad has been prom...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Melissa Rochelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

Half-way through this book I was frustrated - I felt like there was a lot of character introduction missing. I couldn't figure out why Grace was living with Sylvia, who Bo was (Sylvia's lover, friend, cousin, brother?), and there was no explanation as to what happened after Grace was left at the airport. I was a hundred pages in, I couldn't stop despite the fact that I was really annoyed.

I'd say that's a sign of a good book.

While some of those frustrations could have been handled much earlier on...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars

From the synopsis, this book sounded like it would be so cute and fun. A nice romp to listen to whilst on my million hour commute every day. When I had started it, I realized I was wrong, but kept waiting for the characters to develop, or for some big redemption to occur. Nope.

I have never been so frustrated at a character for not sticking up for herself in my life, nor have I been so impatient to be finished with a book. The account Brown gives of her main character, Grace's, indentured servitu...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought that this was a very good book, especially for a first novel. (3.5 stars)

I appreciated the author's inclusive nature, bringing the reader into the world of Trinidad's young culture and illegal immigrants working as nannies. The unique way that the main character, Grace, views her world is so applicable to what we've all been through growing up: trying not to appear naive and green, but being so very much so. Just the fact that she has to lie about her age, feels like the young striving...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Cindy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

Started out enjoying this book about a young girl who leaves Trinidad and comes to New York, ending up as a nanny. I liked how it was gentler than "The Nanny Diaries" which was so mean spirited. But then I kept waiting for something to happen and finally began to wonder why she even wrote the book. Nothing much happens. I stopped on page 250 of 334 because I had other things I wanted to read so much more, I just didn't care to go on.

Mary Jones in book club agreed with me, but the others enjoyed...more

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May 28, 2011 marymurtz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Grace Caton lives in Trinidad with her overbearing mother and invalid father, along with her younger sister. Grace is bright and ambitious and wants to go to the United States and live in New York with her cousin.

When she arrives, the cousin is nowhere to be found, leaving Grace stranded at the airport. So Grace finds her way into the city and eventually lives with a friend of a friend of a friend, unable to find a decent job without her green card or a sponsor, and she is becoming desperate.

T...more

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May 16, 2011 Eliza rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book, though I can understand why some people didn't. I noticed a lot of other reviews describing the characters as shallow or flat. I actually the author held back deliberately in a way that almost reminded me of Kazuo Ishiguro. Just because some thing isn't said doesn't mean that it isn't there or isn't important. I also liked that she waited so long to tell us what happened when she first came to New York - almost like she needed that extra time to process it.

I'd love to...more

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May 10, 2011 Miriam rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just have to rave about this book! There's lots to like about it, but what grabbed me from the beginning is the spot-on portrayal of the Crown Heights, Brooklyn neighborhood where I live. (I'm sure my landlord is in there!) The characters are complex, the dialects of different ethnic groups are captured perfectly, and you can almost smell New York in the pages.
The only problem is that the book should have been twice as long! Not only because I was sorry to see it end, but because it seemed to...more

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Feb 19, 2011 Biddy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I would really give this book 3 1/2 stars, if that ranking were available! I would wake up in the morning and think"What is going to happen to Grace today"? I did get caught up in her story, leaving Trinidad at 16, arriving in NYC where no one was there to meet her and how she went on with her life in spite of her youth, inexperience and lack of support. I found the group dynamics of the park nannies fascinating and their relationship with their employers quite appalling. As a liberal older woma...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Doret rated it 4 of 5 stars

At 16 Grace, makes the trip alone from her home in Trinidad to NYC. Grace finds herself alone when her aunt doesn't show at the airport. All of that happens in the prologue. When the story really gets going, its 1991 Grace is 18yrs old, living with Sylvia, a fellow Trinidadian she meet at carnival. Grace is helping take care of Sylvia's three kids. Plus the brother, six people staying in Sylvia's rundown Brooklyn apartment. Grace is trying to find work as a nanny. Not being a U.S citizen, is mak...more At 16 Grace, makes the trip alone from her home in Trinidad to NYC. Grace finds herself alone when her aunt doesn't show at the airport. All of that happens in the prologue. When the story really gets going, its 1991 Grace is 18yrs old, living with Sylvia, a fellow Trinidadian she meet at carnival. Grace is helping take care of Sylvia's three kids. Plus the brother, six people staying in Sylvia's rundown Brooklyn apartment. Grace is trying to find work as a nanny. Not being a U.S citizen, is making the job search very difficult.

Grace finally gets a job with the Bruckner's, a wealthy Manhattan couple. She's hired as a weekly live in for their four year old son Ben. Grace is being paid $200 a week and knows its less then average for the area, but she needs the money. The Bruckner's take advantage. The wife is always finding more tedious work for Grace.

Brown does an excellent job of showing this very unbalanced employee and employer relationship. At one point the Bruckner's even hint at being Grace's sponsor to become citizen. Making it more difficult for Grace to leave a bad situation.

Grace takes Ben out to the park and sits with some of the other Caribbean nannies. The author incorporates many Island dialects, which I absolutely loved. It was easy to visualize these women sitting around a park bench, having causal conversations to pass the time.

One of the great things about this story, every interaction served a purpose. When Grace first talks to the Bruckner's doorman it's obvious he feel above the nannies. Brown paints a full picture of Grace, with the story lines running together smoothly. I loved Grace's best friend Kathy. She is also from Trinidad and has fully embraced Jamaican style.

"Kathy shook her head. She was one of those Trinidadians of indeterminate race, a real callaloo. Her chabine hair came almost to her waist in a ponytail looked just like a real pony's tail. She was red-skinned, short and plump - or as she liked to call herself, slim thick-. Karen had taken to Jamaicans. She left Trinidad exactly three months before I did and dropped her h's as frequently as she remembered to pronounce them. Not only had she picked up the accent but she had picked up the style. Now she sported a purple sweater and tight blue jeans. Simple enough but Kathy had only last Saturday gone to the Empire Boulevard post office to pick up her very own BeDazzler. Brooklyn Jamaicans were crazy about the potential for transformation locked away in every bite of the BeDazzler. Three braclets of rhinestones sparkled on Kath's cuffs and a line of jewels dotted up each arm. From the shoulders the stones ringed the neck of her sweater in three rows to mimic the cuff effect. Kathy had repeated the triple pattern on the hem of her jeans and had studded up its outer side seams to the front pockets. This dazzling effect was completed with purple, spiny stars on both back pockets and one final oversize rinestone centered on her back loop. All in all I estimated about two and a half pounds of gems.

When the author broke out the BeDazzler, couldn't help but like the story just a little more. Minding Ben is firmly set in NYC early 90's more so Brooklyn. It was fun for me to be reminded of past trends, like Karl Kani and being able to picture much of the world Grace was living in.

Brown has created a great character in Grace. I loved her voice. Minding Ben was an easy novel to fall into. I really enjoyed it.

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Mar 17, 2011 Jennifer Osterman rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was the engaging but troubling story of a 16 year old girl from Trinidad who came to the US for a better life. She planned to work as a nanny for her cousin, who never picked her up at the airport and subsequently found herself adrift in New York - unemployed, unwanted and unable to give up her dreams. The author gives a somewhat autobiographical account (hinted at in the interview at the end of the book) of working for the NYC elite. This book is not unlike the nanny Diaries in that r...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

A young girl travels from the West Indies hoping to find a better life in America, only to find herself homeless and jobless at age 16, and the only family she knows in America has turned her away. That's not a good position to be in when you're not a legal immigrant, and she has trouble finding work to support herself. The story is written well, and I didn't want to put it down, eager to find out just how she manages to get by, and how the job she finds as a nanny to a young Ben could go so ter...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Revae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Minding Ben was not one of my favorite books that I read this year. It was a little drawn out for me. It took awhile for me to finish the book. The story picked up in the last one hundred pages. Minding Ben follows the journey of Grace, a Trinidadian newly located to New York. Grace encounters many different cultures and Victoria Brown does an excellent job using the appropriate dialect for each culture. It was hard at frst reading the authentic Jamaican, Bajan, and Trinidadian accents, but once...more

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May 30, 2011 Ellen O'brien rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book and think it would make a great book club read! I was intrigued more with the "accents" of the different islands than with the story but I still found myself wondering how Grace Catton would survive as a child-minder in Manhattan. Grace arrives brave and naive and learns a lot about who she can and can't trust as she listens to other child minders in the park and talks to folks from outside her network such as her employer's family members and friends. I was pulling for Grace f...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

"Minding Ben" is the rare novel that reads like a memoir. Sixteen year old Grace emigrates to the US from Trinidad on the promise of work as a nanny for her cousin. As the story unfolds, Grace faces various trials and tribulations, not the least of which is working for Sol and Miriam Bruckner. It is interesting to see how the will to remain in America overshadows all other needs for Grace. She is treated poorly, made fun of, unappreciated, and under paid. Yet, she remains in New York against all...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Lynnette rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received this book as an Early Reviewer copy.

I did enjoy Minding Ben. It did a nice job of following the life of Grace from Trinidad, and her struggles when she reached America. It did not answer all your questions right away and sometimes you felt like something was being overlooked or you were left in the dark, but eventually most of them were answered.

I would have marked it 5 stars, but the ending wrapped up things a bit too nicely. It would have been better had Grace developed her confiden...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8580680-minding-ben?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347568161l/8580680.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8580680-minding-ben?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Minding Ben by Victoria Brown[/url]

Minding Ben

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