Junior Nurse

Kathy Martin #2

by Josephine James, William Plummer (Illustrator)

Kathy tries to assist a hit-run accident victim and her family cope with their severe financial problems by tracing a lost deed, but her frustrations over the limitations on her ability to help lead her to consider abandoning a career in nursing.

188 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Pseudonym of Emma Gelders Sterne and her daughter, Barbara Lindsay.

Reviews

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathy, now you're getting a little irritating.

After the first Kathy Martin book I was really looking forward to the next one. Then Kathy kind of fell down off her pedestal a bit and become all too human. She loses her abilities to set boundaries where she should, doesn't follow through on the responsibilities she has that should matter a whole lot more, and then becomes absolutely obsessive about a mystery at the cost of romance, friendships, and even her chosen career. What a mess!

What I liked less is that the mystery resolved in a total deus ex machina manner that only took a handful of paragraphs to clear up when it had been plaguing all through the books. It feels a little like the author took the easy way out after writing herself into a corner. While I was ready to accept the reality of the book - Kathy becoming a whole lot more fallible and human, I would have liked this book more had she still had some real endearing qualities (most of which I thought she lost in her thoughtless actions and brusque manner), the ending of the book kind of lost it for me. I'll try again with her, but was definitely not liking this one as much as the first.

Note to add: I re-read this book this year, and while I don't feel quite so harsh towards Kathy now as I did when I first read this, I still agree with much of this review. Kathy should have done better. So should the author.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent young adult classic series about Kathy Martin becoming a nurse and her career.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book two in the Kathy Martin series follows Kathy and her friends into their second year of nursing school. As juniors, Kathy has the responsibility of being a Big Sister to an incoming student, but finds that her Little Sister, Mona, is more interested in socializing. Mystery finds its way to Kathy when a severely injured patient is dropped off at the emergency room one evening without any information of what happened to her. With the help of her friends, Kathy pieces together the story of this mysterious patient and is determined to make things better.

I'm very excited to continue with the Kathy Martin series. Yes, the language and behaviors of the characters are dated, seeing as how these books were published in the late 50s/early 60s, but they are still enjoyable in a quaint sort of way. The mystery element is intriguing and keeps the reader guessing about what is going to happen next. Next up is book #3!

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just such an interesting look at nursing....some things true, some not so much

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Even I tired of Kathy's obsession with helping the Garcias. It took up too much of the plot, with a highly improbable resolution. I enjoyed the parts with her classmates much more.