*The Ruining*

Well, The Ruining started out promising.  After reading the flap, I was intrigued (sounds like the author is living the life, "Now she lives, writes and au pairs in Paris,"  big sigh.).  Annie Phillips is thrilled to escape impoverished  trailer park life she shares with her drunken mother and equally drunken, slovenly stepfather (who sexually abused her?  It's a little foggy.).  She jumps at the chance to nanny for the picture-perfect Cohens in sunny, glamorous and richie rich Belvedere Island off San Francisco.  With promises of a paid education, time off and the chance at normalcy (if you're super rich), who could say no?

Once you learn that Libby Cohen, the mom, knows that Annie suffered the trauma of losing a little sister to a drowning, while the sister was under her care, you get a little suspicious.  Quickly, the picture perfect life starts to unravel.  Libby plays mind games such as referring to Annie as "Nanny", as if that's her name.  Libby thwarts all of Annie's attempts at finding friends.  Libby has the door to Annie's bedroom removed...getting the drift?

Poor Annie doesn't.

I'm not in the habit of ruining endings, so I won't.  But I think this is summer read worthy;  though not un-put-downable such as the titles Divergent, Matched or Ashes.

If you're into the nanny, au pair thing you may want to check out  The Nanny Diaries or The Au Pairs (forgive the cover, but it's indicative of what's inside -there's a reason for the saying...).