Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

This is the sequel to the bestselling adult novel, The Nanny Diaries. I read The Nanny Diaries a few years ago because I always like reading books before seeing the movies (The Nanny Diaries was made into a movie with Scarlett Johanson), and I was surprised at how much I liked it. The sequel was just as good!

Twelve years ago, Nan left her charge Grayer X in the questionable care of his rich and selfish parents, and has been feeling guilty about it ever since. Now Nan has returned from living abroad with her husband Ryan and they have bought a fixer-upper in New York City and Nan is ready to start her career when she encounters Grayer, now sixteen. Driven by her guilt, she finds herself involved with the ridiculously rich X family once more as she tries to help Grayer's little brother, Stilton and once again finds herself colliding with the absurd and weird customs of the Upper East Side's wealthiest residents.

Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin's sequel to The Nanny Diaries is smart and laugh-out-loud hilarious as Nan attempts to do right by Grayer and Stilton X, despite the bizarre customs of their parents and peers that fight against her every step of the way. The glittering and powerful world that the X's live in is rather disturbing at times, but quite believable, and tNan is a grounded, sensible narrator, routinely providing comic relief with her wry and witty comments and observations. Thankfully, Nanny Returns isn't a conventional rich people novel only highlighting the glamour of a wealthy lifestyle, but also revealing the darker motivations and the insane notion that rules don't affect you if you have money that many of the characters possess.

Nanny Returns may be a little lengthy, but it moves at a brisk pace with enough problems and drama to keep the book moving, but not so much as to overwhelm the reader. The only complaint might be that the ending wraps up rather quickly, not really devoting much time to falling action, but other than that, Nanny Returns is a wonderfully entertaining and realistic novel that probes into the privileged world of New York City's wealthiest without losing sight of what's really important in life.

Cover Comments: I love that the same black, white, and red color scheme was carried on from the prequel to this cover, and the umbrella was used again. This is definitely a cover that pops!

Review copy received from Engelman and Co.