Cherry Ames Country Doctor's Nurse and Boarding School Nurse

In Cherry Ames #16, Cherry Ames, Country Doctor's Nurse, Cherry takes a job as a nurse for a country doctor in Sleepyside, New York.  Cherry takes a room in a boarding house, and the owner acts like she hates Cherry.  Cherry soon begins helping Harry Jenner, who is trying to unseat the current mayor, Cy Hillman.  Harry has accused Hillman of corruption and graft, but he must find proof.

Lex appears in this book, and I still don't like him.  Unfortunately, Lex never did get married, so he is still a potential suitor for Cherry.  Oh, joy.

The beginning of this book drags.  Way too much expository information is given about the people that Cherry is to meet in Sleepyside.  She is told pages of information before she meets any of them.  I find it hard to care about a lengthy back story before I get to meet the characters.  I'd rather see what's going on and then learn the history.

I also couldn't help thinking, Where's Trixie?  Sleepyside, New York, is the setting of the Trixie Belden series, which was created by Julie Tatham.  She incorporates some names from the Trixie Belden series, such as Old Post Road. 

Before Cherry arrives in Sleepyside, she predicts that Dr. Clem won't want to hire her.  Cherry has some serious self-esteem problems.  Additionally, a large amount of text is devoted to Cherry learning everything about Dr. Clem's office.  Cherry keeps saying that she can't remember how to do something and that she needs a refresher.  Girl, get a grip on yourself.  You are an RN, and you have had lots of experience.  You don't need practice.

Cherry plays this same dumb broad act at the beginning of every book, and it gets really old. 

This book contains a bit too much history about Washington Irving and the area around Sleepyside.  Julie Tatham probably enjoyed writing it, but I didn't enjoy reading it.  Parts read like a travelogue, and I almost always dislike travelogues.  I skimmed most of the travelogue parts.

This book also contains a bit much information about the mayor and the history of the characters.  At times, I felt similar to how I felt while reading Cherry Ames, Mountaineer Nurse.  I'd rather see more action and less discussion.

While the book is overall good, I was bored quite a few times throughout the story.

In Cherry Ames #17, Cherry Ames, Boarding School Nurse, Cherry takes a job nursing in a boarding school out in the country.  Cherry becomes friendly with Lisette, a new girl at the school, who seems to be searching the mansion for something.  Lisette has isolated herself from the other girls, which concerns Cherry.  Meanwhile, another girl accuses Lisette of theft, and Cherry hopes to clear Lisette.

The end of Country Doctor's Nurse states that Cherry would be going to Jamestown, Rhode Island for her next job.  The first page of this book states that Jamestown is not far from Cherry's hometown of Hilton, Illinois, so Cherry will be able to go home during all school breaks.  This confused me, since Illinois and Rhode Island aren't that close.  On page 10, Cherry tells a woman that she has "been brought up right here in Illinois."  That makes more sense. The location of Jamestown changed from Rhode Island to Illinois between the two books.

Cherry doesn't pull the "dumb broad" act in this book.  She just has minor nervousness with the new situation, which is normal for anybody.  She does worry about the doctor's approval during her first job with him, but anyone might be nervous working with someone new.  At least she doesn't forget everything she knows.

This is the third book in a row to use the word "sesame" as in "open sesame."  It's not a word that appears in the average series book, and it's odd for it to show up in three successive titles written by two different authors.

This book flows so much better than the previous book.  The expository information is short and to the point.  I really enjoyed the school setting, which is very similar to the setting of the Dana Girls series.  The school even has a mean girl, who causes Lisette problems.

I greatly enjoyed this book.