Phoebe W

Phoebe W

The Nanny Diaries

Emma McLaughlin

Realistic Fiction

Just Right

pg. 305 (end)

1. I have just finished The Nanny Diaries and was very surprised about what happened at the end. Nanny was on Nantucket with the X's and was being asked to do ridiculous things. The X's were completely out of hand and I was convinced that Nanny was going to quit at any given moment. Then, out of the blue one night, Mrs. X announces that she was pregnant, and then basically fires Nanny. Nanny is confused because she is happy that she's not working for them any more, but she misses Grayer and feels badly about abandoning him. So Nanny goes back to the city with the puppy that the X's pushed off on her and she goes to their apartment. She had overheard Mrs. X talking about a nanny-cam so she finds it and leaves Mrs. X a nasty message. She then erases it and makes up a nicer one that would still leave an impact. I think she should have left the mean one. On top of all of this, Mrs. X only gives her $500 for all the work that she did in Nantucket.

2. I loved this book! I thought that it was really well written and told a great story. I loved how all of the characters connected and fit together. I also learned a thing or two about babysitting which could come in handy. I liked how you knew everything that was going on inside Nanny's head and how the book wasn't just about her being a Nanny, but also gave a bit of her personal life with her family and friends. This book was right up my ally, thank you Mrs. Duryea for recommending it to me!

3. A theme that I have noticed in this book is lack of compassion. Mr. X doesn't have any compassion for Mrs. X because he is cheating on her. He can see how much she needs him and wants to be with him, but somehow he's always busy. Ms. Chicago doesn't have respect for the whole X family because she is ruining their family and only cares about herself. A clear place where this theme shows up is between Mrs. X and Grayer. Grayer has unconditional love for Mrs. X but she treats him like an object or an annoying fly. Mrs. X really isn't fit to have a child because she does not have any compassion for her own creation. I think that this partly comes from the lack of compassion from Mr. X to her. The only care and compassion I see coming from the X family is from Grayer to Nanny, and Mrs. X to Mr. X. The only problem is that love is a two way street.

4. My favorite character at the end is Nanny because she remains strong throughout all of her hardship. Nanny goes through so much and pours her whole life into this good for nothing job that doesn't even pay well. Despite all of the awful things that Nanny has to do and put up with, she still stays the same old Nanny with a huge heart. I can understand how she would want to stay with the X's because she doesn't want to leave Grayer. I think that she was brave to stay with them for so long, I don't think that I could have.

5. My least favorite character at the end is Ms. Chicago because she has no consideration for others. First of all, she is cheating with a married man but she isn't even trying that hard at keeping it a secret. She brings Nanny into the situation by asking her for things and pretending that she has control over Nanny like Mrs. X does. While the X's are on their family vacation in Nantucket, she calls constantly because she is trying to get a hold of Mr. X to see why he hasn't escaped and come back to the city yet. I don't understand how someone can not feel guilty about breaking apart a marriage and doing all of the things that she did.

6. Since I have finished the book, there isn't anything that I could predict and find the outcome to, but I will predict what I think would happen anyway. I think that Nanny is going to get a teaching job that she wants and follow her dreams. Her family will be happy that she isn't wasting her time with the X's and she will continue dating H.H. I think that she will keep the dog and her cat George will not get along with it. I also predict that Mrs. X will see the nanny-cam and rethink some of the things that happened during Nanny's time with them. I think that Nanny will run into Grayer and Mrs. X in the city somewhere and Grayer will be really happy because he missed her so much. Mrs. X would see how much Grayer missed Nanny and regret firing her just a bit. Nanny wouldn't go back to them anyway. I think that Mrs. X's pregnancy will either be fake, or she will turn out to have never been pregnant. Last but not least, I think that Mr. and Mrs. X will get divorced and Mr. X will marry Ms. Chicago.