The Nanny Diaries
Authors: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
ISBN: 9780312291631

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus tells the story of Nan, a college student trying to make a little extra cash by being a Nanny for some of the richest families in New York City.

Nanny begins working for the X’s and has no idea what she’s gotten herself into. She falls in love with little Grayer who she affectionately nicknames Grover and can’t seem to leave him when things start going sour.

Mrs. X is absolutely insane and seems to believe that Nan is a nanny, cook and housekeeper all rolled into one. Nan spends her days running Grayer to play dates, picking up Mr. X’s dry cleaning, running errands for Mrs. X and cooking meals for the 4 year old. Things get bad fast and Nan is already too embedded in the X’s lives to pull herself out.

I loved this book. It was written well, hilarious and touching, all at the same time.

This book dealt with some serious issues: an affair, a student acting as a mother, a mother neglecting her child, an almost never present father. The authors demonstrated all of these issues clearly and in a way that really made you feel for all of the characters, especially Grayer and Nan.

A (fictional) look into the life of New York’s elite was extremely interesting and made me wonder what the world of Nanny’s in NYC is really like.

Grayer was my absolute favorite character. I just wanted to hug him and squeeze him throughout the book. I think the authors did a fabulous job writing the part of a 4 year old sweetheart who is struggling with figuring out why his parents don’t seem to pay any mind to him.

While I loved Nan, I just couldn’t understand why she didn’t stand up for herself. I would have liked to see her be just a tad more self-confident.

I can’t wait to pick up a copy of the sequel to this book, Nanny Returns (in stores now!).

4.5/5