Phoebe W
The Nanny Diaries
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
Page. 68

1. Right now in this book, Nanny is dealing with the stress of her new client; the Xes. At first, when Nanny was hired, the little boy Grayer didn't like her and always wanted her to go away because he missed his old nanny. Now, Grayer likes her and they have fun together. The Xes live in a huge Manhattan apartment and are having a party for Mr. Xes business colleagues. It is not Nanny's job to buy all of the things for the party, but Mrs. X keeps asking her to "pick up a few things on the way home". Another thing that is going on right now is that Nanny has been introduced to the cute next door neighbor who goes to Harvard and she ran into him at a bar. That night did not end well because his friends were being rude to her.

2. I am really enjoying this book right now. It reminds me of The Devil Wears Prada because both women are dealing with tough jobs that don't pay enough for the effort that goes into them. I like reading all of the crazy things that Mrs. X has Nanny running around doing. I also like hearing about the fancy apartment because I am interested in houses. I find a lot of the things that Grayer says are funny little one-liners that I am surprised a four year old would say.

3. One theme that I have noticed in this book is social hierarchy. It is very apparent that Mrs. X just looks upon Nanny as a plebeian, and not an actual person. She is always bossing Nanny around and telling her exactly what she's doing wrong with no hesitation. You can also see the social hierarchy when Mrs. X is around her friends because she acts very proper and wealthy. She wears expensive clothes and has a perfect apartment that shows off her assets. Mrs. X doesn't have very much respect for anybody who isn't in her social group.


4. My favorite character is Grayer because he seems like an average little boy even though he is growing up in an elite life style. Grayer doesn't care if he's wearing a Burberry shirt, or an old tee-shirt. He'd rather eat pb & j sandwiches than coquilla's and beets. At first, he was very rude to Nanny and didn't like her, but now they are practically best friends and get along very well. As I said before, Grayer also has great one-liners that are very mature for his age. He always surprises me with what he has to say.

5. My least favorite character is Mrs. X. At first, she comes off as this nice, normal woman that is just looking for a nanny, but then she turns out to be crazy. She orders Nanny around, asking her to do absurd things. She is never home to spend time with her son. She barely sees her husband. Plus, she has so much money, she doesn't know what to do with it. I think that Mrs. X would learn a big lesson on how to treat people, if she lost most of her money and actually had to work. I don't think that Mrs. X is aware of what the world is really like, and that she needs to give back to her community.

6. I predict that Nanny will grow a stronger bond with Grayer and will start working a even more hours for the Xes. I also think that Nanny will start to date the neighbor and that they will have to keep it a secret from Mrs. X. I think that Mr. X will continue to not be around, and Mrs. X will continue to be her insane self.