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The Nanny Diaries (Nanny #1)

by Emma McLaughlin (Goodreads Author), Nicola Kraus (Goodreads Author)

3.31 of 5 stars 3.31 · rating details · 221,464 ratings · 4,317 reviews

Wanted:
One young woman to take care of four-year-old boy.
Must be cheerful, enthusiastic and selfless-bordering on masochistic
Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a deliberately nap-deprived pre-schooler
Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family
Must enjoy the delicious anticipation of ridiculously erratic pay
Mostly, must love being

...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published March 13th 2002 by St. Martin's Press

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Sep 23, 2007 F Macias-Mossman rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is one long anecdote disguised as a novel. A lot like "Devil Wears Prada," it is just a laundry list of incidents while working for the shallow, designer-clad perfectionist. It reads more like an article in Us Weekly, In Touch, and or the Mecca of all celebrity rag mag's, People.

What it is clearly the flaw in novels like "Nanny Diaries," and "Devil Wears Prada" is that the protagonist fumbles through the novel lacking any goal or purpose. Instead, these idealists, cute but not too cute young...more

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Aug 20, 2007 Jennifer Holland rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this during a series of fifteen-minute breaks at my job. In the interest of full disclosure, I have a bit of a grudge against any book packaged as chick-lit, the literary equivalent of low-cal fast food. However, I thoroughly enjoyed both The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing and Prep, and understand that genuinely good fiction is sometimes whored out with candy-colored covers so they'll sell, and I'm always happy to be taken by surprise when that's the case. Not so with this book. Now,...more

19 likes · like · see review

Mar 31, 2008 Stacey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: HA!

Recommended to Stacey by: my mother-in-law

Shelves: time-i-will-never-get-back, pissed-me-off, contemporary-fiction, nonfiction-memoir

This book was a gift while I was working as a nanny. At first it was funny, with all of the little observations that all nannies make- mainly about a certain, small subsection of women who hire nannies- the wealthy, entitled, narcissistic bitches.

As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that the children are the losers, the parents have no business being parents, and the nannies do nothing to help make the family a better place. Instead they whine about mistreatment, go along with abuse, and...more

21 likes · like · see review

Apr 25, 2008 Cheri rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Awful. I found the plot (if you can call it that) predictable and unimaginative and the characters flat. BO-ring. Wish I could get those hours back of my life. Can't believe they made a movie out of it. Although, if there are as many people watching "American Idol" as they say there are, I'm sure there's a ready audience for the movie.

14 likes · like · see review

Dec 09, 2007 Madeline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: don-t-judge-me

If you must insist on reading chick lit, I recommend this one. There's a romantic subplot and lots of shopping and snarky best-friend banter, of course, but the main relationship in the story is between the main character (called Nan or Nanny by everyone in the story) and her four-year-old charge, Grayer.
Both authors used to be nannies in New York City, and you can tell they really enjoyed venting their frustration about past employers in this book. There's the controlling, neurotic mother, the...more

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Jul 25, 2009 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tata J recommended this book to me saying that he enjoyed this very much. This even came with two other books about nannies - WHITE HOUSE NANNIES and YOU'LL NEVER NANNY IN THIS TOWN AGAIN. So, after just reading the tearjerker in the love story of Van and Davy, I thought I needed to have something very light. Something that will make me laugh.

And laugh I did. In the first 10 pages of this book, I was laughing at the wee hours of a Sunday morning. The Interview part is really funny. I also like t...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Cate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

This is a Reading Good Books review.

Confession: I’ve known of The Nanny Diaries but only this past month have I watched the movie and read the book. And I have to say, I loved both. (I’m not a huge Scarlett Johansson fan but I am of Chris Evans.) Both were funny and fascinating at the same time.

This was extra fun for me because I spent some time in New York and the place where I was staying was a few blocks away from Park Avenue, the main setting of this novel. Everyday, I walked Museum Mile an...more This is a Reading Good Books review.

Confession: I’ve known of The Nanny Diaries but only this past month have I watched the movie and read the book. And I have to say, I loved both. (I’m not a huge Scarlett Johansson fan but I am of Chris Evans.) Both were funny and fascinating at the same time.

This was extra fun for me because I spent some time in New York and the place where I was staying was a few blocks away from Park Avenue, the main setting of this novel. Everyday, I walked Museum Mile and Central Park and I see nannies with their charges pushing strollers, wiping little faces, and toting around diaper bags. In fact, the address “2nd and 93rd” was mentioned towards the end and I had to laugh. I knew that area well.

But enough of NYC and me. The book is about Nanny, a twenty-something whose job is to take care of the children of Park Avenue moms. Her newest charge is Grayer, a sweet and energetic four-year-old. Mrs. X is Nanny’s new employer and Grayer’s mom. The book documents Nanny’s experiences and observations from her first day to her last day with the Xes.

It was like an extended “day in the life of Nanny”. Each chapter is a different episode. A diary, of sorts. Nanny tells the reader about her different experiences with Grayer. And also, the horrors of working with the Xes. Having watched the movie before reading the book, I had the image of Laura Linney as Mrs. X in my head. It made it easier to connect with her, as neurotic and impossible Mrs. X seemed off the page. Do people like that exist for real? I often wondered, as I was reading, what Mrs. X really thought of Grayer. And of Nanny. What was going on in her head as she relaxed at a spa while her kid is off somewhere with hired help? The way she came across as cold and self-centered outraged yet intrigued me at the same time.

It was also great to know that the authors were former nannies themselves. Now, I wonder if this is what they really want to say to their former employers. Haha! The stories never got boring. Yes, some were repetitive but it came across as setting up a routine for Nanny and the reader followed along with her. Grayer is such a sweet kid. And I honestly felt sorry for him at times. All he wanted was his mommy. Sure, he liked Nanny but he knew she would go away eventually. And the one person who should’ve been there for him was never there. Poor kid.

Now, if I had to compare the book to the movie, I have to say I preferred the movie. Not because of a certain actor. I just felt that the movie had a more satisfying ending. It was still narrated by Nanny but it gave a bit of a leeway to explain what happens to Mrs. X after Nanny leaves their family. I would’ve wanted to see more “episodes” from the book translated to the screen but I could see how it would become redundant.

Then, shortly after watching the film, I saw the book’s sequel Nanny Returns on sale at my local Ralphs. Yes, I picked it up and I cannot wait to read it!

Rating: 4/5.

Recommendation: I admit, if not for Chris Evans, I wouldn’t have watched the movie. But I’m glad I saw it because it pushed me to finally read this book. It’s light and funny. And if you’re like me – I love New York to pieces – then you’ll enjoy this too.(less)

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Nov 02, 2007 Amy G. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely LOVED this book!! OMG..I wanted to kill the wicked Mrs. X! I wish Nan would've had more back bone!! Wonderful & entertaining! Highly recommends!!

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Aug 26, 2011 CJ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

During summers when I was in college, I did a lot of babysitting. One summer, I filled in for a family with three children between au pairs. This experience was eye-opening to me. Never before had I been asked on a babysitting job to take the dog to the vet, do laundry, or make a salad for the parents to eat when they arrived home. I also wasn't accustomed to getting paid a weekly rate, regardless of the number of hours I put in. It was also the first time I'd had an eight-year-old charge tell m...more During summers when I was in college, I did a lot of babysitting. One summer, I filled in for a family with three children between au pairs. This experience was eye-opening to me. Never before had I been asked on a babysitting job to take the dog to the vet, do laundry, or make a salad for the parents to eat when they arrived home. I also wasn't accustomed to getting paid a weekly rate, regardless of the number of hours I put in. It was also the first time I'd had an eight-year-old charge tell me I was her best friend and run to me when she learned her parents were sending her back to the school where she had been teased about her weight the year before rather than another school where, she was convinced, she would have been accepted with open arms. She was probably putting too much faith in this new school thing anyway, but the fact that it was me she threw her arms around for comfort, it was my shirt she cried into in front of her parents...that was a little awkward for me.

This family was nothing like the ultra-wealthy families in The Nanny Diaries, but the similarities stood out to me.

The second experience I've had with nannies was when we lived in Silicon Valley. I would take my daughter to the park and we would be the only mother-child pair surrounded by nannies and their charges. I remember the one nanny whose employers made her give the four-year-old twins she watched snacks every fifteen minutes because apparently the children were underweight. She would basically shove granola bars in these kids' mouths while they were playing with their toys. They wouldn't even look at her while she fed them. They clearly weren't hungry, but she would be reprimanded if the kids didn't eat. Then there was the woman I knew who had a full-time nanny and a backup nanny, and she was a stay-at-home mom. I wasn't really close friends with her.

When we first watched the movie version of the book, my husband kept saying, "That has to be an exaggeration!" and I kept saying, "Maybe, but it's not that far from reality if it is."

And then there's my third experience with nannies, and that's as a parent. I don't really consider the caregivers I hire to be nannies. I generally hire them for just six hours a week (three hours two afternoons a week). But according to this book, they are nannies, and I fit into the Type B category of nanny-employers, the mom who's with her kids all of the time and just wants a couple of afternoons a week off. Seeing these categorizations made we squirm just a little bit, as did the authors' rather negative descriptions of the parent-tot music classes and the instrument lessons the children take. I do music classes with my kids, and my daughter has played the flute since she was four. I'm not anything like Mrs X about these things (and I'm certainly not doing them to help with kindergarten admissions), but it still hit a little too close to the mark for my comfort.

I can see Mrs X's fear about the closeness between her son and the nannies, too. I have similar trepidation and ambivalence about my kids' relationships with non-parental caregivers. In theory, I want them to be close to other adults, and I certainly want them to feel excited and happy to be with their caregivers. But I don't know...I feel just a little weird if they like their sitters a whole, whole lot. I feel like I must not be doing my job very well if they don't prefer me over all others. And of course they do prefer me over all others and just happen to love their sitter, too. I just feel a little jealous. I suppose if I actually were as uninvolved and self-centered as Mrs X, I might feel even stronger jealousy, along with resentment and fear around this closeness.

Overall, though, I thought this was quite a fun little book. It was a quick read, but well-written (although the copy-editing in the last two chapters was a little hit-or-miss, to the point that I actually had to re-read a couple of sentences to try to catch the meaning through the typos). The depth of the relationship between Nanny and Grayer was heartrendingly clearer than in the movie.

Nanny's friends were a little flat, as were her parents, but the characters the authors spent lots of energy on were more well-rounded, like Nanny's grandmother, Grayer, and Mrs X. The Harvard Hottie was a little too good to be true, though. This guy just never seemed to mess up. Even when Nanny got annoyed at him, it was her fault for misinterpreting an otherwise caring and thoughtful remark from him. I found that a little irritating.

And I was kind of grossed out when they shared the tub of ice cream. I mean, sure, kiss a guy, but share ice cream from the same container? Yuck! That's almost as bad as sharing a toothbrush. *shudder*(less)

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Jan 23, 2012 Leftbanker rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I suppose that I am one of the few heterosexual males who actually read The Nanny Diaries, or at least part of it before I wanted to make my own guillotine and start lopping off the heads of America’s vulgar ultra-rich. The only reason I tried to read it was because I was going through a phase when I lived in Seattle of noticing the books that people were reading on the bus, or in coffee shops, or where ever. I wanted to get a feel for what folks were buying. A very disheartening exercise at tim...more I suppose that I am one of the few heterosexual males who actually read The Nanny Diaries, or at least part of it before I wanted to make my own guillotine and start lopping off the heads of America’s vulgar ultra-rich. The only reason I tried to read it was because I was going through a phase when I lived in Seattle of noticing the books that people were reading on the bus, or in coffee shops, or where ever. I wanted to get a feel for what folks were buying. A very disheartening exercise at times.

The book is one of the least interesting things I have ever come across. It tells the story of a young girl, recently graduated from college, who goes to work as a nanny for an over-privileged cunt* in Manhattan. In the movie the nanny actually allows the child to abuse her sexually and physically. Little Lord Fuck-face pulls her pants down in an early scene that I saw before turning it off. I would have put a cigarette out in his eye for that one. See if he tries that again. No wonder these kids grow up to be date rapists and poorly qualified U.S. presidents.

You get the feeling from the book and the movie that you are supposed to feel a sense of awe concerning the lifestyle of the over-privileged cunt. I mean, this is what we all want, right? This is what we all aspire to be in our dreams, to be super rich and outsource every single human endeavor and emotion, to become sandblasted and airbrushed to within an inch of our pilates-toned asses, and to shop—as if this is some wonderful form of self-expression.

I didn’t get very far along in the story in the novel before throwing it in the trash (disguised as the Seattle Library book deposit). Of course I was too embarrassed to even check it out so I just speed-read it among the stacks. I watched even less of the sickening movie version of the shitty novel. If you are thinking that I sound a little bitter, you can bet your fucking ass that I have been made bitter by this vile piece of trash. The book made a vague attempt to scold* the women who make up America’s new aristocracy. More than anything else it was obvious that the authors just want to walk in the same shoes as their over-privileged cunt masters who have closets full of designer heels.

I really think that it is time for America to stop and take a very good look at the way things are progressing and decide if we want to keep on this course of allowing the top 1% of the citizenry to make all of the rules and call all of the shots. The new American elite make the Czars of Russia look like serfs. I suppose that just about everyone in America thinks that eventually they, too, will be part of this new elite class, the sickeningly stupid progeny of inherited wealth. The fact that so many people voted for one of these nitwits to be our president confirms this theory.

I have always felt that everyone in the world should be forced to clean their own toilet. People need to be reminded on a daily basis that we are all filthy animals, one and all, whether you are Bill Gates or Bin Laden, Madonna or Hilary Clinton. George Bush should do nothing but clean toilets all day.

*I thought a lot about that word, "scold," not wanting to use too strong a term. I also thought a lot about "over-privileged cunt" but couldn't come up with a more vitriolic tag for this sub-culture. (less)

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Tara I'm absolutely crazy about your review. Listening to all the fawning over The Help reminded me of this, and our bizarre national fixation on pretendin...more
Aug 10, 2011 08:12pm

Leftbanker I have been living in fairly socialist Spain for the past four and a half years and you just don't have this vast separation of classes. In Valencia t...more
Aug 10, 2011 10:15pm

Angii Higgins your review are like the rantings of a revolutionary leader that america needs to overthrow the elite. Love it!!!!
Jan 19, 2013 04:02am

Jun 19, 2008 Candy Boisvert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Nannies

Recommended to Candy by: No one

Title: The Nanny Diaries
Author: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Copyright date: 2002
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
How many pages: 306 pgs
How long it took me to read: 10 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: Seeing it around Chapter's and then being released as a movie

This book was purchased at: McNeely and Robinson
This book is: for people who are thinking about becoming a Nanny
Other books by these authors: Dedication and Citizen girl
Favorite characters: Grayer, Nanny, Harvard Hot...more

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Sep 30, 2008 Maria added it · review of another edition

Podría decirse que es un libro extrovertido: personajes casi anónimos como "Nanny" o los "señores X", de los que apenas se intuyen los sentimientos, protagonizando anécdotas en presente llenas de colorido, con un exceso de marcas comerciales y otros elementos de cultura pop (así como frases completas en mayúsculas, con letras repetidas diez veces para indicar que se grita y muchas exclamaciones).
Lo que sí me gusta del libro son los momentos en que se olvida de criticar al pijerío de Manhattan y...more

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Nov 02, 2007 Camie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up because I wanted to see the movie. I hate to see a movie that's based on a book if I haven't read the book.

The Nanny Diaires appeals to a wide audience, I think, for one reason: We've all had a dead-end job with a demanding boss we hate, frustrated because we're waiting for life to begin. And this is exactly what's happened with Nan. The authors show a glimpse into a richer-than-any-person-should-concievably-be New York household. The collision of the very different world...more

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Oct 24, 2007 Meredith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5/5
The story of a nanny for the “elite” in NYC. I liked this book b/c I could relate to many of the upsurd things from my experiencing baby-sitting. I also could relate to the unhappiness and excessive time/worry put into insignificant things (and loss of perspective)…..not to mention the non-existent life of a parent despite having children. This was an easy and entertaining read, simply written by a former nanny. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a ton of respect for the nanny….nothing negative,...more

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Aug 09, 2007 Maddy Pertiwi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: luar

Nannie adalah seorang mahasiswi yang hendak mencari pekerjaan sebagai pengasuh anak. Di New York, banyak sekali keluarga kaya yang membutuhkan pengasuh anak, salah satunya adalah keluarga X. Nannie bertemu dengan Mrs. X secara tidak sengaja. Mrs. X pun menawari Nannie pekerjaan untuk mengasuh anaknya, Grayer. Setelah menjadi pengasuh Grayer, Nannie sadar bahwa anak ini sangat kesepian karena Mr. X yang terlalu sibuk berbisnis dan Mrs. X yang selalu bergaul dan tak peduli anaknya. Kehidupan Nanni...more

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Jul 06, 2007 Esther rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was incredibly absorbing, but leaves the reader with mixed messages. I think it wants to be a penetrating exploration of the intersection between social class and child-raising, but in a way it ends up being about the difference between upper middle class and upper class, and trying to make more out of that difference than there really is. It could have been a study of progressive psychological subjection of Nanny by her employer, which was one of the most striking and horrifying parts...more

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Jan 25, 2009 Kimberly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I must say didn't you feel like slapping Mrs. X and shaking Nanny!
The abuse of power by the richy rich Mrs. X was amazing, even more so was Nanny taking it and staying.
It was touching seeing the relationship between her and 'Grover'. The book left me feeling sad for him and his mother constantly changing his caretakers at the faintest perceived slight.

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Feb 12, 2011 Lina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is like The Devil Wears Prada lite. It was interesting to see how "the other side" lives, but at this point we know they are a bunch of rich jerks who do nothing but sit around basking in the smell of their own farts. I felt for Nan who was being treated like a slave, but honestly for what is being charged she is the best paid slave ever. Would have never read this book if it hadn't been for class and honestly could not recommend it for anyone except major chick lit fans and fans of The Dev...more

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Jan 04, 2010 Karen Powell added it · review of another edition

This book is a modern-day "Agnes Grey," depicting the trials and humiliations of a poor, young woman who takes up caring for the wealthy elite's children. There's a contrived love story thrown in for extra measure, but it only serves to break up the intensity of the X's bad behavior. Mr. X burns through trophy wives and couldn't be bothered to care for his son. Mrs. X is determined to stay thin, young, rich, and Mr. X's current wife. Where does that leave her son Grayer? Spoiled with material th...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Alison Looney rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book mirrors The Devil Wears Prada, offering a glimpse into the world of Upper East Side WASPs. Like DWP, we see this opulent lifestyle through a college aged woman who grudgingly agrees to work for the upper crust in hopes of improving her career outlook. But it turns out rich people are rude, inconsiderate, manipulative, and really, really bad parents.

I might have rated this book a little higher if the parents hadn't been so awful. Not once in the story did they seem more than dimly aware...more

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Mar 25, 2009 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think the reason I liked this book so much is because I could identify with it so well! Although I have never lived in NYC (sorry Patty!) I have been babysitting since I was 13...which I feel has given me a healthy respect for a worthy foe...children. Spawn. Hatchlings. Whatever you want to call them. The more you love them, the more pissed off they can make you. I always tell my students I love them enough to hate them. They dont get it, but if all the curses I have rained upon them ever come...more

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Mar 24, 2009 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've had this one a while... a long while. Almost used it as my pick for a book club I was in, but had heard it was not so great in the beginning. So wrong.

This book is hilarious! Laugh out loud hilarious!

The authors are former nannies turned authors, who obviously have seen their fair share of of the nanny business!

The novel follows (the aptly named) Nanny through her final year in school, and her job as a nanny to the X's son, 4 year old Grayer. They live on Park Avenue complete with "La Courn...more

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Feb 18, 2009 Sonja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At first I thought I liked this book. It was well-written and emotionally touching. On the other hand, when I finished it, I was very sad for all the Grayers of the world, and a little bit angry about which people claim to be parents and which people really ARE parents. But I guess that was the point, wasn't it?

But then I thought about it some more, and decided that there were other reasons why this book was not fulfilling for me. There was absolutely no character development. Nanny was the same...more

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May 20, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story is about a young woman who is a nanny (duh). The first chapter threw me a bit because it kind of put you in the deep end. You weren't really introduced to the main character, more what it was like to be a nanny. This didn't draw me in as i find a good story is made up of great characters (whether they are the good guy or the bad guy) and i wasn't really getting to know anyone! However after the first chapter you start to get to know Nanny and after that i was hooked and i couldn't put...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Manami rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, Devil Wears Prada it was meant to be, but Devil Wears Prada it ain't. This was written as if it were non-fiction--which it isn't. I expect a non-fiction novel or memoir might be non-structured, but for a fiction piece to be as meandering and random as this is just bad writing. I found the main character to be uncharacteristically spineless and sometimes a little bad at her job...I am confused as to why this girl never stands up for herself. Sure, she needs the job, but surely she can find...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Su Nita rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: skip-read

I was recommended this book as a look into the lives of rich mommies and their nannies. Hmmm.... It started off as hilarious and very interesting, the interview, the unbelievable instructions from Mrs.X... until its starts to go downhill (at least for me), when Nanny (what a creative moniker!(THAT WAS SARCASM btw)) turns out to be a white middle-class student struggling to pay her rent in NYC, she doesn't mention how she pays for her education, maybe her parents do?

The book didn't really take of...more

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Dec 08, 2012 RJ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When that line which borders our job away from our personal life begins to thin out, there are some things that make us ignore the intrusion and just go through with it. For Nanny, it was the desperate need to safeguard the welfare of a four year old she had grown to love and truly care for. The question is, as human as she is, how much can she take in until it breaks her apart?

Nanny accepts a job for the X family to take care of little Grayer. With years of child care experience and being a cur...more When that line which borders our job away from our personal life begins to thin out, there are some things that make us ignore the intrusion and just go through with it. For Nanny, it was the desperate need to safeguard the welfare of a four year old she had grown to love and truly care for. The question is, as human as she is, how much can she take in until it breaks her apart?

Nanny accepts a job for the X family to take care of little Grayer. With years of child care experience and being a current child development major in NYU, this would have been a piece of cake. However, working for these wealthy Park Avenue residents suddenly turns for the worse when Nanny is made to do tasks way beyond the job description and she becomes more involved in this family than she wanted to be. With an abusive boss, the absurd day-to-day life of the New York elite, and a family that, surprisingly, starts to become more broken that it already is, Nanny struggles to keep her personal life private while keeping her self sane, and alive, along the way. And yet she can never find where the limits of this job is or if there is such a thing.

Just by looking at the title and book cover, I could have sworn this is a chick lit. Judgmental, yes, but I was wrong. This novel had more heart than I expected it to have. And thank heavens it was not the Twilight-kind. It is an honest, a bit exaggerated yet quite entertaining, look at modern day servitude where a job becomes more than just a source of income but a responsibility for another human’s well-being.

The transition from one conflict to another makes this book hard to put down and absorbs its reader to the life of its main characters. It is well-written, although not gut-wrenching funny, but definitely brings out a smile. Such a shame for the very disappointing ending though. There was no sense of closure and left quite a number of annoying questions to its readers at the end. It was like not finding out if Frodo got to destroy the ring. Irritating? Yes, very.

What I find mildly amusing about this novel is how the authors named the nanny as Nanny and the family as X. The anonymity, if that is it’s intention, is quite intriguing. All the characters were very relatable with the authors giving various perspectives of their personality, especially Nanny. My only complain is that Nanny seems so perfect. She is driven, hardworking, responsible, caring, loving, selfless, and you can just insert any good trait here and it will fit her perfectly. She is the perfect daughter, the perfect lover, and definitely the perfect Nanny. A modern day Mary Poppins, that is what she is. All I am saying is a little hiccup here and there would have made this novel unforgettable, but that is just my two cents.

The Nanny Diaries is very entertaining and is impossible to put down once you get into it. The daily hassles that is Nanny’s life and her inadvertent involvement in the X’s personal drama makes one root for Nanny all the way to the end. Yes, I still recommend this book regardless of the anti-climactic ending. No matter how Disney-perfect Nanny is though, do not expect for the evil witch to die in the end.(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Ahlorha Brooks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this review originally posted at a-thousand-ships.blogspot.com

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The Nanny Diaries has never failed to make me smile, no matter how many times I re-read it. The absurdities of the X family and the acts that Nanny goes to to please them are so hilarious and outrageous, one cannot help but chuckle.

And while the book is quite amusing, there is sweet little Grayer. He is so adorable, whether he’s locking Nanny out of the apartment or sitting on her lap, helping her turn pages of a bo...more this review originally posted at a-thousand-ships.blogspot.com

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The Nanny Diaries has never failed to make me smile, no matter how many times I re-read it. The absurdities of the X family and the acts that Nanny goes to to please them are so hilarious and outrageous, one cannot help but chuckle.

And while the book is quite amusing, there is sweet little Grayer. He is so adorable, whether he’s locking Nanny out of the apartment or sitting on her lap, helping her turn pages of a book.

And yes, the book is funny and adorable, but it is also a bit disturbing. I know it is fiction, but I couldn't help but wonder if people really lived like that. Do people really leave their children in the care of a nanny, go to the spa all day, and call it being a stay-at-home mom? Can husbands really care that little about their family? And how in the world can you treat someone the way that Mrs. X treats Nanny?

Of course, I know all these things are true in one way another. These things do happen. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Oh, sorry. Excuse my mini rant.

Aside from all of those disturbing bits, The Nanny Diaries really is an entertaining book. It’s not the most meaningful thing I’ve ever read, but not everything has to be meaningful! Everyone needs to be able to pick up good chick lit once in a while and have a good laugh.

Nanny’s grandmother was absolutely fantastic. Her wildness was admirable, and she didn't let her age stop her from being young, if you know what I mean. She was very funny, but she was still kind. I would love to have her as a friend, even!

I love that not that many people have real names in this book. Or maybe they do. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. X are actually Mr. and Mrs. X, and maybe Nanny’s name is Nanny.

And let’s not forget Harvard Hottie. Oh my, he is wonderful. How does someone like him have such horrible friends?

If you want a light, humorous read that will make you smile (not to sound clichéd, or anything), I highly recommend The Nanny Diaries. (less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Alexine Fleck rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Man oh man did I hate Mrs. X. She reminded me of a clueless, indulged, obnoxious rich woman I once had to deal with. Same crap. Same self-serving narrative to justify ridiculously abusive behavior. Only my Mrs. X was Mrs. Deignan, and the baby was a horse. But that's another story.

The thing I kept thinking about was how people who have lots of unearned power use the hard earned-language and critique of those on the margins to further their own ends. It's like Christians whining about religious...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Caro rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was shocked that I enjoyed this as much as I did, I don't normally read books like this but after reading A Clash of Kings, I was looking for something lighter to read before jumping into the third book in Martins series. I received a copy of The Nanny Diaries at a local book giveaway for free and thought why not? I read it in about 4 days, and after couldn't stop wondering about poor Greyer and Nan, I loved the comic moments in the novel but the relationship between Nan and Greyer really got...more

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About Emma McLaughlin

My partner, Nicki, and I have been writing together for 12 years. We're obsessed by what makes a satisfying story. I'm excited to hear from our readers what does it for them -- and what doesn't. As a working mom, the only book time I manage to steal these days is right before bed. I'm not the girl who can watch SVU and go to sleep with a smile. Ruling out kids/the economy/the world in peril as sub...more

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“if you'e going to do something, darling, then do it all the way.” — 17 people liked it

“There are people in this home- human beings- drowning in their desire for you to look them in the eye. You made this family. And all you have to do is show up and like them. It's called 're-la-ting.' So get over whatever totally-absent-buying-your affection parenting that you received and get here, man- because this is your LIFE and you're just pissing it away!” — 1 person liked it

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