Confessions of a Teen Nanny

Grade 8 Up -Adrienne is hired as a nanny to Emma Warner, a precocious child from an ultra-rich New York family. Using lies, bribery, and blackmail, the eight-year-old tests Adrienne, but the teen manages to keep the upper hand with her charge-most of the time. The same is not true of Adrienne's relationship with Emma's sister, Cam, who is Adrienne's age. Using the same bag of tricks, she has Adrienne believing that they are friends. What Cam offers would be hard for any teen to resist-free designer clothes, invitations to fabulous parties, flying on a private jet, staying in a mansion. But all that glitters is not gold. Soon she forces Adrienne to arrange clandestine parties where out-of-control rich kids partake of sex, alcohol, and drugs. Then Adrienne is drugged and photographed in compromising situations. Worst of all, she is blamed for jewels stolen at a party. The book ends rather abruptly, with a simple explanation for the stolen jewelry, revealed in one sentence. Whether or not Adrienne wins back the boyfriend Cam attempts to steal is left dangling, as if to pave the way for a sequel. But neither of these shortcomings detracts seriously from the enjoyment of the book. Fans of Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girl" series or Zoey Dean's "The A-List" series (both Little, Brown) will like this offering.-Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, ID
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