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Cherry Ames #6
Cherry Ames Veterans' Nurse
CHERRY AMES, VETERANS' NURSE is the absorbing story of how Cherry restores health and hope to her patients in Graham General Hospital––and also solves the baffling mystery of the stolen medicine.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 1945
5 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Helen Wells
112 books75 followersOriginal 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
June 2, 2024
This was a particularly sweet episode of Cherry Ames nursing career and it pulled on my heartstrings. I enjoyed the friendships that Cherry made in this book - a wounded veteran and a boy suffering from a nutritional disease. Cherry is close to her hometown and we see more of her family. Midge was hilarious in this episode being a lovesick young lady. So funny how her devotions change quickly between boys. In this book, a secret medication is stolen from the supply closet and Cherry sets out to discover who was responsible. I really liked the focus on rehabilitation for the veterans and just how encouraging all the staff were to the young men. Reading about what exercises they used in PT and OT back in the 40s was interesting to me personally. I think that is what I have enjoyed most of this series - seeing the difference in hospital culture and nursing care...and of course, all of the cozy mysteries!
September 18, 2016
Cherry is home from the war and working at a veterans’ hospital 30 miles from her home in Hilton, Illinois.
She gets to spend time with her parents, who have engaged a new and amusing housekeeper. Her mentor Doctor Joe is still neighbours, and his daughter Midge is growing up to be a teenager.
At the army hospital, she befriends a laid-back nurse and works with a group of returned soldiers. She also finds the time to chase up the mystery of the stolen amino acids, and read stories to a small boy suffering from a mysterious wasting disease.
Cherry’s a nice, level-headed person with a sense of humour. She’s highly competent and makes friends easily. Everyone is admirably just getting on with things. There are a few interestingly quirky old-school details: smoking in hospitals, experimental amino acid medicines that can cure anything, and occupational therapy meant finding work people can do in bed. Work in bed! Setting aside most people who do all their work in front of PCs can probably do that now anyway, it’s awesome. The world is no longer such a great place and I blame television.
This book is gentle, relaxing fun, but forgettable. The mystery is fairly perfunctory, and Cherry’s assumption that it has anything to do with her is far-fetched. It felt tacked on. The majority of characters are played for laughs. I’m not really on fire to read the rest of the books – I can’t really see where this is going. Cherry will nurse everywhere that can be nursed. There will be nursing adjacent books and products until Cherry stops selling quite so well, and then she’ll just fade out.
She gets to spend time with her parents, who have engaged a new and amusing housekeeper. Her mentor Doctor Joe is still neighbours, and his daughter Midge is growing up to be a teenager.
At the army hospital, she befriends a laid-back nurse and works with a group of returned soldiers. She also finds the time to chase up the mystery of the stolen amino acids, and read stories to a small boy suffering from a mysterious wasting disease.
Cherry’s a nice, level-headed person with a sense of humour. She’s highly competent and makes friends easily. Everyone is admirably just getting on with things. There are a few interestingly quirky old-school details: smoking in hospitals, experimental amino acid medicines that can cure anything, and occupational therapy meant finding work people can do in bed. Work in bed! Setting aside most people who do all their work in front of PCs can probably do that now anyway, it’s awesome. The world is no longer such a great place and I blame television.
This book is gentle, relaxing fun, but forgettable. The mystery is fairly perfunctory, and Cherry’s assumption that it has anything to do with her is far-fetched. It felt tacked on. The majority of characters are played for laughs. I’m not really on fire to read the rest of the books – I can’t really see where this is going. Cherry will nurse everywhere that can be nursed. There will be nursing adjacent books and products until Cherry stops selling quite so well, and then she’ll just fade out.
January 18, 2023
I still love to read these books, even though they were written for much younger girls in their teens. The stories are interesting, the characters feel like family, and the settings are interesting too.
March 16, 2025
More of the same but not bad. These old books smell so good :)
February 7, 2018
Cherry Ames, Veterans' Nurse by Helen Wells in the sixth book in the Cherry Ames series.
This book was sweet -- mainly because I of Cherry's charges in the hospital. I liked reading about them healing and building up their self-confidence.
The entire plotline about Toby and the medicine felt cliché and predictable to me. I didn't enjoy that part. You could see from a mile off who had stolen the medicine -- there weren't even any other suspects besides the two criminals!!
Overall, a very lazy mystery, but the rest of the book was enjoyable. Just compared to other Cherry Ames books, I didn't like it quite as much. 3 stars out of 5.
This book was sweet -- mainly because I of Cherry's charges in the hospital. I liked reading about them healing and building up their self-confidence.
The entire plotline about Toby and the medicine felt cliché and predictable to me. I didn't enjoy that part. You could see from a mile off who had stolen the medicine -- there weren't even any other suspects besides the two criminals!!
Overall, a very lazy mystery, but the rest of the book was enjoyable. Just compared to other Cherry Ames books, I didn't like it quite as much. 3 stars out of 5.
December 25, 2017
This was a lovely Cherry Ames book. The mystery was inconsequential but her work in building up veterans not only physically but mentally and emotionally was terrific. The story had real importance. And Captain Cooper and puppy love is always a delight. Still love the ones with the whole gang of nursing girls the best but this was the best of the rest.
February 28, 2022
Less satisfying than the first five in the series, perhaps the allure of rereading these books that were so important to me sixty years ago has worn off, but more likely the post war setting isn’t as captivating as the novels that were written for young girls on the homefront. I also missed the other nurses, who were part of Cherry’s story from her first day at nursing school. The “proposal” chapter, however, was quite entertaining — Cherry’s strength and independence are delightful. The “mystery” was WAY too obvious.
January 22, 2011
Enjoyed this one, particularly Cherry's relationship with Jim, her patient -- but I am admit I am sad to see Cherry leave the Army Nurse Corps! I enjoyed her WWII adventures.
November 15, 2011
I didn't care for this book as much as the previous ones as it didn't have all the main supporting characters I was used to.
August 29, 2024
This is the last book in Cherry's army journey. I'm not sure why I thought this one wouldn't be as interesting as the first five, but I was wrong. Initially it read like a short story collection. I'm glad to say all the seemingly unconnected pieces came together by the end. The writing is pretty good in these. Some scenes are ovr th top and for a young audience, but a lot of it holds up fairly well even for my adult reading. I find this series pretty fascinating, having been written during WWII at the beginning. It struck me how detailed the descriptions of the soldiers injuries were for a kid's book. But then these soldiers were coming home at the time. Kids had been seeing wounded soldiers returning and probably sometimes to their own families. It was a good way to introduce girls to a possible job in their future, but also to normalize men with prosthetics, missing limbs, limps, etc to allow kids better ability to adjust and accept them. Next up, Private Duty Nurse.
August 6, 2025
This Cherry Ames book is the sixth of twenty-seven in this series written in the forties and fifties. This one was written just after WWII, published in 1946.
Cherry, a much beloved nurse, by most of her patients and co-workers has just returned from serving overseas. She finds work back at home in America with veterans who have just returned from combat. Wells doesn’t hide the pain that these soldiers continued to heal from. One especially, Jim Travers, lost his leg and feels that life is over for him. Cherry finds what will help each of her patients as they adjust to their new life.
As well, there is a dying 4 year old that has stolen Cherry’s heart, a mysterious theft in the hospital and a love interest. All this keeps the plot moving and the reader wondering.
Cherry Ames was a strong role model for young girls and this fictional character led to the growth in a much needed occupation.
Cherry, a much beloved nurse, by most of her patients and co-workers has just returned from serving overseas. She finds work back at home in America with veterans who have just returned from combat. Wells doesn’t hide the pain that these soldiers continued to heal from. One especially, Jim Travers, lost his leg and feels that life is over for him. Cherry finds what will help each of her patients as they adjust to their new life.
As well, there is a dying 4 year old that has stolen Cherry’s heart, a mysterious theft in the hospital and a love interest. All this keeps the plot moving and the reader wondering.
Cherry Ames was a strong role model for young girls and this fictional character led to the growth in a much needed occupation.
March 24, 2023
Book #6 - Blah. This book finds our heroine back home stateside and working in a Veterans Hospital. Something was lacking in this story compared with the other five. Maybe the story needed her school/Army friends for the added spark. From the standpoint of a stand alone book, maybe it was good read. But, there was no comaraderie among the nurses. Sal Steen was just strange (e.g., the Surprises and April Fool chapters ). The mystery wasn't much of a mystery and the consequences were lackluster. The one upside was the return of Captain Wade Cooper (I like him!) but even that ended in disappointment. I hope the next 14 books don't follow this pattern [fingers crossed].
August 28, 2023
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book! I was so sad when it ended! Old books are generally not like this; sometimes the language is hard to understand and it makes you want to finish the book and get it over with. The thing about old books like this is that the stories are usually very interesting, but if you’re not used to old books then the language can sound to confusing and over-descriptive. This one was not like this at all! It was incredible and the plot was very creative! (Even if I guessed who stole the amino acids XD) I was also sad about how Wade and Cherry made out! Great book overall, totally recommend!
September 2, 2023
Cherry is back from overseas and is assigned to a veterans' hospital, where she grows close to several of her patients, as they negotiate the changes in their physical state based on wounds they suffered during the war. Most of the novel is about these cases. There is also a related plot about a little boy who is wasting away because his body won't accept nourishment. His parents have opened their big and lovely home to veterans so Cherry feels a need to help if she can. This secondary plot is connected to the theft of a new drug for convalescing servicemen, which helps the little boy as well.
April 14, 2020
With the war over, Cherry returns home to take up duties at a nearby veterans' hospital, still under military control. There she works hard helping her patients learn to deal with their various injuries and disabilities, helping them to realize they can still be useful members of society. Naturally, she encounters a mystery — and solves it, receiving a commendation. Quick-paced and cozy, this book offers a glimpse back into a simpler time in our history.
June 8, 2021
I didn't like the first few chapters of this one as well as I did in the previous books, because of the negative experiences (stress), but then it really settled down to being a more comforting book. By the end I felt much better reading this one.
December 6, 2024
Cherry's kindness and strong sense of duty and concern toward people in her care are much needed character traits today! The author sheds light on the need of wounded vets to be treated with dignity, and throws in some humor, mystery, and a dash of romance as well.
April 6, 2018
These are pure nostalgia for me and I love them.
June 29, 2021
As a nurse myself in today’s crazy world it’s nice to step back to a different time with a fellow nurse.
April 25, 2025
After her army discharge Cherry makes new friends while nursing recovering veterans. The mysteries are subpar, but the stories are fun
December 2, 2012
I enjoyed this more than the last one. The post-war perspective on veteran rehabilitation veterans was very interesting. The mystery angle was obvious, but that's okay. I don't read these for the mystery. Some of the non-nursing scenes in the book (e.g., Midge's date, the scenes with Wade) seemed straight out of a 1930s or 1940s screwball comedy, and not a very original one at that. But it mixes the plot up a bit, I suppose, and they were rather amusing. I don't understand Cherry's decision near the end of the book to leave the Army (other than the fact that it is the nature of the series for her to job-hop). It seems rather sudden after how attached she was to her work with the veterans.
Other things: I think I'm mentioned this before, but I don't really like Dr. Joe. He basically ignores Midge, and his tired and absent-minded genius shtick doesn't feel quite genuine.
Also, why does Mrs. Ames need a housekeeper? It's just her and Mr. Ames most of the time!
In the unedited older versions of this book there are some interesting archaic details. For example, Cherry gives recovering patients cigarettes and helps them to smoke!
Other things: I think I'm mentioned this before, but I don't really like Dr. Joe. He basically ignores Midge, and his tired and absent-minded genius shtick doesn't feel quite genuine.
Also, why does Mrs. Ames need a housekeeper? It's just her and Mr. Ames most of the time!
In the unedited older versions of this book there are some interesting archaic details. For example, Cherry gives recovering patients cigarettes and helps them to smoke!
December 4, 2014
It was really interesting to reread this book. I'd completely forgotten about the "mystery" aspect of the story from when I'd read it back when I was a child. The parts that I remembered are the parts grounded in history. My mom even pointed out that the fictional VA hospital where Cherry works is probably based in part on the very real Hines VA Hospital where a lot of new work in the field of occupational therapy was begun following WWII. What did I remember from the first time I read this book? Jim's story. His therapy.
But the part that really made me smile? When Cherry is thinking about the soldiers who have relatives nearby, in Evanston, Chicago, St. Joe. I did a double-take at that last city. St. Joe? She must mean St. Joseph, Michigan, a city about an hour from where I grew up! I definitely didn't remember that detail from the first time I read the book!
But the part that really made me smile? When Cherry is thinking about the soldiers who have relatives nearby, in Evanston, Chicago, St. Joe. I did a double-take at that last city. St. Joe? She must mean St. Joseph, Michigan, a city about an hour from where I grew up! I definitely didn't remember that detail from the first time I read the book!
January 13, 2016
Book #6 in the Cherry Ames series, this one is totally centered on Cherry caring for soldiers that have returned from WWII and who are wounded badly. The description of what the wounded soldiers look like and how their war experiences have affected them is very well done.
There is also a mystery here in that some very new medicine has been stolen from the hospital storage room. Cherry undertakes to find out who the thief is and why that particular medicine is taken. That part is also well done. I have yet to read a Cherry Ames book which is disappointing.
There is also a mystery here in that some very new medicine has been stolen from the hospital storage room. Cherry undertakes to find out who the thief is and why that particular medicine is taken. That part is also well done. I have yet to read a Cherry Ames book which is disappointing.
July 3, 2016
My quest to read all the Cherry Ames books may be at an end, as the library can't locate any more, but I'm glad I made it this far. Cherry Ames Veterans Nurse follows Cherry home after the war to a type of rehab VA. It's simple, misogynistic, yet sweet, with a little less plot than the other books.
Kinda bummed I'm never find out what Cherry Ames Jungle Nurse was all about. That was sure to be a horrible trip back to segregation.
Kinda bummed I'm never find out what Cherry Ames Jungle Nurse was all about. That was sure to be a horrible trip back to segregation.
May 7, 2009
A good one but what I want to know is, does Cherry ever empty a bedpan?
January 26, 2011
Maybe it's been a while since I've read one of these, but whoa, was that "mystery" ever obvious. Thumbs up for the post-WWII perspective, though.
August 24, 2015
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.
February 16, 2016
Another fun read
October 15, 2016
Cherry is back in the States now, this time caring for wounded soldiers recovering from their war injuries.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews