Nannies Books

I think this novel would be good for someone that has grown up in a family situation composed of different cultures, but I found it to be a little extreme and exaggerated. Hey, maybe that's me being naive, but I did not enjoy it none-the-less.

I read this book for my Women in Literature class, everyone seemed to have the same opinion of it "The characters are developed extremely well, Gish Jen is very talented, it was somewhat of a page-turner, but wow, the subject was just..blah" The central issue of the novel is the mixture of Chinese and American culture and what it can do to a family. Though some of the characters are quite funny, I would not read this book again.

This book was so wonderfully written. I will definately read more of Gish Jen's work.

Books about cultural assimilation and the immigrant experience in America have long been literary staples, with the Asian-American perspective being the most recent blossoming. The best of them, such as Chang Rae-Lee's A GESTURE LIFE, Lan Samantha Chang's HUNGER, Jhumpa Lahiri's THE NAMESAKE, and Le Thi Diem Thuy's THE GANGSTER WE ARE ALL LOOKING FOR, are deeply intimate. They maintain a small narrative scope, offering microscopic demonstrations of macroscopic issues while avoiding stereotypes.

Gish Jen's THE LOVE WIFE aspires to a broader view of personal and societal issues - foreign adoption, career mothers, self-identity and self-fulfillment, capitalism and greed, marital fidelity, job (in)security, racial violence, and controlling mothers. Regretably, the result is something of an overreach, a novel disrupted in its last third by forced plot contrivances that overwhelm the book's earlier, more evenly-paced character building. The story's surprise revelation of Mama Wong's machinations from beyond the grave - the novel's central plot element - seems curiously anticlimactic as a consequence.

THE LOVE WIFE ostensibly presents the ultimate multicultural family. Gish Jen gives us the mixed Irish-American/Asian-American marriage of blue-eyed, blond-haired Janie Bailey, nicknamed Blondie by her mother-in-law, and Chinese Carnegie Wong, no doubt superstitiously named by his money-driven mother after the great American industrialist. Into this family come two adopted girls, Wendy (Chinese) and Lizzy (of such uncertain Asian origin she calls herself the soup de jour) and a blond, biological son. Orbiting around them are the emotionally dead Bailey family and the smothering and manipulating Mama Wong, herself a successful businesswoman who has never accepted Carnegie's lack of financial drive nor his choice of blond bride.

At Mama Wong's death, Carnegie learns from her will of a book detailing fifteen or more generations of the family genealogy. It is being held in Hong Kong by a friend of Mama Wong's, and it will be released to Carnegie only if he agrees to bring a distant relative, Lan, to America to be the family nanny. Carnegie does so, only to set in motion a chain of feelings and events that slowly spin out of control with successively worse consequences. Lan insinuates her way into the family through passive-aggressive manipulation of Wendy's and Lizzie's feelings. She alienates Blondie, who feels so threatened by the loss of her adopted children and Carnegie's obvious romantic interests in a "love wife" that she quits her high-powered job and eventually takes even more drastic measures. Events spin ever faster out of control, resulting in beatings, two surprise assaults with a garden pitchfork, a tragic fire, and a heart attack. To paraphrase Tolstoy, this unhappy family is unhappy in its own, culturally unmoored way.

The central characters in THE LOVE WIFE feel surprisingly stereotyped. Carnegie is the impotent Chinese male, emasculated by his mother, a career success in some underwhelming Xerox copy called Document Management Systems who ultimately gets laid off. Blondie is the overachieving, vegan, yoga-practicing, career mother who reminded me of nothing so much as Tea Leoni's hilariously hyperventilated uber-mom in the movie SPANGLISH. Lan is the bootstrapping immigrant climber full of the financial hunger Mama Wong wishes her son would demonstrate; one gets the feeling that Blondie and Lan could have easily lived each other's lives and ended in the same places. Lizzy is the standard rebellious teenager, while Mama Wong is the money-hungry Chinese businesswoman, oppressive mother, and impossible mother-in-law. Friend Gabriela is a goat-owning, New Age flake, Billy is the routine racist lout, and Shang is little more than a psychopathic Chinese yakuza. Oddly, these characters seem to skitter like water bugs around one another rather than making heartfelt connections. They feel strangely disassociated from one another.

Gish Jen's prose and dialogue are affecting, and her portrayal of Chinese cultural tone is wonderfully on target. Lan was born and lived her early years in Suzhou, and Jen taps accurately (if perhaps a bit superficially) into that city's rich and unique cultural tradition. The author uses a multiple-narrator approach in which all the main characters tell parts of the story from their various perspectives. This complicates the story slightly, but it creates a fuller, more kaleidoscopic set of narrative voices, like watching a documentary created from interviews with different family members (a literary CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, perhaps). THE LOVE WIFE offers an interesting take on cultural identity and cross-cultural adoption, but in the end, the novel is outdone by its own stereotyping and pyrotechnic plotting.

This book lost my interest at times, but overall was a satisfying read.

This book tries too hard to be clever. The method of switching point of view constantly, within chapters, is distracting rather than "cute" or "clever" or whatever it is supposed to be. Perhaps if this voice change were perpetrated chapter by chapter (although this is more conventional perhaps) there would be a great clarity and it would serve the reader better. Unfortunately as hard as this book tries to avoid stereotypes, it still offers a few stereotypes of its own. Maybe that is part of the point and an inevitability. We live in a world, after all, full of stereotypes. Characters here are, for the most part, quite well developed-"Blondie" and her Asian husband, their two adopted children and their own biological child (whom they had not expected) and the obligatory racist, closed and crazy "Chinese mother" who tries to orchestrate her son's life even from beyond the grave (and tear apart his mixed-marriage, of which she had never approved). The story moves along well and is quite readable, but there is a series of strange events that occur near the end that feel rushes and out of context (and out of character, perhaps). The twist at the end is something one might expect but it is enjoyable reading whether you guess at the twist or not.

Former cop, now cleaning service business owner Callahan, runs into crime when she takes on a cleaning job at a former classmate's ritzy home. Often amusing with the characters, although no Evanovich. I enjoyed that it wasn't chock full of steamy romance. Will probably read a few more in the series when in the mood for something very light ;-)

I love all this author's books! The Callahn Garrity series is one of my favorites as far as mysteries go. I love the characters, especially those working for her at her House Mouse cleaning business!

I love the Stephanie Plumb books so this remindes me of that style although i prefer Trocheck's Hizzy Fit and the Savanah books which where great. This series was funny and I went out and bought another one until Trocheck writes another current book. The mother is a hoot and I loved the other cleaning people. The story was a little light reading but perfect for the beach. The ex-cop thing is a little unbelievable.

this book is a great mystery and really the only problem I have with it and the writer is the crude language. I really don't think you need all that language just to sound authentic. Most people read to get away from real life. You don't have to have so much of that in the books as well. This is the only reason why I could not, in good conscience, give the book more than 2 stars. Sorry.

Great Title and an easy read. However, if you're looking for a challenge..this book is sort of predictable.

Oh, my God, Adrienne thought. Someone at the party stole Mrs. Warner's jewelry! "


Confessions of a Teen Nanny, first in its series. Makes you never want to work with New York socialites no matter the pay. How is a girl like Adrienne going to handle an eight year old super genius, a teen that only likes to party, and the boss? There are a lot of rules. Adrienne has to adapt quickly; she changes from a nanny into a party planner.
Her friend Liz gets her a job babysitting an eight-year-old super genius. At first she thinks it's a normal baby-sitting job. She soon realizes Emma's big sister Cameron (Cam) doesn't like to play things the easy way. Cam makes her way into Adrienne's life without her noticing. She takes Adrienne's boyfriend, and tricks her into buying things she can't afford. Will Adrienne ever get out of this mess?
I love the way Victoria Ashton portrayed the characters. I really could feel what Adrienne was going through. When Cam started hitting on Brian (her boyfriend). I could feel the way Cam clenched her claws into Adrienne's life. I recommend this book to people whom liked the Clique series, and a little drama in their life. In this book you'll see the good the bad and the outrageously wrong.

This was a really good book! I liked the charactors. It wasn't what I expected...it was better. All girls from 11-17 should read it. I also recomend Gossip Girl. They are both really great

Confessions of a Teen Nanny revolves around Adrienne Lewis, a sixteen-year-old girl chosen to serve as the nanny for the wealthy Warner family's eight-year-old daughter Emma, a precocious brat. The job pays incredibly well and Adrienne can't believe her luck - until she falls in with Cameron Warner, Emma's seventeen-year-old half-sister, and her crowd of affluent, hard-partying friends. Cameron is manipulative and dishonest, and will go to almost any length to get what she wants.

I thought this book was a decent, quick read. However, I don't think it was great compared to books such as The Au-Pairs or Gossip Girl. The character development is a little weak and I thought that the plot moved so quickly as to make it superficial. I never really felt any emotions towards the characters because it never seemed like the reader got to know any of them. At the end of the book, something happens that should have made the reader feel a little angry and sad; I experienced neither of these emotions, though.

The book is pretty well-written and is definitely a "fun" read. I liked it, for the most part, but just think that the characters could have been a little more fleshed out.

At first I did not like this book. I absolutely hated it, but I forced myself to read it because that's who I am. Yet the reason I didn't like it was because I was so jealous of everything. This girl makes a dollar a minute babysitting. She's living in New York and basically gets the chance to live the high life. This is really my kind of book. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm almost there and I'm really loving it.

Finally, a teen book about being a nanny! Is it a cute topic? Yes! Was it well written? No! The problem with this book is that it is pretty short and it still cannot keep the reader's attention. I found that just getting to the next chapter proved to be difficult!

Confessions of a Teen Nanny starts out with Adrienne, the nanny who is in a bind about a party that she just threw and the diamonds that belong to her wealthy employer are missing. Then, the book goes into the past and the reader learns how Adrienne came to be the nanny of this little girl Emma and how her best friend Liz works in the apartment below her. As the book progressives, the reader then learns all about Adrienne and her boyfriend Brian and how Emma's older half-sister Cameron is a bad influence on Adrienne. The book tries to include too many ideas and does not have time to finish them. Also, it was choppy and would go from babysitting Emma to wild drinking parties all in the same chapter! Once again, the topic is good but the book does not carry through. I suggest picking up a different book on the self.

This book was not bad, but left me wanting a few more answers. It's a nice introduction to the nanny hiring process, if you are completely new to the idea of paid childcare. The style is easy to read, and much of it is written in a Q&A format (like the What to Expect books you read when you were pregnant). There were at least a few areas that I thought were too thin, however. I could have used more guidance on interview questions and questions to ask a reference. I could have also used a little more guidance on payroll taxes, FICA, etc. I had to turn to other sources for that kind of information. It was fairly readily available, and I think it should have been included in the book.

I saw this book in an article in the New York Times a few weeks ago...at just the same time I was hiring yet another new nanny. I love this book. The advice is straightforward and there are all kinds of great stories from both parents and nannies about how to get along. The chapters on hiring, salary needs, time off (do you pay for President's Day?), and sorting out the household chores have all come in handy. If you are thinking of making a change--or are hiring for the first time--I highly recommend this book. We've bought our new nanny a copy too!

We had just started our nanny search when I stumbled upon this book. I'm glad I read it before we got any further into the search. As much as I knew a nanny was the right childcare option for us, the whole process was overwhelming to me. I feel armed with so much more insight and confidence now. It's a must-read if you're thinking of going the nanny route. I found it VERY easy to read and I really enjoyed the structure and tone.

I really enjoyed the no-nonsense approach that the authors took in this book--particularly their willingness to focus on things that can go wrong in a relationship. Not all nanny-parent relationships are made in heaven!

While I enjoyed the chatty style, the book was sometimes a little lacking in specifics. That's why I recommend that parents also consider picking up a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Childcare--a fabulous book that covers the do's and don'ts of hiring a nanny in considerable detail and that boasts the best nanny contract I've ever found anywhere. Armed with these two terrific books, a parent can't go wrong.

Look, I feel sincerely sorry for families who wind up with nannies from the dark side, as profiled in this book. But some of the advice doesn't take the nanny's POV into consideration at all. For example, if, as the author describes, your child bites her nanny hard enough to leave a bruise, and the nanny jokes about spanking the child, STOP being so shocked that the nanny would JOKE about such a thing and listen to what she's really saying, which is, How do you want me to discipline your child? Because I do NOT deserve to be bitten. Trust me, I've been there when Mommy says, "Aw, that's my rambunctious little guy!" right after I've gotten through explaining that my glasses are NOT a toy to be pulled off my face....

This is the first book in the series. It introduced you to the Becket's of Romney Marsh and their extended family. It was a good read.

The is great. I came quickly and was in great shape.

I'm on the 3rd book, Beware of Virtuous Women, and I'm still not entirely sure if I like this series. Usually, I can tell if it's a good book based on how easily I can put it down. There are very few narrative hooks compared to some of her other romances and I found ample moments to put the first 2 books down without really missing anything. In fact, it took me almost a week to finish the first one (almost unheard of for me; usually 2 days max per book). I liked the family and I liked Julie and Chance but I didn't LOVE anything. And I'm sorry but you would think a preachers daughter would try to stay pure longer than the 5 days or so that she does. The passion she tried to evoke between the 2 that would make me believe they just HAD to have each other just wasn't there.

Ms. Michaels tries to hook you with leaving little hints as to what happened on the island before they came to England and that kept me mildy intrigued but then I was thoroughly disappointed when I reached the end and nothing was revealed. Is she really going to keep this going for another 6 books (each sibling)?! I don't know if I can make it through that many.
I made it through the 2nd one with a little more enthusiasm because I thought Morgan was a little bit more interesting than Julie. At least she tried to do a little more character depth with Morgan, but I don't feel like I ever got to know Ethan.

I am enjoying the 3rd book so far, but I'm only into the first 2 chapters and once again I have set it down to do this and feel only a mild inclining to get back to it. To me, the writing seems forced. Like maybe Ms. Michaels had a great story idea, a new series of siblings to write about, and then was told she had to do so in half the time she normally takes to write a book. The writing seems rushed, the characters have less depth, and the plot seems to continue in one straight line with little or no twists to keep the reader intrigued. I think the books had potential and never quite reached it.

Chance's wife died six months ago and he is currently looking for a
nanny for his daughter Alice. So far, every candidate he has seen has
been unsuitable. Until Julia arrives. Chance thinks Julia is
beautiful and head strong, and since she is the last woman interviewing
for the position, he is desperate, so he hires her.

Julia thinks Chance is an intriguing and maddening man, but she finds
his daughter Alice delightful. Chance intends to take Julia and Alice
to Becket Hall, his family home in Kent. There Julia and Alice will
stay with his father and his large and slightly odd family. He planned
to come back to London to continue work with the War Office but
coincidentally he now has work to do in Kent so he is staying. Chance
is needed to investigate the smuggling that is taking place there.

Chance's family appears to be involved in the secret activities and
Julia is quick to discover what is going on. To assure her silence and
protect his family, Chance seduces Julia. He was not counting on his
feelings growing for her in the process though. As the Beckets try to
solve the problems of gangs and smuggling while keeping their family
safe, Chance comes to realize that he wants Julia forever and so he has
the added task of keeping her safe and by his side.

A Gentleman By Any Other Name is delightful. Chance and Julia are very
likeable
characters. I was drawn to their witty banter and their passion. I
felt they were very well suited to each other. The entire Becket
family is a colorful mix of characters, each having their own
fascinating story to tell. Drama, intrigue and romance combine
creating a really enjoyable story, A Gentleman By Any Other Name is the
first book in what promises to be a fantastic series!

Nannette
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I am a big fan of Ms Michaels. She usually writes spunky heroines, dapper heroes, and has a flair for humor that adds so much depth to the romance genre. I was disappointed by A Gentleman by Any Other Name, however.

In retrospect, I figure she was trying to write some sort of gothic romance, with windswept moors and brooding, complicated characters. A mass market Wuthering Heights. This story of Chance Becket, the eldest of Ainsely Becket's children (some adopted, some not) was melodramatic and oftentimes boring. Julia Carruthers, who happens to hail from nearby Chance's ancestral home, applies for and gets the job as Chance's daughter's nanny in London. But then they go back to the Marsh where Julia shows everyone how well she fits into the culture and goings on of this somewhat isolated village. Julia is nosy and annoying and has a tendency to be overbearing without having any of the other qualities in a heroine, such as humor, self depreciating or otherwise, which make the annoying traits bearable. The attraction between her and Chance is forced, and the book is quite frankly way too long. It's also obvious this will be one in a long line of books for every orphan, maybe with one or two of them pairing up with each other (ew, just because they aren't blood related, doesn't mean they aren't siblings!). I picked up another one at the same time, and just finished skimming it. Pretty much the same thing.

What saves this book is the host of secondary characters, including a cast of retired privateers, who make the story more interesting and fun. I won't be getting of the others in the series, and I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who enjoys the whimsical regency Ms Michaels often treats us too. This book, and it seems this series, are for readers who prefer long passages with no action, dark and brooding characters (seriously, most of them are), and irritating main characters.

This is a neat little book. Dean Baker is an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research - a think tank with tons of fresh ideas - and he knows his stuff. He offers his take on issues such as trade agreements, monetary policy, CEO compensation, intellectual property, etc. and with each of these demonstrates how the interests of the rich dominate. For example, proponents of NAFTA support "free trade" for manufacturing goods produced by low skilled workers but oppose free trade in high skill occupations (law, medicine, accountancy, etc.) which leads to a great divergence in the income distribution. In each of the chapters Dean Baker argues clearly and persuasively. Do you want to know what share of private R&D spending in pharmaceuticals goes to unnecessary copycat drugs? Do you want to know why a corporation cannot exist in a truly free market? Do you want to hear why marginal productivity does not determine CEO pay? Get this book.

I'll be brief, because the other two (longer) negative reviews I tried to post for this book disappeared into the ether.

While I agree that there should be no welfare for the rich (or the poor), I could find no idea in this book with which I could agree. The author does not have a clue about how economies work. He is merely rehashing long discredited Progressive and Socialist dogma.

This book gives a great introduction to how a variety of industries get breaks from the system, so for example, how drug companies take tax money (through the NIH) and then after succesfully creating a new drug, patent it to create a monopoly. It's a wonderful introduction to what's wrong in our mixed market economy.

You'd have to be the proverbial ostrich not to know that in i-pod America, the rich are getting richer, the poor poorer, while the middle class qualifies as an endangered species. What is not so well known is how redistribution is aided and abetted by government policy. Conservatives, as Baker notes, have been very successful in dressing up their windfall as the unbiased workings of the marketplace. Thus the citizenry accepts unfavorable results as the outcome of the glorified market god, in whose name things ultimately turn out for the best. Baker's slim volume (100 pps.) aims at showing how despite the smoke and mirrors, the god actually resides in Washington DC, in enumerated programs and policies directed toward funneling wealth upward. These measures and their rationale are kept in place by governmental machinery he dubs the "conservative nanny state" (cns).

Far from opposing government intervention in the economy, the cns uses intervention effectively in behalf of established wealth. The quarrel between liberals and conservatives is usually framed in terms of a liberal welfare state vs. a conservative free market. But, as Baker points out, these terms are seriously misleading. Both sides favor government intervention. Where they differ is over who gets the benefits, while the success of the cns lies in their ability to deflect public awareness from govn't actions that benefit the rich at the expense of the rest of us.

Baker examines a number of these biased policies showing how they funnel wealth upward. These prove to be enlightening discussions. However, what's unusual about the sections is his proposed remedy, which is essentially to let the markets operate free of the cns. For example, crippling health care costs have been sky-rocketing. They can be reduced, he points out, by allowing a greater supply of foreign physicians to immigrate. Or, consider long-depressed wage hikes. These can be resurrected, he argues, by curtailing the Federal Reserve's power to pump up depressing interest rates in the name of fighting inflation. Similar market-based solution are recommended for other cns biases.

It would be easy to assume that the author is a libertarian insisting on free market principles. But he's not, at least from my reading. For he proposes letting the govn't compete in the marketplace with private business, a definite anathema to classic libertarians. Hence, in his view, govn't should offer medical insurance to compete with private insurers for the consumer's buck. How well all this would work out is up to the reader to decide. Still, it's educational to examine how far cns policies depart from the hallowed conservative principle of non-intervention, and how effectively these measures are masked from public awareness.

One important arena not examined is the defense industry. It's a multi-billion dollar complex, the proceeds from which largely funnel upwards and, it would appear, a mother lode the cns regularly taps into. Why Baker doesn't examine cns activity in this highly significant sector is unclear to me. Perhaps, it's because solutions are not as amenable to market operations, or maybe because the topic is simply too big to be included with the others. Anyway, don't expect an expose of Lockheed-Martin et. al. and the cns in these pages. Nonetheless, the book is well worth the read, particularly for Chapter Five on bankruptcy and the cns's little-known role as both national and international debt-collector.

It is a myth that the rich, or market conservatives in the author's lexicon, unremittingly favor the operation of free markets with absolutely no government intervention. In fact, quite the opposite is the case. The author examines several key areas that show the lie of the idea that the rich favor free market outcomes.

1. Both the gov and professional organizations limit the numbers of doctors, lawyers, and other professionals including the entry of foreigners. At the same time, rampant and/or illegal immigration floods lower-wage employment markets and some technical jobs. On the one hand, wages are artificially high, but suppressed on the other to the detriment of the greater good.

2. The Federal Reserve uses monetary policy to increase unemployment and thereby lower wages of the lesser skilled, while limiting the inflation detested by bankers.

3. Corporations are entirely government creations, yet conservatives obscure that point which permits unchecked CEO pay. In actuality the government could mandate governance rules that would likely curtail CEO pay excesses.

4. Copyright and patent laws in essence grant monopolies to the detriment of the free flow of goods and services, which can in fact be harmful as in the case of restricting the availability of needed medicines.

5. Conservatives support legislation to restrict the ability of individuals to seek redress in courts for harm under the name of tort reform. In actuality law suits are a market form of regulation in lieu of government intervention. Obviously, protecting the rich trumps market principles.

6. Free market advocates supposedly advocate choice. So why is there such fear on the part of private enterprise of people choosing Social Security and/or signing up with Medicare for both health care and prescription drugs? The fact is that private business is highly inefficient compared to those programs and can't really compete. Therefore they look to government to limit choice.

7. True conservatives have always had low regard for gambling and certainly insist on its being heavily taxed. But when it comes to Wall St speculation, which is what day-trading is all about, they turn a blind eye to taxing and thus limiting the undisputed harmful impact of speculative transactions.

There are a few more examples by the author, none of which can be seriously disputed. The book has the tone that things could be different: just point out the hypocrisy of the rich and reform will follow. Really?

The author can hardly be unaware that we live in a class society in which the major institutions for inculcating the idea that markets are neutral and work for us all, namely educational and media institutions, are basically owned or financed by the rich. A few dissenting, fringe views are permitted here and there, but basically major dissent concerning the justness of our society is dealt with swiftly: removal or exclusion from school or job, or flagrant suppression.

The situation is more than just setting forth the facts before the public. Probably never before in our history has market ideology so permeated our society and given the rich so many effective tools to disseminate information favorable to their class interests. As far as any effective forces opposing this situation, can anyone honestly say that the Democrats at this point are willing or even want to reverse any of what the author points out any more than do the Republicans. The answer is no.

Jo Frost does it again......she is great at what she does. She gives you all the info you need and writes it in ways that makes you feel like she is talking to you in person. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I recommended it to family members and friends that are expecting and those who are not.

Unforunately, this book will sell well because of Jo herself, not because she's really that much of an expert on baby care. Being a nanny and being a mum are two different things. Further, I was disappointed that she insists on vaccines when new evidence is coming to light of their dangers to young infants. Also, her ideas on breastfeeding are just not that well thought out and up-to-date. She definitely has a "follow-the-heard" mentality and is not very original. There are much better books out there for parents.

This book has been very beneficial to me and my family. Thank you for the quick delivery and variety of items to choose from at Amazon.

Your satisfied customer,
Cortney B.

This book had pretty much all the same info as all the books I already own. I was disapointed.

This is an easy read, and a great resource for a mom (or dad) of a baby under 1 year. I would recommend this product to any first time mom or as a gift for a baby shower.

I really enjoy this series, I also read the Au Pair series, which I liked a little better, but still this is fun and witty. The characters are nice and relatable. I recommend this to anyne looking for an easy and lighthearted read.

I read this book pretty quickly. yes, it did have its dull spots, but overall it was a good book.

"The Nannies" is about three different girls who somehow find themselves being nannies to very wealthy children.

First theres Kiley. Kiley goes on the show Platinum Nanny to try to become the nanny of, rock star, Platinum's children. But she has trouble adapting to a life in California other than her hometown in Wisconsosn.

Next is Esme. Esms is from a gang ridden town but her life changes when she gets a job as being nanny to tv producer Steve Golhagen's adopted twins. The twins only speak spanish so Esme is chosen to teach them english.

Last is Lydia. Lydia lived as a rich kid in texas until her parents decided to move to the amazon basin. after eight years of being in the amazon Lydia gets a job offer from her aunt (a famous gay espn tennis reporter) to be her childrens nanny. Lydia gratefully accepts the offer.

This book was cute and an easy read. I reccomend it to anyone.

I took this book for my english book report thinking that it will be quite boring but obce i've started it, i've finished it in 2 hours!! It's the best book i've read these past years. It's easy to understand and has a plot that could happen to anyone

The Nannies was a fast, fun read, not much different from the ritzy Gossip Girl series. The Nannies is about three different girls who come to LA for different nanny positions. Lydia, who has spent the recent years of her life in the Amazon, wrangling any magazines she could get her hands on, jumps at the chance to be the nanny for her cousins, children of her famous tennins-playing aunt. Kylie, who grew up in an invisible small town in Wisconsin, tries out for Platinum Nanny, a reality TV competition to become the nanny for the bratty kids of their even more bratty pop-star mother, Platinum. Finally, there's Esme, who grew up in the gang-filled, poverty-struck Echo Park, a little distance from LA. When Esme goes to the mansion of the famous Goldhagens where her parents are the help, she is convinced to be the Goldhagen's nanny for their adopted Colombian twins, Easton and Weston, also as a translator between the twins' Spanish and the Goldhagens' English. Enjoy!

For my English book report, I thought that The Nannies by Melody Mayer looked like a good interesting book, but once I started reading it, I was a bit disappointed with the book because it had some disturbing imagery and a boring narrative . Most of the content in the book was very inappropriate for anyone reading it under 15. The book had a series of plots. One was about a girl named Kiley who was offered a spot on Platinum Nanny. The grand prize? To be a nanny for one of the most famous celebrities named Platinum. If the stress wasn't enough for her, her mom tagged along to help her daughter along the way. Next up is a girl named Lydia who spent eight years living in the Amazon. Her two aunts asked her to be a nanny for some unbearable kids. Now theres Esme who has a lot on her mind and a secret that's been sealed, but meets a boy that she starts to fall in love with. An excerpt from the book that in my opinion was a boring narrative was: "Esme could see that her new friend was trying to cover her shock. She understood why. The route to Junior's had taken them through the heart of Echo Park--past the seedy bars, the addicts looking for a mark, the gangstas claiming their turf." I mean none of that was descriptive, showed any sign of imagery, or any details whatsoever.

I read the first book SO FAST! I couldn't wait to find out what happened with James & Carolina. However, I had to go through the ENTIRE book (at least until half way through for some interaction between them) so this disappointed me.(and these authors are GREAT - just finished Peterson's Alasken Quest series- LOVED IT). I LOVE historical fiction and learning about different periods. However, this was a little too much history and not enough on the interaction of characters that held the first book. I am about to start the 3rd book (looking forward to it) so I hope it's better.

This is the second book in the ribbons of steel series. After reading the first book, your expecting to find out what happens between Carolina and James. Well nothing happens between them until the end of this book. It's like the authors are trying to keep you interested in their series by dragging the story out as long as possible. And by the way, in the first book James seemed like an okay guy who is a little weak. In the second book, you find out he really is a wimp who doesn't deserve Carolina. I'm somewhat interested in the railroad but the authors assume that you want to know everything that they've learned about the railroad in their research. It would be a better book with a little less detail about the railroad and more interaction among characters.

At the end of "Distant Dreams," James Baldwin left Oakbridge after leaving a note for Virginia Adams, saying he couldn't marry her because he wanted to go west and giving her the chance to publicly break their engagement to avoid the disgrace of being "jilted." Virginia blamed her younger sister for encouraging James along these lines, when the truth is that James and Carolina had fallen in love but did not dare admit it to each other. Carolina is being encouraged to marry Hampton Cabot, her father's overseer, but he is actually scheming to take over Oakbridge and enjoys mistreating slaves. Virginia, not knowing that Carolina really doesn't care for Hampton, decides to get even with her and seduces Hampton, and elopes with him. Having no reason to stay at Oakbridge, Carolina moves to Baltimore to become a nanny for a little girl whose father doesn't want anything to do with her. When the father decides to permanently go away, he has a surprising proposal that Carolina must accept to determine the fate of his daughter. You MUST read the book for the surprising ending to this story!

I enjoyed this book because of the complexity of the characters, the simple words, and the over-all simple flow of the plot. I could easily relate to all the characters and saw a little of myself in each. This book comes highly recommended!

In this specific book of the Ribbons of Steal series, Carolina tries to face the fact that James has left for good. Or has he? In the midst of them both realizing they love each other, they run into some problems. Virginia has so much bitterness towards Carolina that she elopes with her sister's beau. Carolina never loved him, but she strongly feels her sister's hatred and leaves to me a nanny to Victoria. She falls in love with Victoria, but not her father. He wants to leave permanately since he has no love for his daughter. Carolina agrees to marry him, so she may keep his daughter. James comes to cope with the fact that he can't live without Carolina. But will he be to late to have her? For adventure, fun, and romance read this story to keep you on the edge of your seat. It's 19th century plot gives it more excitement with the railroad being built. Happy reading!

A working mom recommended this book to me when I was pregnant with my first child. It is the best book! I followed the interview steps (ad, then mailed questionnaire, then interviews for qualified candidates, background checks and references) and we found the absolutely best nanny ever. Even the teachers at our park district told me in all their yrs they had never seen such a wonderful caregiver as my nanny! I have been recommending this book for 10 yrs. Follow the advice in the book and read about different types of Nannies and you will find a great nanny!

I highly recommend this book to any mom (or dad) looking for a nanny. It gave great examples of the many types of nanny situations you can find yourself in... as well as how to avoid the unpleasant ones. We found the perfect nanny after following many of the tips provided in this very helpful book.

Coming from a nanny of two years this is by far the best nanny book written. It is a book that I recommend every nanny and parent to read if you are either thinking of becoming or hiring a nanny. I give it two thumbs up!!!!

I have been a nanny for 36 yrs and find that this book like many other do not address many issues that nannnies face. its more for parents but again if you want to keep a good nanny resect her time and effort for example i love job but things get taken for granted>I choose to bath the kids i care for and wax and mop and changes bed and much much more, because i wanted to help out between cleaner but now its expected and when i do the wash on fridays no one puts it away so i am left feeling used and unhappy so parents if your nanny helps you because she wants to don't leave every thing for her to do sometimes she just does not want to.Respect your nanny treat her well its the little things that bother her even if she does not say so .Most nannies I know go above and beyond for the famies that respect them