Sue Barton, like Cherry Ames, was a nurse, and the first book starts with her training. These books were significantly less formulaic than Cherry Ames and had what seemed to me much more realistic banter and better humor. Her life actually progresses -- she gets married, has kids who grow older, but she still works as a nurse.
Judy Bolton is an amateur detective who eventually marries an FBI agent. These are about as formulaic as the Cherry Ames books, but, again, things progress, people get older. Cherry got a reset after a while, really.
Rick Brant is the son of a scientist, and with his best friend, a former Marine whom he picks up hitchhiking, I think, he solves scientific or pseudo-scientific mysteries. These are fairly formulaic but I really liked the science and science-fictional aspects of the series; there are a number of plots that involve technology that didn't actually exist when the books were written. The main irritant was that Rick has a younger sister named Barbie. She is inconsistently characterized, being used to ask naive questions when necessary but being perfectly competent and brave when that is necessary. And yet she is always put aside from the action, however capable she has been in her little supporting role.
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Sue Barton, like Cherry Ames, was a nurse, and the first book starts with her training. These books were significantly less formulaic than Cherry Ames and had what seemed to me much more realistic banter and better humor. Her life actually progresses -- she gets married, has kids who grow older, but she still works as a nurse.
Judy Bolton is an amateur detective who eventually marries an FBI agent. These are about as formulaic as the Cherry Ames books, but, again, things progress, people get older. Cherry got a reset after a while, really.
Rick Brant is the son of a scientist, and with his best friend, a former Marine whom he picks up hitchhiking, I think, he solves scientific or pseudo-scientific mysteries. These are fairly formulaic but I really liked the science and science-fictional aspects of the series; there are a number of plots that involve technology that didn't actually exist when the books were written. The main irritant was that Rick has a younger sister named Barbie. She is inconsistently characterized, being used to ask naive questions when necessary but being perfectly competent and brave when that is necessary. And yet she is always put aside from the action, however capable she has been in her little supporting role.
P.