Citizen Girl

Sorry, Nanny doesn't live here

Yep, this is not a cute nanny tale with a heartbreak kid to make you feel warm and sad all at the same time.It is full of anger, jokes, weakness, confusion, ambition, more jokes, lots of 'bad words',corruption, even more jokes, and a bit of moral victory. It is also about the business of sex, and a big business it is. Because like most of us Girl cannot see around every corner, she is drawn in to this business.She is intrigued by the money, then overwhelmed by what she finds around the corner, and then well, you must read it. Some readers seem to want tales like Girl's to be clearer, cleaner, and more soothing. Well, this one doesn't follow that formula. It is not always clear, it is vulgar/obscene at times, and it is not very comforting. This book hit home with me because even though I (and my friends) haven't faced the sex business like Girl, I have faced the seduction that comes with success (praise, promotion, power.) The authors allow Girl to show me us that corruption often slips in unnoticed, and before you know it you are one of them. Kraus and McLaughlin seem to be pushing us (including themselves) to be more careful out there (remember the old cop on Hill Street Blues?), even when you think you've had success. As I read this over it makes their book sound so preachy, but what really carries over from their nanny book is the humor. As in that story, their humor comes in when you really need it. Now, that's soothing! Thanks for reading this.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Disappointingly Dirty

After loving the Nanny Diaries, I was excited to find this book by McLaughlin and Krause. At first, I identified easily with the intelligent young girl and her plight to escape a miserable job situation. However, while the book started solidly, it gradually descended further and further into trashy language and themes. I would definitely NOT recommend this book to anyone under the age of 18, as there are some very (perverse) adult themes discussed at length and which are integral to the plot. I was quite surprised and disappointed that these two accomplished authors would sink to using shock value to attract an audience. They could easily have used their already-proven writing skills instead.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

awful

Hands down one of the worst books I ever read. Not one likeable character and a boring plot. I don't know what the authors have against giving their main character a name, but that's annoying. I can't believe it took TWO people to write this drivel.

Just Ok

I really had to push myself to finish this book. The characters were ok the story was ok the ending was ok - Just ok nothing special

*TERRIBLE*

I loved the Nanny Diaries..Was looking forward to reading another book by the author, as I thought the Nanny Diaries was interesting, had great characters a good plot etc.. This book is total opposite...The characters and plot are lame....The language used in the book is also terrible(I think it is used just to get your attention) because the rest of the book is so boring..I wouldn't recommend this to anyone...

Horrible--I just can't get over it

So looking forward to another Nanny Diaries compelling story--truly made me love and feel for the 'nanny'. This new novel is trash. Anytime I started actually feeling for or identify with 'girl' the authors just went over the edge! I concur with the other reviewer--'what were they thinking?!!!' They obviously don't have a clue who their audience is. I thought it odd that the review on the cover was simply 'hilarious'. Good grief--I'm a well educated woman and mother who has barely enough time to devote to reading--I'm insulted by the content and direction of this book. I thought it would be worth my time but it is sadly not worth anyone's time. I keep thinking--who can I recommend this book to? And, I can't think of anyone that would find it appropriate or worthwhile. I keep thinking--analyze it--maybe there's a bigger picture message here but it just is not worth your money or more importantly your time!

What were they thinking?

In the beginning I could really relate to the main character. How she hated her job and wanted to quit. How her boss had absolutely no respect for her. How her boss kept her from succeeding. I also could relate to her having trouble looking for a job after getting fired. But after like the first two chapters I really started to strongly dislike this book. The main character Girl 'yes this is really her name' has no backbone. No matter how crappy people treat her she never stands up for herself. She just complains about it later. It seems as if that everyone she is friends with or is close to betrays her. Her boyfriend is a sleaze ball, along with her boss Guy. The only character I liked in the book was Jack and he was only in the book for like 2 pages. As for the writing style I was not impressed. It seemed like every other word was a swear word. The names of the characters were so unimaginative Girl, Guy, Manly. Scenes tend to drag on and on I would not recommend this book to anyone.

What happened?

Ok so I loved The Nanny Diaries.. also thought Devoted was ok, but this one? This book has got to be one of the worst I've read this summer. I should say, though, that I could not even finish it. I feel bad because I like the authors. It was just way too choppy.. and who has their 14 year old brother go to a job fair with them? Anyone else confused by that? Ok so, I don't recommend this one but read their other two books.. they're pretty good.

Too much whining

I had a very difficult time getting into this story. A 24-year-old with a degree in a less-than-lucrative major is angry/depressed because she isn't a senior-level executive living it up in Manhattan. Has she never heard of paying one's dues, or working your way up to the top? The perpetual victim whining attitude got really old, really fast. I really didn't care how the book ended...I just wanted it to end. Mostly I just wanted Girl to shut up. What was especially hard to digest was her grasp of the corporate culture and lingo at such a young age. On a positive note...I purchased the audio version of the book (because I have a long commute) and the narration was excellent.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

not worth the time

i agree w/ every other review. i could not finish. if i don't respect or like the main character i can't bring myself to read about them. main character is not a likable one for me. she is weak and whiny and a bit stupid in my eyes. If that is what the younger generation is really like, this world is in trouble.

confusing

I was confused in the first 3 chapters. She gets fired on one page then is a 'job fair' on the next? The main character was quite whiny and the opposite of what most 20 somethings are like. I just could not stand the torture of reading it any longer so I gave up less than half way through the book.

I didn't even want to finish it.

The story is choppy and the way everything is autonomized is contrived and obnoxious. i could not even finish the book. i'm a mid 20s girl living in new york and i found the main character to cause me to shake my head and think about how silly she is. i would not recommend. at all.

Stupid Girl

I jumped at the chance to read something by this author-duo as their first novel : 'The Nanny Diaries' was GREAT! However, I was sorely disappointed with this, their second offering. The tale opens with the lead character getting fired, then moves quickly into job search and a re-hire. And by page 185 I was begging for it to be OVER! The plot is painful at best, the heroine is uninspiring (and stupid!)and I did not care where the story was going. I did not finish it....even though I tried. Hmmm....hope their 3rd novel is better than this!

A bit disappointed...

I flew through this book, but not because it was wonderful but because I wanted to know where the book was going. It was a strange story that did not quite make sense. The ending was somewhat ridiculous. I would not really waste your time on this book. It most certainly was not anything special.

Citizen Girl is a stupid girl

I haven't read The Nanny Diaries yet so, I can't compare Citizen Girl to previous work. I don't like this book, though. I'm still in my twenties and find the main character boring and stupid. She's condescending even as she can't seem to figure out her own work role. While I didn't grow fond of her first boss, I found Girl, the main character with a ridiculous name, to be passive agressive which doesn't work for her or the reader. Girl is not someone that I want to see triumph. If she really was as together and wise as she thinks she is, I'd rather read about her adventures after listening to her mother as Girl starts her own company rather than being swept along by My Company's Guy, who obviously has yet another ridiculous name. Overall, Citizen Girl is so annoying that I'm not sure I'll even make it to the end.

Couldn't finish it

This book was really bad. Why is the main character named 'Girl'? I couldn't get a grasp of what her job was. It didn't flow, it didn't make sense, it had no creativity whatsoever, and the main character was a complete and utter bore. There was nothing I liked about this book and I really liked the Nanny Diaries. Don't waste your time.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointed!

I read The Nanny Diaries and just loved it. I couldn't put it down, it was really funny. This book, however, was a true disappointment. I really hoped it would be as good as their first. The ending was stupid and sort of left you hanging. Hopefully these two ladies can come up with a funnier third book.

Good thing this was borrowed and I did not pay for it.

If I had paid for it, I would send it back to the publisher asking for my money back. The storyline was all over the place and the characters were one dimensional. It is as if each author wrote different parts of the book without ever know what the other was writing. I only finished it because I thought it had to turn around. The Nanny Diaries was wonderful, it's too bad that this second attempt fell less than short.

A far cry from what I'd hoped

I was really ready to give this book a chance, despite reading some poor reviews. However, I found this book to be a huge disappointment. Almost from the outset, I found Girl to be a spineless, whiny and inept excuse for a main character who is meant to represent today's Feminist. Towards the end of the book, I even found myself identifying with the horrible things Guy said about her. I'm glad that I rented this from the library and didn't waste my money on this book.

Don't waste your time

This book is extremely boring and hard to follow. I forced myself to finish it just in case it got better... it didn't.