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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
drlori14's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
flick_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
4.0
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
Cherry tried to look intelligent. (8)
Oh dear god there's so much to unpack here. If you're not familiar with the Cherry Ames books, they're in a similar vein as the [b:Nancy Drew|32979|The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1)|Carolyn Keene|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351534678l/32979._SX50_.jpg|151480] books, except that Cherry is a nurse. I learned of them in a sort of backwards way, through their [b:satirical lesbian counterparts|282574|The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse (Nancy Clue & Cherry Aimless, #1)|Mabel Maney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347701108l/282574._SY75_.jpg|1098897] (highly recommend), but have since read the occasional original.
Chief Nurse takes place on a Pacific island towards the tail end of World War II. Cherry has been promoted so that she can head up the nursing unit at a 1,000-bed hospital (though the idea that they'd let a lieutenant do that is laughable...but let's just stipulate that anything that has to do with actually military procedure is insanely unrealistic and leave it at that). There's very little plot for much of the book, though eventually there's some kind of mystery to do with the fact that the medical team is deeply confused about why an exit wound is bigger than an entry wound. Far more interesting is what is unsaid.
The book is deeply racist. There's literally a point at which Cherry 'hurried over to him [a soldier] and congratulated him on shooting down the Jap plane' (150); there's another point when Cherry asks a soldier, eagerly, "Did you kill any Japs?" (67). 'Jap' is used consistently rather than 'Japanese', and there's a point when a bunch of nurses and patients are joking around, and the only joke that the book thinks bears repeating (I do not and thus will not be quoting) is one about the Japanese.
I had to remind myself, repeatedly, that the book was first published in 1944: the war was still on, with no guarantee about how it would end. Fear of the Japanese was rampant (to say nothing of internment camps), and it would be several decades before the term 'politically correct' came into use as we use it now. (This is the only reason I'm not giving it a lower rating.) There's a Chinese-American nurse who is thrust onto the page every now and then, I think as a reminder that 'hey, reader! We don't hate all Asians! Just those evil ones!' Which is...ever so slightly better than it could be? I guess? Don't get me wrong, it's still painful and offensive, but I'm trying to remember to put it in the context of the average American's understanding in the 1940s.
This is not a story of men and women but of men and girls. Again, it was 1944. Cherry is told that she is too young and pretty (8) to be in charge. Half of what the nurses do is boost morale:
"You're going to be fine and dandy," Cherry told a hollow-eyed youngster, and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Honestly you are." He looked so comforted that Cherry could have cried. (27)
(I mean, I think what we're really seeing is Cherry healing PTSD with a pat on the shoulder.) They're told that they might be bombed, and the nurses 'listened with visible excitement' (39), because apparently they don't understand that people die in war. Cherry 'made a rule that her nurses wear their feminine white uniforms on Sundays and curl their hair and powder their noses, come storms, heat or bombings—and it perked up everybody's morale' (69). Oh, they're competent nurses and save everybody's lives and all that, but it's the 1940s, so there's never any question that the doctors are gods and the nurses are mere acolytes.
The entire thing is basically an extended ad for the Army. Specifically, it's a call for girls to become nurses:
Edit: Worth checking out this actual brochure from the 1940s, available at archive.org.
Oh dear god there's so much to unpack here. If you're not familiar with the Cherry Ames books, they're in a similar vein as the [b:Nancy Drew|32979|The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #1)|Carolyn Keene|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351534678l/32979._SX50_.jpg|151480] books, except that Cherry is a nurse. I learned of them in a sort of backwards way, through their [b:satirical lesbian counterparts|282574|The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse (Nancy Clue & Cherry Aimless, #1)|Mabel Maney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347701108l/282574._SY75_.jpg|1098897] (highly recommend), but have since read the occasional original.
Chief Nurse takes place on a Pacific island towards the tail end of World War II. Cherry has been promoted so that she can head up the nursing unit at a 1,000-bed hospital (though the idea that they'd let a lieutenant do that is laughable...but let's just stipulate that anything that has to do with actually military procedure is insanely unrealistic and leave it at that). There's very little plot for much of the book, though eventually there's some kind of mystery to do with the fact that the medical team is deeply confused about why an exit wound is bigger than an entry wound. Far more interesting is what is unsaid.
The book is deeply racist. There's literally a point at which Cherry 'hurried over to him [a soldier] and congratulated him on shooting down the Jap plane' (150); there's another point when Cherry asks a soldier, eagerly, "Did you kill any Japs?" (67). 'Jap' is used consistently rather than 'Japanese', and there's a point when a bunch of nurses and patients are joking around, and the only joke that the book thinks bears repeating (I do not and thus will not be quoting) is one about the Japanese.
I had to remind myself, repeatedly, that the book was first published in 1944: the war was still on, with no guarantee about how it would end. Fear of the Japanese was rampant (to say nothing of internment camps), and it would be several decades before the term 'politically correct' came into use as we use it now. (This is the only reason I'm not giving it a lower rating.) There's a Chinese-American nurse who is thrust onto the page every now and then, I think as a reminder that 'hey, reader! We don't hate all Asians! Just those evil ones!' Which is...ever so slightly better than it could be? I guess? Don't get me wrong, it's still painful and offensive, but I'm trying to remember to put it in the context of the average American's understanding in the 1940s.
This is not a story of men and women but of men and girls. Again, it was 1944. Cherry is told that she is too young and pretty (8) to be in charge. Half of what the nurses do is boost morale:
"You're going to be fine and dandy," Cherry told a hollow-eyed youngster, and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Honestly you are." He looked so comforted that Cherry could have cried. (27)
(I mean, I think what we're really seeing is Cherry healing PTSD with a pat on the shoulder.) They're told that they might be bombed, and the nurses 'listened with visible excitement' (39), because apparently they don't understand that people die in war. Cherry 'made a rule that her nurses wear their feminine white uniforms on Sundays and curl their hair and powder their noses, come storms, heat or bombings—and it perked up everybody's morale' (69). Oh, they're competent nurses and save everybody's lives and all that, but it's the 1940s, so there's never any question that the doctors are gods and the nurses are mere acolytes.
The entire thing is basically an extended ad for the Army. Specifically, it's a call for girls to become nurses:
"Huh!" said Bertha. "Instead of three years in nursing school, only two and a half years in school, and six months' real practical experience with some Federal agency! That's something!"
"It's funny," Cherry mused. "Mildred is a very good but not spectacular student, and her parents could afford to pay for her training. But here the Government is paying her whole nursing school tuition, plus her living expenses, plus an allowance. ... If mildred can qualify for the Cadet Nurse Corps, I should think lots of other smart girls could, too. They could even enter training direct from high school. (31)And:
"The only solution," Cherry scowled," is to load each girl with forty patients or get more nurses. But there aren't more nurses! And there aren't going to be more nurses until more girls become student nurses! Oh-h!" (61)And:
"So I went back to a civilian hospital at first," Mrs. Flanders told Cherry. "They certainly do need more nurses! My, there are lots of older, retired, patriotic nurses returning to help out in this shortage. Some of them grandmothers, that's how shorthanded we are. The real young student nurses are a great help. Well, then I thought I'd like to get into the Army Nurse Corps." (96)And so it goes. I can't imagine contemporary publishers getting away with the same overt call to arms, but...different time, different market. It's weird. It's fascinating. It had very little to do with reality. I'm deeply tempted to read a whole lot more Cherry Ames (read this one because I was in the middle of two mediocre memoirs and wanted something fluffy and fictional), though I sort of think I'd end up with a very earnest, powdered headache.
Edit: Worth checking out this actual brochure from the 1940s, available at archive.org.
evagrace_j's review against another edition
4.0
I read this mostly for nostalgia's sake :P I used to love this as a kid, and my friends and I formed this club thing surrounding them and it was great. I don't think the books still match up to my old view of them but eh.
authorjendesmarais's review against another edition
4.0
It was incredibly interesting to read a book that was set during WWII, and also written during that time. The blatant sexism was a bit much at times, and I found my eyes rolling more than once, but overall, this was a gripping tale of bravery of the nurses during that time.
sar_19's review against another edition
3.0
Glad to see both Cherry and Charlie reunited and very glad there is no appearance of Rex!