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The Nanny Diaries
(Nanny #1)
by
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 preschooler. 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
...more
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Paperback, 306 pages
Published
March 18th 2003
by St. Martins Press-3PL
(first published 2002)
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Start your review of The Nanny Diaries (Nanny, #1)
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
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
Mar 25, 2008
Stacey
rated it
did not like it
Recommends it for:
HA!
Recommended to Stacey by:
my mother-in-law
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
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
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
Jul 07, 2012
L A i N E Y
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
marvelous-writing,
reviewed
I read this book back when I was in college. This was actually the very first non-middle grade English book I ever bought! I had only bought some of Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries before then. But that was about it and none of that felt as "grown up" to me as The Nanny Diaries. Hmm, I just realized they were both 'diaries', huh? and to think I've never been one to keep any sort whatsoever! Anywho...
I still remember how I was so awed by the writing from the very first chapter: it was so ...more
I still remember how I was so awed by the writing from the very first chapter: it was so ...more
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
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
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.
This is what happens when you go to a Goodreads book swap and pick up a trashy book, thinking "Oh, i'll read this on the beach someday, it looks mindless." And then you start reading it before bed one night to rest your brain. And then you stay up for three hours reading it, not because it's good, but because it has a plot that is clear and fast-moving, and that is more than you can say for all those high-falutin books that win awards for talking about the moonlight falling on a burning rabbit.
...more
2.5s
The Nany Diaries is the first book in the Nanny series by American authors and ex-nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. We start with a nanny called Nanny. Then we have parents Mr X and Mrs X, and their four-year-old son, Grayer. And a potential boyfriend who never gets beyond HH (=Harvard Hottie). So, ignore the silly names, and wade through the interview experiences, the ridiculous demands of these ultra-rich socialites and their first-world problems, and the brand name soup, and ...more
The Nany Diaries is the first book in the Nanny series by American authors and ex-nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. We start with a nanny called Nanny. Then we have parents Mr X and Mrs X, and their four-year-old son, Grayer. And a potential boyfriend who never gets beyond HH (=Harvard Hottie). So, ignore the silly names, and wade through the interview experiences, the ridiculous demands of these ultra-rich socialites and their first-world problems, and the brand name soup, and ...more
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.
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.
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
...more
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!!
Audio #120
Sometimes I need a lil chick lit in my life. And this book fit perfectly
ILOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT
these horror stories can on,y be way too true. And honestly if I had someone hanging around I’d probably ask her to do an occasional errand for me too. I’m terrible. BUT I’d be appreciative. This book showed just how easy it is for people to be taken for granted and how bending over backward for someone doesn’t make her loyal to you.
Sometimes I need a lil chick lit in my life. And this book fit perfectly
ILOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT
these horror stories can on,y be way too true. And honestly if I had someone hanging around I’d probably ask her to do an occasional errand for me too. I’m terrible. BUT I’d be appreciative. This book showed just how easy it is for people to be taken for granted and how bending over backward for someone doesn’t make her loyal to you.
Can I just comment about the movie instead of the book?
Sorry, my bad.. It’s just frustrating that I found that I liked the movie adaptation better after I’ve finally read this much-hyped story about nannies and their bitch-employers.. Add to the fact that Harvard Hottie was portrayed by no less than Chris Evans who is certainly a hottie!!
Take note: I read this book first before I watched the movie.
This book gave me mixed feelings after reading it. True, all I wanted was for Nan to tell them ...more
Sorry, my bad.. It’s just frustrating that I found that I liked the movie adaptation better after I’ve finally read this much-hyped story about nannies and their bitch-employers.. Add to the fact that Harvard Hottie was portrayed by no less than Chris Evans who is certainly a hottie!!
Take note: I read this book first before I watched the movie.
This book gave me mixed feelings after reading it. True, all I wanted was for Nan to tell them ...more
I am so glad that I only pay this book for 50 cents.
Yet...I hate it. It is really bore me so hard.
I read it till 50 pages, I started to lost my interest in this book.
I was like
RIGHT....
BLAH!
Yet...I hate it. It is really bore me so hard.
I read it till 50 pages, I started to lost my interest in this book.
I was like
RIGHT....
BLAH!
Now I know I've seen the movie before but I honestly didn't remember much about it. So going into this book I had no expectations - I just wanted to like it.
The Nanny was kind of funny and I did enjoy reading it. However, Mr and Mrs X were meh to me. They just didn't seem like realistic parents. They were terrible ones but again, I doubt any parent would act like them. Even if they were living in New York.
I loved Grayer. I could totally see any kid acting the way he did in this book. Especially ...more
The Nanny was kind of funny and I did enjoy reading it. However, Mr and Mrs X were meh to me. They just didn't seem like realistic parents. They were terrible ones but again, I doubt any parent would act like them. Even if they were living in New York.
I loved Grayer. I could totally see any kid acting the way he did in this book. Especially ...more
It was fun to read, but boy did Nanny need to stick up for herself.
Jun 19, 2008
Candy Boisvert
rated it
it was amazing
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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
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
5/5.0 stars
Please read the blurb and tell me this book isn't already a promisingly witty read. I just got the sequel Nanny Returns which I will be reading very soon, hopefully, with teenage Grayer X seeking Nanny out for her abandonment (her sacking, actually).
I live in the Philippines where nannies are widespread because, I assume, everybody needs a career to elevate their lifestyle and to support daily demands in a developing country such as ours. As a result, nannies tend to be surrogate ...more
Please read the blurb and tell me this book isn't already a promisingly witty read. I just got the sequel Nanny Returns which I will be reading very soon, hopefully, with teenage Grayer X seeking Nanny out for her abandonment (her sacking, actually).
I live in the Philippines where nannies are widespread because, I assume, everybody needs a career to elevate their lifestyle and to support daily demands in a developing country such as ours. As a result, nannies tend to be surrogate ...more
I got really tired of this Mary Sue of a nanny. I've never met anyone so selfless and endlessly caring. Why are we supposed to feel sorry for/sympathize with someone whose problems are pretty much the result of her having No Backbone Whatsoever?
The writing is fluid and the book is definitely readable, but it wasn't as funny as I expected. Kind of struck me as COFFEE, TEA, OR ME? with nannies.
The writing is fluid and the book is definitely readable, but it wasn't as funny as I expected. Kind of struck me as COFFEE, TEA, OR ME? with nannies.
This is not at all my usual reading fare, but actually, it turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting. It was not as funny as it could have been, and frankly, some of the characters were markedly irritating, but there was a surprising amount of depth to it, and it did get better as it went on. I will not be reading the sequel, however, as it sounds utterly ridiculous.
Abandoned at 30% mark. I wasn't enjoying it. It's just not for me.
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 preschooler. 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 treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag. Those who take it personally need not apply.
Who ...more
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 preschooler. 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 treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag. Those who take it personally need not apply.
Who ...more
The Nanny Diaries follows the tale of a woman named Nanny as she works for a family called the Xes. Nanny spends her time working for the Xes babysitting their son Grayer while attending NYU. Everything is going pretty well at the start, then the Xes become the family from hell.
Okay, I've had this book on my to-read shelf for a while and I finally got around to reading it. Well, it was very disappointing. The first thing I didn't like was the names. Her name is Nanny, the parents are Mr. X and ...more
Okay, I've had this book on my to-read shelf for a while and I finally got around to reading it. Well, it was very disappointing. The first thing I didn't like was the names. Her name is Nanny, the parents are Mr. X and ...more
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
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
"Where is the child in this home? Where is the woman in this mother? And how, exactly, am I to fit in?"
4.5 stars. I loved this book very much. It is sarcastic, funny, heartfelt, frustrating and sweet.
Nan is a 21 year old student at NYU who takes a job as a nanny for an upper eastside Manhattan family. The mom (Mrs. X) is high strung and high maintenance, and prefers to take a 'backseat' parenting role. The father (Mr. X) is never home, has a roaming eye and a short temper. And then there's the ...more
4.5 stars. I loved this book very much. It is sarcastic, funny, heartfelt, frustrating and sweet.
Nan is a 21 year old student at NYU who takes a job as a nanny for an upper eastside Manhattan family. The mom (Mrs. X) is high strung and high maintenance, and prefers to take a 'backseat' parenting role. The father (Mr. X) is never home, has a roaming eye and a short temper. And then there's the ...more
Palate cleanser after reading about child soldiers though I think I may have overshot like when you take too many antibiotics and then you need a fecal transfusion to restore the balance.
While I should have been able to turn my brain off, I just couldn't. The main character is named "Nanny". I thought this was a pseudonym, but then people make puns about her name. And yet... no one ever says "oh hey, you're a nanny and your NAME is Nanny! ha ha!" I mean, either stick with all pseudonyms and ...more
While I should have been able to turn my brain off, I just couldn't. The main character is named "Nanny". I thought this was a pseudonym, but then people make puns about her name. And yet... no one ever says "oh hey, you're a nanny and your NAME is Nanny! ha ha!" I mean, either stick with all pseudonyms and ...more
Jan 03, 2012
✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans)
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
bookcrossing,
fiction
I thought this would be just another 'chick lit' type book but it wasn't at all and was a surprisingly good, interesting read! The story was somewhat depressing when it was supposed to be funny: I felt really bad for poor Grayer because of the way his parents completely ignored him; and when I think of all the 'poor little rich kids' out there, it just breaks my heart to think of how lonely they must feel... I know this is just a book but I'm pretty sure it pictures life in those circles fairly
...more
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookwarts Club of...: August 2017 (BOTM) | 6 | 8 | Aug 16, 2017 05:35PM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Wrong Translator | 7 | 22 | Aug 27, 2015 12:37PM | |
| 2015 Reading Chal...: The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin | 2 | 16 | May 16, 2015 05:52PM | |
| 2015 Reading Chal...: The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin | 4 | 22 | Feb 12, 2015 09:14PM | |
| It was decent | 13 | 123 | Jan 27, 2015 09:50AM | |
| It was decent | 1 | 21 | Feb 26, 2008 01:50PM |
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Nanny
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“if you'e going to do something, darling, then do it all the way.”
—
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“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!”
—
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