Review: The Nanny Diaries

I finished The Nanny Diaries last night. It's been on my shelf for years, and every time I cleaned out my books I would read the first few pages, think, "Yep, I still want to read it," and put it back. But after reading the quick, witty Sleeping Naked is Green by Vanessa Farquharson, I was in the mood for something similarly written.

I really enjoyed the first 250 or so pages of the book. To me it was good girl fiction, including a boy (but not too much), a mom and sister, helpful friends, a stressful situation, and--of course--a cat. I was either rooting for or against pretty much every character in the book.

The last 50 pages? Not so much. It almost felt like the authors were done writing and had to think of a quick way to end the book. I guess some would argue the final situation was inevitable, but I wanted it to end on a different character's terms. Instead of feeling satisfied, the way you do when you've just finished a fantastic book (the feeling the rest of the book made me anticipate!), I was left with quite the opposite, kind of like I'd eaten something that hadn't quite hit the spot and was now beginning to disagree with my stomach.

I guess, though, that authors who can make you care that much about their characters are talented indeed. The sequel, Nanny Returns, will be out on December 15th, if you're interested. I just might pick it up and see if it makes up for the first one's ending!