I began reading The Nanny Diaries with the relish of someone who is about to hear a juicy bit of gossip. I expected to see how the other half (really more like 5%) lives and laugh at their parenting inadequecies. But as I neared the end of The Nanny Diaries, I had a sinking feeling. There was no way this was going to end happily. Not in the 14 pages I had left. The affluent Xes were still treating Nanny like Mammy while alternately neglecting and smothering their child.

Four-year-old Grayer X is a smart, curious, loving ball of energy who lives with a joyless socialite mother and absent seven-figure salaried father. He lives in a world in which SAT scores are a kindergarten concern and children are accessories to be taken on and off like Cartier earrings. And if children are the accessories, nannies are the box that holds them; always at the ready, silently and patiently waiting to whisk their charges out of sight, and disposable.

There were a few chuckle-worthy examples of inept rich moms, like a crackhead showgirl turned society maven who needed her nanny's attention more than her toddler did. But most of the interactions between Nanny and Mrs. X inspired my outrage instead of amusement.

Throughout the book, Nanny complains to her family about the Xes treatment of her and Grayer.Their advice frustratingly echoes my own; leave, tell them off, lay down the law, ask for more money. Nanny calculates at one point that she's earning $3.00/hour at the Xes and I wonder why she doesn't just get up and leave? Even burger-slingers make more than that. But wishy-washy Nanny does nothing, even when she is held responsible for events that are nowhere near her responsibility. Money and status win the day.

In the final chapter, Nanny has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the last word, but she second guesses herself and opts for the moral high road. Mrs. X has been nothing but unreasonable throughout 352 pages; there's no need for Nanny to succumb to the voice of reason just a few short paragraphs from the end.

The Nanny Diaries is an interesting read, but it's little more than a step above a trashy beach novel. Don't expect to be cheered up and don't expect much zing from the halfhearted romantic subplot.