"My Hollywood": This is the book I have been waiting for this year--something that sets my heart on fire with genuine love for the characters and their interactions and wisdom (or fears).

What is special about Mona Simpson's "My Hollywood" is that it tells the story of families with nannies, and as readers, we follow the struggles on both sides. The mothers who employ the nannies carry tremendous guilt, attachments to their jobs and their commitments in the big world; the nannies have left their own families at home to raise American children, so even though they are sending needed money home, they are missing their children's childhoods.

In "My Hollywood," the focus is on musician, Claire, and her husband, Paul, who works in television. Their son, William, is one more love in their lives, but a baby changes everything, no matter what anyone else may say. They hire a nanny, Lola for whom "Hollywood" is Santa Monica, CA.

Lola narrates her part of the story. She falls in love with the children she is nanny to, 5 days a week for Claire and Paul, and weekends only for Helen and Jeff's boy, Bing. Lola thinks in monetary terms, how much pay for how much work, yet her heart is filled with love for the kids.

Claire and Lola develop a friendship. Helen and Jeff want to woo Lola away from Claire. Will money trump love? Lola knows she can return to the Philippines sooner if she accepts Helen and Jeff's offer.

We follow the boys, William and Bing, from babyhood through nursery school and on into sports leagues. Decisions are made about nannies, who needs what, and the nannies themselves must sometimes decide how to handle their employers.

This is not a snarky "insider's" look at bad parenting. This is a book that delivers people with all their beauty and all their flaws. The voices ring true from the fast-paced world of television and comedy to the loneliness of a house where the parents aren't home to the joy of the nannies' playdates and parties with the children they watch over.

I thought that I would never love a character more than Katherine Guildford, the mom in Quindlen's "One True Thing." And then I met Lola. I have been finished with this book for one day, and already I miss the beat of Lola's soft, sweet voice, her remarks on American culture, her yearning to do what is right and best, and her comforting heart.

"My Hollywood"--a gift to us from a most gifted writer, Mona Simpson.