Confessions of a Teen Nanny

July 4, 2005
Ashton's pleasingly over-the-top tale centers on Adrienne, a down-to-earth 16-year-old who lands a job as nanny for eight-year-old Emma Warner, a sneaky child prodigy. The Warners ("billionaire socialites") live in the same posh Fifth Avenue apartment building where Adrienne's best friend, Liz, also works as a nanny. The descriptions of the Warners' lavish penthouse are comically tongue-in-cheek: the wallpaper in the master bedroom allegedly came from an English duke's country house, Mrs. Warner's office looks like "a room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," and the woman's dressing room is filled with "dozens" of fur coats. Gorgeous, aspiring model Cameron, Emma's half-sister, ostensibly befriends Adrienne, treating her to a makeover and a shopping spree at Bergdorf's, and inviting her to hang out with her wealthy, glam friends. Meanwhile, the conniving gal sinks her claws into Adrienne's boyfriend, Brian, and shamelessly threatens to saddle Adrienne with responsibility for Cam's own exploits. A subplot involving Liz and the wacky woman she works for pales next to the soap opera that envelops Adrienne. Frequent segues into the often appalled Adrienne's mind provide much of the humor in this sardonic send-up of young haute society. Ages 13-up.