Four Stars. Stephanie Kiser was born into a certain kind of Providence Rhode Island family that she self-depreciating calls "white trash". After she find success as a high school basketball player and finds herself with a private school scholarship, she inadvertently ends up at an elite, private high school. Though a poor student with a self-admitted bad attitude, she eventually ends up with a college diploma from Emerson College and thousands of dollars in student loans. After moving to New York City, the best job that she can find to pay her bills is as a nanny to top 1% income earning families.
Caught in a conundrum of "your money or your life" thinking, Stephanie has trouble figuring out how to afford the material goods that she wants versus the life that she wants for herself creatively. Along the way, she finds herself falling in love with the children and families that she cares for.

This book is an interesting read that made me feel all the feels.
I would recommend it to readers who like memoirs about social class.
Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book. It will be published on August 6, 2024.

I thought this book was interesting, both to learn about the author’s early years but also to see how the wealthy live. Well written, definitely kept my interest, especially with celebrities being name dropped or hinted at (I want to know who the celebrity was that she met while on vacation with the family, who was nicer than expected).

This book was so good! It gave a very interesting insight in an industry that we really don't hear a lot about, and it taught lessons that can only be learned through that specific job. I really enjoyed hearing the author's story and experiencing, through her eyes, what the nannying industry is really like. Overall, AMAZING book, would 1,000% recommend!

Brilliant! I really loved this one. It hit close to home as a parent/personal assistant to a toddler.

I loved this read because it was not only a great look at the lives of the rich, but also an interesting examination of the authors own childhood experiences. The contrast made the point of the book that much more poignant and provided allowed the book to feel connected rather than being simply a collection of stories.

Stephanie Kiser is a great writer and a sympathetic subject herself. I definitely enjoyed this read and would look for more from her! Thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advanced copy for review!

This is a fascinating memoir of nannying for the elite rich in New York City. I found the author’s voice fun and honest and the writing style was great! Her stories were so interesting and horrifying in certain parts. She also integrates a lot about her personal upbringing to make comparisons of how different income levels effect so many different aspects of life. I will say I might have preferred a little more about the nannying and a little less on the author’s past, however I can understand it with the author using it to make her overall points. A very interesting read overall that I’m very happy to have picked up!

Thank you to Sourcebooks for the ARC ebook!

Overall I really enjoyed the book. The synopsis made me think it was going to be a recounting of her nannying jobs, which it was to an extent. I expected funny stories and eye rolling recounts of rich people antics.

What I didn’t expect was her comparisons and discussion of her childhood and how it compares to that of the children she cared for. It was eye opening in some ways, especially to see how differently she was treated as a young white woman compared to some of the other darker skinned nannies. At this point it shouldn’t surprise me to see this, but I honestly assumed they would all be treated like the help regardless of skin color.

I will admit (as a liberal leaning reader), that her political views started to sour me at some point. But that was more discussion, and exactly her aim-pointing out the differences in how even political views can be skewed by the amount of money you are raised with. Her family was poor and believed in hardworking values and the republican stance that foreigners were infiltrating and taking jobs away. Her rich employers had the funds and cushion to afford them a more liberal outlook. It took her awhile to realize that political beliefs aren’t always so cut and dried.

Side note- Super interesting look at what it looked like to be in this type of service industry during Covid. This was one subject I had never thought about. I worried at the time for all of my friends who were nurses or in the restaurant industry, but never gave a thought to those who would be out of a nanny job because of the dynamic changes in quarantine households.

Thanks to Stephanie Kiser, Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advance copy!

“Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant” by Stephanie Kiser is a poignant and funny memoir that offers readers a rare glimpse into the lives of America's wealthiest families. Kiser, a young woman fresh out of college, finds herself navigating the treacherous waters of New York City's high society as a personal assistant to toddlers on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Her journey unfolds against the backdrop of global uncertainty, overwhelming student loans, and an economy that often feels stacked against those trying to climb the ladder from the bottom.

Kiser's writing is both engaging and relatable. As she dons her nanny hat, she discovers that the world of Prada baby onesies and million-dollar preschools isn't all glitz and glamour. The gruelling twelve-hour days leave her with little time for personal pursuits, but the high pay keeps her afloat in the city that never sleeps. She becomes attached to the children she cares for, even as she witnesses the stark realities behind the closed doors of opulent Park Avenue apartments.

The heart of the book lies in Kiser's struggle to reconcile her dreams of a more prestigious career with the demands of her job. She yearns for creative projects and meaningful connections, but the relentless routine of nannying leaves her emotionally drained. The children become her world, and their laughter and tears shape her days. Yet, as she grows closer to them, she also becomes acutely aware of the stark disparities between their lives and her own upbringing.

Kiser's prose is both witty and introspective. She doesn't shy away from the complexities of her role, balancing the needs of the children with the expectations of their affluent parents. Her observations about motherhood, upward mobility, and the myths of equality are thought-provoking. Through her eyes, we witness the struggles faced by those who serve the 1%, and we're reminded that money doesn't guarantee happiness.

The painful decision to eventually say goodbye to the children she has grown to love forms the emotional core of the memoir. Kiser's vulnerability shines through as she grapples with the impact of her job on her own well-being. Her journey from newbie nanny to beloved caregiver is a rollercoaster of emotions, and readers will find themselves rooting for her every step of the way.

In a world where social mobility seems elusive, “Wanted: Toddler's Personal Assistant” serves as a powerful reminder that true fulfillment lies beyond material wealth. Kiser's storytelling is both relatable and eye-opening, making this memoir a must-read for anyone curious about the lives of America's elite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this book expecting some funny stories about nannying for the ultra-wealthy, and while it absolutely delivered those, it also went much deeper. The author contrasts her own childhood growing up in a chaotic household led by young, poor parents to the lives of her nanny charges, where every advantage in the world is available and taken for granted. She explores complex feelings about being in a role that is both better paid and less prestigious than her friends’ jobs, watching uneven division of labour between mothers and fathers in even the wealthiest households, and being treated differently from other nannies because she’s white. This book was super fascinating and I would absolutely recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read this book.
I absolutely loved this book. Stephanie is simultaneously an interesting and resonant character and narrator. She's flawed in a human manner and it's wonderful to watch her grow and change. The supporting cast, from her employers and their kids, to Lila and her family are also well written and clearly examined.

The story is a mix of social climbing and understanding who she herself is independent of and in relation to family of origin and those she worked for. It was sad but wonderful to watch her recognize her own privilege even though her upbringing didn’t provide typical one, her whiteness did in the world of undocumented nannies who formed part of her social circle.

I would love to read more from Kiser, as well as more about the world of these nannies.

Her story is so well crafted with layers that struck so many emotions and thoughts about her stiuation as a nanny in New York City.

There is an easy flowing style of writing that captivates the readers attention Great read

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t put this book down! Even when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it in any way or form. It was well written and well paced. I found myself being unable to relate to the author at times but it didn’t deter my enjoyment of the overall material at any point.

I really enjoyed this fascinating look into a the lives of the 1% and one young lady from a very different background who nannied for them, This book was a quick and enjoyable read. I feel this topic was so well handled in this book as opposed to others I have read on the same topic.. . I loved the ways in which the book went back and forth between Stephanie's time as a nanny and her growing up years that led her to this place. It was also intersecting to see what happened once 2020 rolled around and Covid entered the mix. There are so many layers to her life experiences and her understanding the world as a whole. Highly recommend.

This was a lovely read about working for the uber-wealthy and the realizations came to while doing so. I found it a little hard to relate to the author at times as someone who’s experienced multidimensional oppression, but I do applaud the author for being honest about her journey realizing her privilege in America. Family, friends, and money are always complicated, so it is interesting to see how that manifests in the 1% (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic)!

This was much better than I anticipated it to be. I was expecting a tell all about nannying for the ultra-rich 1% with lots of juicy details about how they live. It did have this but it was also a wonderful coming of age story about a working class girl aspiring to be more than her background and learning so much in the process.

Stephanie grew up in a working class family in Rhode Island. She gets a basketball scholarship to Emerson College and dreams of becoming a television writer. She ends up becoming a nanny to make money in order to survive the high cost of living in NYC. She nannies for many different types of families all of them rich

Just when she wants to move on with her life and pursue different career goals COVID 19 hits and changes lots of things. She comes to love many of the kids that she is taking care of and also gets along with some of their moms. One of the lessons she learns is that people are all the same on the inside and want to be loved and respected. She had a lot of internal conflict about whether she should stay with the kids she loves or move on to do what she really wanted to do.

I don’t want to spoil the ending but she ends up learning how her nannying experience enriched her life and gave her the skills she needed in life.
Stephanie’s writing is heartfelt and engaging. I rooted for her the whole time.

Thanks to Netgallery for this advance copy of the book..

I was drawn to this book because of the title! I think it’s a clever & interesting read, it felt like a more of a memoir at times as opposed to purely focusing on race, class, and socioeconomic issues. It’s always interesting to peer into the lives of the extraordinarily wealthy, and I appreciated the point of view coming from the nanny. It’s relatable in that most of us come from different economic backgrounds than our employers. Thank you for the advanced copy, this was an enjoyable read!

Seeing as how I used to be a nanny and I have worked extensively with children, this sounded like a fairly interesting book. How often do you get to see things from the Nannys side? Overall this was a fun read for me, although i do wish that some stories were flushed out more.

I don't quite know what I was expecting, but this wasn't really it... Not that this is a bad book, it just doesn't pay attention to issues of intersectionality and white privilege nearly as much as it should.

A fascinating memoir about nannying for NYCs one percenters. Told with empathy and humor it shines a light on capitalism, society culture and the outsourcing of child care. Think if the nanny diaries was real.

The author is a fantastic narrator and it’s extremely readable. The author treats the parents with sympathy and clearly appreciates how impressive some of the women are and how much they love their children while also showcasing the at times bonkers reality of the world of the rich. The author is also open about her relative privilege compared to other care givers which I truly appreciated.

This was absolutely fascinating! I am not normally a "peek inside the lives of the 1%" type of reader, but I found this story of nannying for the uber-wealthy to be interesting and engaging. When paired with the realities of Kiser's own childhood and life as a newly-minted Millennial, the dichotomy between the haves and have nots offered a surprisingly insightful look at socioeconomic realities that was painted with a clarity that emphasized without dramatizing the challenges inherent in a society that is so widely separated. Kiser's writing style is engaging and easy to fall into. The book offers just the right blend of dishy behind-the-scenes stories of excess and in-your-face brutality of financial hardship and racial inequity. It paints a vivid picture without preaching or finger-wagging, recognizing the bizarre nature of both sides of the socioeconomic divide without apologizing for it or glossing over it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to see more from the author.