Based partly on letters that Margaret Sutton received from her niece while the niece was attending nursing school, these books are probably the most realistic and down-to-earth of any of the nursing series, featuring some extremely ill patients, matter-of-fact animal dissection in the classroom laboratory, and a decided emphasis on the nursing subjects that are being studied.

Margaret Sutton was already writing the more famous and successful Judy Bolton mystery books when she began this short-lived series.

Although the two books do have mystery angles, they focus largely on Gail's normal, day-to-day struggles as a young student nurse in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps program, which was established to address the nursing shortage during World War II.

Gail Gardner Wins Her Cap, 1944
Despite her family's misgivings, Gail, a minister's daughter, is determined to be a nurse. Her early days at City Hospital are marked by difficulties over a pet bird, a stolen portrait, a mysterious fire, and missing jewels, and hints about the superintendent of nurses' old romance.

Patriotism and Propaganda in Girls' Series: Fictional Nurses of World War II All about World War II nurses in girls' series books, from Susan Merton to Nancy Naylor to Ann Bartlett. Click here to read more!

Gail Gardner, Junior Cadet Nurse, 1945
Gail is dismayed when her younger sister Pam is diagnosed with rheumatic fever and admitted to City Hospital for a long-term stay. Gail also manages to identify the "ghost" that seems to appear on the ward, learns that a patient has a connection to her own family, and dates two young men.

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