Nanny Returns

by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Book Overview

More than four million readers fell in love with Nan, the smart, spirited, and sympathetic heroine of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Nanny Diaries.

After living abroad for twelve years, Nan and her husband, Ryan, aka H.H., have returned to New York to get her new business off the ground and fix up their fixer-upper. To compound the mounting construction woes and marital chaos of Ryan announcing his sudden desire...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416585680
• ISBN13: 9781416585688
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Great sequel to Nanny Diaries

I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Nan and the Xes. It's nice to see Nan living happily with HH, even throughout the challenges that life presents. It was a little disturbing to see sweet little Grayer drinking, swearing and so forth, but I guess that's the reality of how he would be in real life, having the kind of home life he does. I think my greatest guilty pleasure in the Nanny books is imagining that there really are people out there who live like this, and who do their kids this way, who seriously have deceived themselves into thinking that nothing is their fault, and that it all comes down to the "help," which includes nannies, teachers and others. In a way it's a little like reality TV; makes me feel better about myself and my own family just watching. I didn't want to put this book down, and ended up reading it in a 2-day time period. I liked that Grayer had a little brother now, who presented that same innocence and purity that Grayer had in the first book. He gives Nan a chance for a do-over, a chance to redeem herself in her mind and it lets the authors present some of that Nan-child connection that made the first book so good. I highly recommend it for fans of The Nanny Diaries. It didn't disappoint me.

I enjoyed this book!

I loved the first Nanny book and was excited when Nanny Returns was published. I thought this second book was great. It was like seeing an old friend. Maybe readers don't realize this but there are really are a lot of parents out there that treat their children as minor inconveniences. I thought the authors captured that quite accurately. I plan on ordering the authors other collaborations. I hope they come out with a third Nanny book when Nan becomes a parent. Hopefully they will include Nan's grandmother more in the story as I thought her character was delightful.

Nanny Returns is extraordinary!

I anticipated the return of Nanny for a long time, and authors McLaughlin and Kraus did not disappoint! Though Nan has spent years away from her previous embroilment in the lifestyle rich, emotionally poor world of the so called parents of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, we are reminded of the mark it left on her when her former charge, Greyer re-appears in her life. While we expect her to have matured, it is no surprise that Nan reverts to her pre-liberation behavior when suddenly faced again with the inescapable feelings of having left a child behind that she cared for, as well as the Xes absurd, cold but brooding ways. (We all have patterns that are hard to break and those that say they don't or can't relate are just lying to themselves and everyone else.) This is another extraordinary novel by McLaughlin and Kraus that turns the elite on their ears once again and entertains the reader with a genuine, emotionally responsible heroine. They maintain the laugh-out-loud, brisk pace that was so delightful in The Nanny Diaries, but even if you missed Diaries, Nanny Returns stands well on its own.

when you need a break. a good laugh. this is the book

This was the prefect book to read over the stressful holidays. I really did laugh and it has been so long since I read a true laugh out loud novel. (I think Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris was the last one that comes to mind that had that same kind of energy) It seems that some people felt that the ending wrapped up too quickly and I disagree. This is a ride that is perfectly paced...alas all good things have to end and this is truly worth a read.

A Great Sequel

Nanny is back and better than ever! After spending twelve years overseas Nan and her husband, Ryan (formerly known as Harvard Hottie!), return to NYC to establish some roots. After they buy a large home full of "potential" (read: It's basically falling down around them.), Ryan's called off to deal with a grain shortage in The Sudan. Soon Nan finds herself once again dealing with people who think money can give them anything, a contractor who won't call her, the pressure of a husband who wanted to start a family yesterday, and when he shows up drunk on her doorstep, the now teenage Grayer. When I heard there was going to be a sequel to The Nanny Diaries, I was ecstatic to see where everyone had ended up. This book did not disappoint in the least. Nan was engaging as ever. Over the years, she has become a bit more mature, which suits her well. Seeing her still feeling bad for leaving Grayer behind, gave me mixed emotions. On the one hand, I thought it was sweet that she cared about him so much. On the other, I kind of wanted to tell her to get over it already. After all, what else could she have done? When Grayer lands back in her life, it's very intriguing to watch her actions. Will she bow to the "needs" of Mrs. X once again, or will she be able to finally stand? There was many things going on at once during this novel, keeping it quite lively. Nan's life never seems to slow down, and while she whirled through the rat race of her life, I just had to think that something had to give. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have done it again, bringing Nan and an incredibly entertaining cast of characters to life. This is one book I definitely urge you to pick up.