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Cherry Ames #25
Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse
When Cherry Ames is offered a temporary assignment to help establish a health clinic in a small native African village, she sees it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only will she be visiting a strange and exciting part of the world--but, more importantly, she will have a chance to help the underprivileged people of a very poor country.
But no sooner has the clinic been built than Cherry finds herself caught up in the midst of a mysterious chain of events. Rough diamonds are being smuggled out of Africa--and Cherry's acute observations lead her to believe that the clinic itself is the base of the smugglers' operations!
By carefully putting together obscure bits and pieces of evidence, and at great personal danger to herself, Cherry sets a trap for the criminals.
How the alert and pretty young nurse from the United States manages to put an end to an international smuggling ring provides a whirlwind finish to a fascinating story of mystery and intrigue.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1965
7 people are currently reading
132 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 4, 2012
I suppose I should first explain why I was even reading Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse. I am a nurse and early on in my career discovered that many romance novels and others in the generally silly, light genres featured nurses in the titles and stories. I started to pick them up in used bookstores and, to name a few, I own Dude Ranch Nurse; Nurse April; Arlene Perry, Special Nurse; Crusading Nurse; Journey of Enchantment; Nurse With A Dream; A Nurse Called Happy and Apollo Nurse. Don't ask me what the plots of most of these are; I have no idea. I suspect in many that the "journey of enchantment" involves heaving bosoms and doctors. Not my idea of a good time, but to each their own.
In any case, Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse is one in a nearly infinite series of Cherry Ames books in which the eponymous nurse goes about doing good and solving crimes. She isn't a detective, mind you, she's just an astute thinker with a sharp eye who catches things all of the others (including the inevitable young, attractive physician) miss.
This particular book belonged to my late mother-in-law, who was also a nurse. In her honor, I thought I should give it a go. It goes without saying that the writing is simplistic and formulaic. These are books meant to be churned out for a mass audience of young women in the 50s and 60s. They were not too picky, probably, about plot or nuance. They certainly didn't want any heaving bosoms and they will find none here.
In fact, Cherry Ames is almost entirely asexual. Not that men don't notice her charms and she theirs, but they express themselves obliquely, if at all, and are always cool and reserved about it. This reflects the society in which this book was written, in which nurses could, in general, either be nurses or be married but not both. It is also worth remembering that outside the home most women were restricted to two professions, nursing and teaching. Of course, some were entrepreneurs, lawyers, physicians and in other male-dominated professions, but the easy road led to these two. This is also why both were so grossly underpaid for years. Only when the nursing shortage struck in the last 30 years or so did the salaries of nurses come up to a professional standard, entirely because we could demand these wages, though nurses were almost too polite to make those demands; thank goodness for the bold few who dragged the rest of us into the 20th century. Teachers, as far as I can tell, are still earning far less than they should. This is a direct result of the sexism inherent in our culture for those many years in which women were predominant in both fields.
This book takes place in Africa, in a sanitized and simplified version of that continent. Written in 1965, it nods to the end of colonialism in Africa, but does so with trepidation and a heavy dose of paternalism. The "savages" will do fine on their own, we white folks think, as long as they have us to guide them as to how its done. We must also, as Dr. Bob and our gal Cherry do, help them eliminate the diseases and vectors that plague them. Without us, these childlike people would be at a loss. (Never mind that they managed for a few hundred thousand years before we came and were at that time largely dying from diseases we brought). Only once in the book (and I found this a rather surprising inclusion) does a character say that "perhaps they would have been better off if the white man had never come here". But this comment elicits only a knowing nod and a murmured "perhaps" before we move on to more important things.
Oh, and there is a diamond-smuggling operation that Cherry single-handedly (with a late assist from our hero, Jeff) thwarts. Ho hum.
As you can tell, the book itself is hardly worth reviewing. But as a portrait of all the worst post-war, pro-American, paternalistic, sexist, racist, ethnocentric, provincial stereotypes of the Great White Incursion it is fascinating. In the midst of a jungle teeming with color and life (none of which seems to intrude on her consciousness), Cherry even plants zinnias around the native huts, importing a nonnative species into the midst of tropical lushness. To me this serves as a metaphor for the whole enterprise of colonialism, the blueprint of Western European culture being forced to fit an entirely different milieu. This not only is inevitably unsuccessful, but also inevitably leads to disaster for both parties. Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse does not portend any such destructive potential. But from the remove of the 21st Century, it is easy to see that the seeds of something far uglier than zinnias have been planted.
In any case, Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse is one in a nearly infinite series of Cherry Ames books in which the eponymous nurse goes about doing good and solving crimes. She isn't a detective, mind you, she's just an astute thinker with a sharp eye who catches things all of the others (including the inevitable young, attractive physician) miss.
This particular book belonged to my late mother-in-law, who was also a nurse. In her honor, I thought I should give it a go. It goes without saying that the writing is simplistic and formulaic. These are books meant to be churned out for a mass audience of young women in the 50s and 60s. They were not too picky, probably, about plot or nuance. They certainly didn't want any heaving bosoms and they will find none here.
In fact, Cherry Ames is almost entirely asexual. Not that men don't notice her charms and she theirs, but they express themselves obliquely, if at all, and are always cool and reserved about it. This reflects the society in which this book was written, in which nurses could, in general, either be nurses or be married but not both. It is also worth remembering that outside the home most women were restricted to two professions, nursing and teaching. Of course, some were entrepreneurs, lawyers, physicians and in other male-dominated professions, but the easy road led to these two. This is also why both were so grossly underpaid for years. Only when the nursing shortage struck in the last 30 years or so did the salaries of nurses come up to a professional standard, entirely because we could demand these wages, though nurses were almost too polite to make those demands; thank goodness for the bold few who dragged the rest of us into the 20th century. Teachers, as far as I can tell, are still earning far less than they should. This is a direct result of the sexism inherent in our culture for those many years in which women were predominant in both fields.
This book takes place in Africa, in a sanitized and simplified version of that continent. Written in 1965, it nods to the end of colonialism in Africa, but does so with trepidation and a heavy dose of paternalism. The "savages" will do fine on their own, we white folks think, as long as they have us to guide them as to how its done. We must also, as Dr. Bob and our gal Cherry do, help them eliminate the diseases and vectors that plague them. Without us, these childlike people would be at a loss. (Never mind that they managed for a few hundred thousand years before we came and were at that time largely dying from diseases we brought). Only once in the book (and I found this a rather surprising inclusion) does a character say that "perhaps they would have been better off if the white man had never come here". But this comment elicits only a knowing nod and a murmured "perhaps" before we move on to more important things.
Oh, and there is a diamond-smuggling operation that Cherry single-handedly (with a late assist from our hero, Jeff) thwarts. Ho hum.
As you can tell, the book itself is hardly worth reviewing. But as a portrait of all the worst post-war, pro-American, paternalistic, sexist, racist, ethnocentric, provincial stereotypes of the Great White Incursion it is fascinating. In the midst of a jungle teeming with color and life (none of which seems to intrude on her consciousness), Cherry even plants zinnias around the native huts, importing a nonnative species into the midst of tropical lushness. To me this serves as a metaphor for the whole enterprise of colonialism, the blueprint of Western European culture being forced to fit an entirely different milieu. This not only is inevitably unsuccessful, but also inevitably leads to disaster for both parties. Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse does not portend any such destructive potential. But from the remove of the 21st Century, it is easy to see that the seeds of something far uglier than zinnias have been planted.
June 6, 2019
"When Cherry Ames is offered a temporary assignment to help establish a health clinic in a small native African village, she sees it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only will she be visiting a strange and exciting part of the world-but, more importantly, she will have a chance to help the underprivileged people of a semi-primitive country.
But no sooner has the clinic been built than Cherry finds herself caught up in the midst of a mysterious chain of event. Rough diamonds are being smuggled out of Africa and Cherry's acute observations lead her to believe that the clinic itself is the base of the smugglers' operation!
By carefully putting together obscure bits and pieces of evidence, and at great personal danger to herself, Cherry sets a trap for the criminals.
How the alert young nurse from the United States manages to put an end to an international smuggling ring provides a whirlwind finish to a fascinating story of mystery and intrigue."
- "For a fleeting moment she wondered if she might run into another mystery when she got back home. But she quickly dismissed the thought. Hilton, Illinois was such a quiet, typical Midwest town that it hardly seemed likely." Uhmm Cherry, you've solved several mysteries at home.
- Bob brags to Cherry about an African hunting trip his rich daddy took him on 5 years ago and how they killed sooo many animals. Cherry's pretty disgusted by this so Bob back peddles saying it was a different time then...you know a whole 5 years ago.
- However Bob keeps bragging through out the book about hunting; "The shotgun I'll use to bag us a few sand grouse every now and then. There are millions of them down in this part of Kenya, and when they're broiled over an open fire they'll taste ten times better than the partridge or pheasants your twin brother probably hunts every fall back in Illinois." Bruh, whys he gotta come for Charlie like that.
You can read my full review at VintageGirlsBooks.blogspot.com
July 23, 2021
Enjoyable, as always, though not a favorite.
October 23, 2012
My favorite Cherry Ames book, and the first time it occurred to me that I simply must visit Africa someday.
Oh, how I longed to be Cherry Ames. I’m still shocked I didn’t become a nurse, just because of her. If I had girls, I'd buy these books for them. Cherry Ames was smart and hardworking and she didn't go all googly over every guy that passed.
Oh, how I longed to be Cherry Ames. I’m still shocked I didn’t become a nurse, just because of her. If I had girls, I'd buy these books for them. Cherry Ames was smart and hardworking and she didn't go all googly over every guy that passed.
March 20, 2017
The theme of this book is diamond smuggling. Cherry and another doctor are going to a small village in Africa in order to combat an outbreak of sleeping sickness. They get the area sprayed, clean out the huts and then have the huts whitewashed. They also treat the people of the village who have the sickness.
Along the way they encounter a couple of guys who are suspicious and this is where the book fails. If they had kept the series to things directly having to do with nursing they that would have been one thing (although keeping the interest of the readers that long probably would have been a problem) but, if you are going to write a mystery, which this book is, then do so without being so terribly obvious about who the bad guys are.
Some of the other books in the series have the same problem. (I've seen the same thing in a few of the Nancy Drew books). You know right off who the baddy is and this sort of makes the book less interesting than if the actual bad person was not revealed until the last chapter or so.
Along the way they encounter a couple of guys who are suspicious and this is where the book fails. If they had kept the series to things directly having to do with nursing they that would have been one thing (although keeping the interest of the readers that long probably would have been a problem) but, if you are going to write a mystery, which this book is, then do so without being so terribly obvious about who the bad guys are.
Some of the other books in the series have the same problem. (I've seen the same thing in a few of the Nancy Drew books). You know right off who the baddy is and this sort of makes the book less interesting than if the actual bad person was not revealed until the last chapter or so.
April 7, 2025
Book #18 finds our heroine in Ngogo, Kenya, assisting a doctor friend set up a new clinic in the wilds. I wasn't looking forward to reading this story because of the publishing date. I was expecting a story with racist undertones. Maybe this recent publication erased those undertones; maybe it didn't; but I consider this story among the best amidst the recent past stories. The story is still short on nursing, altho Cherry does a tad more in this book, and long on mystery. This who-done-it conclusion surprised me. I still want "him" to be a secret operative; but I will not be getting my wish.
June 5, 2019
I made a joke about "Cherry Ames, Student Nurse" not so long ago and then realized that while I know about the series, I had never read anything from it. So I decided to pick one up. This was about what I expected: simple, formulaic, mildly racist. But at least I can now come by the reference more honestly.
November 14, 2021
Perhaps 3.5 stars. Cherry is off to Africa on her latest adventure, to help a doctor friend treat a village affected by sleeping sickness. The descriptions of life in Kenya at the time are interesting, if a bit condescending to the natives. Naturally Cherry discovers — and solves — a mystery, but not without putting herself into danger.
June 17, 2019
This one was hard to find in the used books stores and a title I have really wanted to read.
It didn't disappoint! Cherry goes off to Africa and gets herself in another mystery while saving the day and saving lives. I really liked this one.
It didn't disappoint! Cherry goes off to Africa and gets herself in another mystery while saving the day and saving lives. I really liked this one.
September 21, 2021
I was happy to see new editions of the Cherry Ames series at my local library. I had never read this one. It's actually hard to read if you understand the brutal colonization of Africa and how charities contributed to the current chaos.
December 18, 2023
Not the best book in the series. If you’re going to read any of the books in this series then read any other one and skip this one. More “mystery” than actual nursing and not even an original mystery (Diamonds in Africa) imagine that.
December 13, 2017
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.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews