Cherry Ames, Rural Nurse

Cherry Ames #22

by Helen Wells

As a public health nurse in Iowa, Cherry works with federal authorities to quash the manufacture and distribution of a bogus remedy and discovers the secret of a decrepit, abandoned farmhouse.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Medical, Adventure

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Original name: Helen Weinstock. Social worker turned full-time young adult writer, born in Illinois but moved with family to New York City when she was seven. In 1934 Wells graduated from New York University [where she'd been the first female editor of the literary quarterly], with a major in philosophy and a minor in sociology and psychology.

During World War II, she served as a volunteer with the State Department's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, escorting Latin American visitors in the United States.

Author of Cherry Ames, Nurse books, a series for young teens.

She was also the author of the Vicki Barr books, about a young mystery-solving flight attendant. And, as Francine Lewis, she penned the short-lived Polly French series (1950s), aimed at a younger readership.

After writing the first eight books of the Cherry Ames series and the first three Vicki Barr books, Wells decided to abandon both series to write for television and radio, and Julie Tatham took over (however, both the ninth Cherry Ames book and the fourth Vicki Barr book were published under Wells's name). Tatham later returned the Vicki Barr books to Wells in 1953 and the Cherry Ames books in 1955.

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent addition. Again - fantastic plot, characters and morals. I miss innocent days.
April 2022 - Amen to previous review :-)

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A little better than some of the previous volumes; the mystery is interconnected with the nursing Cherry is doing in rural Iowa. A pedlar is hawking herbal remedies, which many locals prefer over medical recommendation. But when one of these so-called remedies starts actually sickening their patients, Cherry and Dr. Miller contact the FDA, and cooperate with their investigation. My only quibble is that the author is adamant that herbal remedies are essentially evil, but it is the preparation and the use they are put to that is the problem, not the herbs themselves.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this Cherry Ames book because the mystery she helps solve is actually related to nursing. In most of the books the mystery is not even related to nursing at all other than that she comes across the mystery while acting as a nurse. This was much more interesting to me from a nursing/medical perspective.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cherry is working as a district nurse for the Iowa Public Health Department and staying with an aunt in the small town of Sauk. She visits patients in rural areas, including Jane, a young woman who has been left a farmhouse. She stays with a family friend, Mrs. Barker, breaks her ankle, and becomes suspicious of Mrs. Barker's son Floyd, who has money but no job. Someone in the area is selling herbal medicine that is making people sick so much of the second half is Cherry and Dr. Hal tracking down the gang who is bottling and selling the stuff. Floyd is involved and the ginseng that is part of the formula is on Jane's property. The ending, with Cherry and Dr. Hal in a secret passage between the farmhouse and a cave is strictly out of Nancy Drew. I don't think Cherry's patients are getting as much attention as they should have!

[Karen Szyszko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #15 finds our heroine in rural Iowa working as a county nurse for the Iowa Public Health Department. This book, above all the recent others, reads like a Trixie Belden book (hint-hint on the author). In the first couple chapters, I could easily insert Trixie's name in place of Cherry's. This book was different in that the mystery did have something to do with nursing more than the other stumbled-upon mysteries. It was heavily mystery-centric and there was no minor derailing of the story to explain why Cherry's name is Cherry and there was little to no romantic undertones between Cherry and Dr. Hal except to say that he was very handsome. The book stayed true to the mystery and it unfolded like any other Trixie Belden mystery. Bottom line = I liked this book.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed these books as a kid and am enjoying them again as an adult. Like the adventures that Cherry has. Looking forward to rest of the series.

[Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun with a good mystery.

[Mum · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mysteries that actually relate to Cherry’s duties as a nurse are always just a bit better than the ones “dragged” into the story despite her nursing duties.

[Homerun2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Yes, pure nostalgia for a childhood favorite.

[Linda Verhage · Rating 3 out of 5]

De geheimzinnige patiënt

[Kerith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found at Dogwood Books in Rome, Georgia - still slowly adding to my mother's collection. And this one was fun to read, too.

[Donna Tarver · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good but there was very little nursing in this one. It was mostly a mystery that a nurse and doctor solved.

[Kathy Blackburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, kind of like a Nancy Drew story.