The Nanny Diaries is an absolutely addictive peek into the utterly weird world of child-rearing in the upper reaches of Manhattan's social strata. Cowritten by two former nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, the novel follows the adventures of the aptly named Nan as she negotiates the Byzantine byways of working for Mrs X, a Park Avenue mommy. Nan's four-year-old charge, the hilariously named Grayer (his pals include Josephina, Christabelle, Brandford, and Darwin) is a genuinely good sort. He can't help it if his mother has scheduled him for every activity known to the Upper East Side, including ice-skating, French lessons, and a Mommy and Me group largely attended by nannies. What makes the book so impossible to put down is the suspense of finding out what the unbelievably inconsiderate Mrs X will demand of Nan next. One pictures the two authors having the last hearty laugh on their former employers. --Claire Dederer

Nan, in her early twenties, goes to work for the wealthy X family to help put herself through college, and is shocked by their antics. Between raising the X's son Grayer, keeping on top of her studies, moving house and ensuring Mrs X's day runs smoothly, it's a wonder Nanny ever finds time to hang out with the gorgeous HH on the sixth floor. With divorce on the cards, Nanny finds herself caught up in the X's embittered world of power plays, lies and deciet. As communication rapidly breaks down, will Nanny be able to maintain the mental health of Grayer, despite the onslaught of Personal Problem Consultants, macrobiotic nutritionist and bilingual meals?

2008-04-10 Very good read

Nan has a tricky relationship with her employer, Mrs X. A non-existant relationship with Mr X. But she loves their little boy to peices.

In between looking after four-year-old Grayer and running a thousand errands for Mrs X, his rich, uptight Manhattanite mother, Nan is trying to have a life. There's college, shopping, her friends, her cat George. And the gorgeous Harvard boy from the sixth floor...

But the X family's dramas keep intruding - visits from Mr X's predatory mistress, catastrophic family outings and, as a final straw, the case of the marriage-destroying panties. As divorce looms, Nan realises how attatched she's become to the X's underloved son - and how nannying has become more than just a job.

Funny, touching and true-to-life, 'The Nanny Diaries' is a modern-day Mary Poppins story - with attitude.

I wanted to read this book, because I am myself a qualified nursery nurse, and considered Nannying when I first qualified. I ended up in day nurseries instead, and know just how much of your life is taken up by the little people in your care. I knew that this book would be something I could relate to. I wasn't wrong.

While the situation is dramatised, in comparison to what I have experienced, I can feel Nan's pain and frustration! When you work with kids, you really do fall in love with them, and I felt so sad at the end when she left. It's hard to leave your kids.

I thought this book was very well written, and very entertaining. I think I have just finished it in a couple of sittings, because I didn't want to put it down.

The story line, of the completely neurotic mother amused me. Do people like Mrs X really exist in real life?? I'm suprised Nan lasted as long as she did. I think I would have a few choice words to say to the X's if I met them.

A great book, which tells a great story. If I ever thought about getting a Nannying job now, I think I would forget it though, because this book does highlight the point that you could well be trapped with a family you don't like.

book rating: 9/10