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Book Jacket

 Minding Ben:
A Novel
by Victoria Brown

Publisher: Voice
Publication date: 04/12/2011.
Novels, 352 pp.

Number of reader reviews: 47
Readers' Consensus: 4.0
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First Impressions: Page 5 of 7
Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Patricia S. (Yankton, SD)

spell binding
I fell in love with Grace in the first chapter of Victoria Brown’s debut novel Minding Ben. I was so hooked by this story that I read the entire book in one sitting – until 4:30 am.

Grace is both a strong heroine and a naïve teenager, taking loving care of the adorable Ben while struggling with the heartless little cruelties of his parents. She also is used by Sylvia, who first befriends her and then takes advantage of her innocence in a strange country.

If you liked The Help you will love Minding Ben.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Jean N. (New Richmond, OH)

Minding Ben
I enjoyed this book. I felt like I was reading a memoir. This was a book that I had a hard time putting down. I had to know what was going to happen next, and how things were going to turn out for Grace. Little Ben touched my heart. The dialect was difficult to read at first, yet it did add to the realism. I felt that the story went at a steady pace, but that the ending was almost rushed and too abrupt.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Laura A. (Jeremiah, KY)

Eye-Opening
I enjoyed "Minding Ben" by Victoria Brown. It was an eye-opening book about the treatment of people living in New York that do not have their green cards. It is a sad and depressing look at how the privileged take such advantage of the people in that situation because they know they can. My heart went out to Grace in her experiences here in the U.S. I would definitely recommend this book to others especially book clubs as there is many themes to discuss within the book.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Victoria (California)

Captivating, Bittersweet
I found Minding Ben to be a captivating, bittersweet read. Fans of The Nanny Diaries will enjoy this book. While often amusing in her reflections on the Manhattan nanny scene, Brown is equally capable of capturing the homesickness and family burdens felt by her immigrant protagonist, Grace. Readers will laugh at the occasionally absurd demands of Grace's employers, but ultimately empathize with the young girl trying to negotiate her place between two very different worlds.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Irene M. (Ashland, OR)

Minding Ben
I really enjoyed this book and certainly could relate to the main character. My son and his wife, who live in New York City had a nanny/housekeeper from Guatamala for 16 years. She really became a member of the family. But like Grace, she has had a hard time living in the city.

Grace must overcome many difficulties; language and a completely new culture. She is an admirable character and I could not help but admire her.

The book is well written and I look forward to more stories from Victoria Brown

Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Loren B. (Appleton, WI)

an eyeopener
Some of the characters needed to be fleshed out a bit and the plot needed to be more organized, But this was an eyeopener of a story and I came to admire Grace very much for how well she held up.

Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Jane H. (Owensboro, KY)

Minding Ben
I guess giving this book a 3 rating sounds worse than the book actually was. It was an entertaining story and fairly well written but just an average story about being an immigrant "nanny" in New York City. I found the main character a bit too refined to be believable considering the cast of characters around her and as a result I never quite fell into the spell of what a really good story can do for you. All of the characters were too stereotypical and shallow -- the storyline too predictable. I was disappointed as I felt the premise of this book promised much more depth than it delivered.

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