I didn’t love this book - I didn’t feel like it really delivered on the insights hinted at in the subtitle. It felt like this could have been a very compelling long article, but felt thin as a book. I liked reading about her personal growth, but felt some of the nannying stories were a little repetitive.

Going into this book, I was expecting a bunch of light-hearted tales of nannying for the super rich. However, it was so much more than that. Stephanie takes you all the way back to the beginning of her childhood and intertwines tales of her nannying along the way.

While this wasn’t a perfect book, I found it to be an interesting and compelling memoir about class, income inequality, and upward mobility. Stephanie came from a low-income family and was the first in her family to go to college, but to do so, she took out an unbelievable amount of student loans. To survive in NYC and make enough money to pay back her loans, Stephanie starts nannying for NYC’s elite class (which she does for most of her twenties). The book reads mostly like short essays around key memories from this period of her life accompanied by some commentary about income inequality, class struggles, student loan debt, healthcare access, and motherhood sprinkled in. I finished “Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant” several days ago and can’t stop thinking/talking about it, which tends to be the telltale sign of a great book!

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy.

I freaking loved this! It was both heartbreaking and hilarious. As a parent to small children, I often feel like I am the personal assistant to them. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I don’t have additional help with my children, and I have spent a lot of time nannying for wealthy families. This book tells it like it is, including the impossibilities that so many of us face.

Thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was a little different from what I expected. I expected several jaw dropping or funny stories about the life of a nanny on the Upper East Side. It did deliver in that respect, but it went deeper. Stephanie shares many raw stories of her life growing up poor and her struggles, along with her family struggles. I enjoyed the writing style. I was engaged throughout. The pacing was smooth. I was able to put it down when I needed, and pick it right back up. Overall, it was a quick read for me. I wish the author lots of luck with her future writing.

This would be a good book to pick up if you enjoyed Educated, Hillbilly Elegy, or Maid.

Thanks for the ARC!

As a person in the midst of raising her own two tiny humans while also struggling to afford life and a victim of the idea that hard work is enough - I really appreciated this book. Funny, emotionally cutting, and critical, Kiser does a great job of intertwining her own often difficult childhood with her totally alien experiences as a nanny to the super rich. The book allowed me to fulfilled that weird voyeur feeling reading about a group I’ll never belong to while reflecting on my own childhood experiences. Will recommend!

As a former nanny and preschool teacher in an area of wealthy families, this book really resonated with me. I have stories that I could tell about the kids that I took care of and their parents that would make the people I grew up with cringe and squirm. I didn't grow up with money, but these kids are and their personalities showcase it fully. Anyway, this book would definitely be a great read for anyone who wants a little insight into the nanny world.

I flew through this book. Interestingly, deeper than the funny, sad, and sweet stories of nannying for the 1%. Classism, sexism, racism in everyday moments moved me without being heavy handed. Want to hear more about Kiser's life, would definitely read another book by her!

I breezed through this book in two nights, and I must say the book delivered on it's objective of sharing what it feels like being a nanny to kids of the filthy rich folks of New York, who don't bat an eye before paying $500 for a 1.5 hour session for their 4 year old.

The author's interspersed personal experience of growing up in a low-income household, with childhood trauma that the kids she nannies won't even be able to fathom offers a stark contrast to the Oscar de la Renta dresses, enrichment education camps, and summers in the Hamptons. The personal growth she experiences as she unlearns certain political and socio-economic beliefs after moving to New York is moving. Being labelled 'white trash' in her youth, versus noticing the racism faced by fellow-nannies who were persons of colour offers another view of the harsh reality of escaping poverty. The chapters in which the aftermath of Covid were described seemed fantastical, considering that while most people were worrying about how to make a livelihood, the rich were worrying about how to organize play dates for their children.

Would recommend this quick read if you're in a reading slump, love reading about the antics that kids get up to, and want to be amazed by the wealth that the ultra-rich have.

As a babysitter of the rich for two decades, I was so excited to get an ARC of this book. A lot of the stories she tells have happened to me or other sitters/nannys I know. Other stories she tells held my attention. I did like the juxtaposition of her poor childhood versus the elite childhood of those she worked for. I will say I did not find her personality that terrific. She seemed lowkey annoying and whiny. I think anyone who works/has worked in a similar background will enjoy this memoir.

Having grown up in NYC, I couldn't wait to dig in to the juicy world of the 1% because it definitely is another world, especially in NY. However, i found myself struggling through the first half as it delved deep into the authors childhood. I appreciate she was trying to show the difference in worlds but I just wanted the juicy good stuff!

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks (non-fiction) for this advanced reader's copy. Of course, I went into this book like many will, looking for some juicy stories of the 1% and the demands of them and their children. This book has that, but the author brings more to the story. Nannies can be more to a family than just a toddler's personal assistant, although don't be fooled, the title definitely was accurate for one of her jobs :) This was an enlightening read about NYC nannying and what it REALLY takes to care for another family's children day in and day out, 12-14 hours a day. I was surprised what some of these jobs paid, with benefits, no less, but then for the total hours worked and some of things she was asked to do, I completely understand why the author questioned whether the money was really worth it. This was a fast and fun read.

This was a memoir that didn’t feel especially enlightening or new, but I still enjoyed reading about Stephanie’s experiences as a nanny compared with her experiences growing up. I felt like some of the disparities she discovered between the rich and poor were pretty obvious, but it also made me realize that just like the incredibly wealthy had very little understanding of those less wealthy than them (although in their case, they didn’t really have an excuse because they employed many of these people) Stephanie was also sheltered in a way that made her very unaware of their differences until she came face to face with them.

I think the brief section on how nannies and other household staff were treated during the pandemic was sad and probably the most unjust. I enjoyed reading about Stephanie’s conflicting emotions (which I think most mom’s can relate to), loving the kids you are taking care of so much but also being so tired and burned out. She seemed to come to some epiphanies by the end of her book, but she’s only in her early 30s, so in some ways it felt a little too early. It’ll be interesting to see how her writing career takes off and what else she learns along the way!

I loved this book! I have never read a memoir like this one. The story is told by alternating between her own chikdhood and then the childhood of the children she is a nanny for (the 1%). It is really well done - it reads more like a novel than a memoir. There is discussion of her political beliefs including abortion which may a turn off for some. Publication day is August 6. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Not sure what I was expecting this book and I guess it just was not for me at this time.
I enjoyed the contrast between the author’s upbringing to the 1%er kids.
I wasn’t expecting so many long chapters on her own childhood which I liked being broken up by the stories of nannying (still, it of course is the point of the book by the comparison).
Insightful book! But lacked that personal feel and depth?

read if you like:
📚 non-fiction
🎩 upper class lifestyles
🧑‍🍼 books about nannying
👶🏻 reflections of childhood

summary:
I had the opportunity to preview an ARC of this non-fiction book, and I’m glad I did. This book is about Stephanie, a college graduate looking to pursue a career in writing in NYC, who quickly realizes she needs a better paying job and decides to take a role as a nanny in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Stephanie compares the upbringing of Ruby, her 3 year old client, to her own, causing her to reflect on family, education and how circumstances outside of your control can impact your fate and your future.

Stephanie is a woman I could somewhat relate to — she struggled academically, she struggled with her place in her working class family, and with the support her parents could (or could not) provide. However, I don’t feel like she spent enough time discussing the mental health issues she faced, both as a child and as an adult, and how they impacted her view on the world. I did appreciate though hearing her reflections about how the rich and wealthy treat their staff — comparing the different experiences she has with different families, and reflecting on their privilege, comfort with people of color, and appreciation for what they’ve been born into. Her reflections on politics and how her conservative parents viewed the world were also incredibly interesting and thought provoking.

If you’re looking for a blend of humor and social commentary, I definitely recommend! It comes out August 6!

RATING: 4/5 STARS

I did not realize the life of a New York City nanny to the children of the rich was something I was curious about until I stumbled upon a review on social media that had me immediately requesting this book. WANTED: TODDLER"S PERSONAL ASSISTANT was a well-written narrative of Stephanie Kiser's inadvertent career in a niche field. The stories she told were incredibly interesting, and managed an overarching self-awareness that can be tricky in memoirs - sharing just enough that the reader gets juicy details but avoiding creating villains or martyrs. The path Kiser decided to carve in this book, juxtaposing her own childhood in relative poverty with the opulent luxuries afforded to the children she took care of, made this story vivid and gripping. She also shed light on the bias against workers of color who did not have American higher education, acknowledging her position of privilege in comparison. I recommend this book for anyone who has wondered about the lives of NYC's elite and the people behind the scenes (definitely paints a different picture than Dorota in Gossip Girl)! This book also had some interesting insights that related to childhood psychology, parenting, and wealth.

I babysat for years and thought $20 an hour was good. Living/working in the NYC metro area, you soon realize the world of the 1% is often unattainable based on your upbringing. This book gave an insight into that world and the ones who work in it. Enjoyable read.

I grew up babysitting for neighbors at 50 cents an hour and working in summer camps for not much more. Supervising and playing with kids was great preparation for a career in education. I came from a very middle class suburban home and there were no surprises in the path I chose.
Stephanie Kiser came to her job as a nanny for the children of Manhattan ‘s wealthy from a very different background and with very different goals. Her story is both cringe-worthy and uplifting in equal measure. She was a black sheep in a dysfunctional family where education was not particularly valued. If there were choices to be made, Stephanie invariably chose the poor one. The inevitable consequences were almost a badge of honor for her. Eventually she turned her life around, and she tells this story with color and energy. And if you ever wondered if a college education was really worth it, wonder no more. It set Stephanie apart from most of the other applicants for these high end babysitting jobs.
Entering this world of privilege provided an even greater education for the author, but what made this book a pleasure to read was what Kiser learned from her experiences. How she grew as a person with her own moral code made this story far more than ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” As a reader I felt amazement, disgust, pity and compassion as well as other unexpected emotions. It was definitely an education for me.

I really enjoyed this as someone who happens to live in NYC and has a nanny myself. I have of course, read the book The Nanny and what I liked about Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant was the sprinkling of multiple families and not just focussing on one so you got a look into the diverse types of wealthy families that live in NYC and not all just on Upper East Side. I loved the references to the toddler schools, the classes they went to because these are things that my wealthy counterparts are able to offer their children and who doesn't love a voyueristic glance into their lives?

I really did feel for the author and how draining and tiring it must have been for her to manage three children all on her own as a twenty something which is something most couples aren't even able to do with 2 sets of eyes and 4 hands around. I do feel like she was taken advantage of a bit and honestly, it's just sad that it's just how motherhood is no matter which country and how wealthy you may be born.

I didn't completely understand the overlap between the author's life and the comparison between the rich kids she looked after unless all she was trying to show is that kids born into different wealth have different outcomes. If that is what she was trying to accomplish then I feel that there wasn't enough time and space to cover that in this one book.