The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicole Kraus

Guilty pleasure or beach read in the middle of winter. I'm not sure what else I can say about the Nanny Diaries. It was a good book with a lot of disturbing issues buried under it's dark humor. I would place it in the same category of ChickLit that I would place "Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger but I enjoyed this much more. Nanny is really highered as a replacement parent for her charge and that alone disturbs me on so many levels. Makes me wonder if my students have had this happen to them. If you like similar books than you should enjoy this - it differs enough to blow other ChickLit titles away.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
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 wouldn't want this job?

Struggling to graduate from NYU and afford her microscopic studio apartment, Nanny takes a position caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved to ensure that a Park Avenue wife who doesn't work, cook, clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day.When the Xs marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up involved way beyond the bounds of human decency or good taste. Her tenure with the X family becomes a nearly impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their four-year-old, her own integrity and, most importantly, her sense of humor. Over nine tense months, Mrs. X and Nanny perform the age-old dance of decorum and power as they test the limits of modern-day servitude.