The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark by Kate Moore
on September 8, 2020
ISBN: 9781728210346
Pages: 408
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

This is a young readers’ adaptation of Moore’s book The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women, which came in at a page count of over 600. This adaptation reduces that to just over 400 pages, so while easier to digest, it is still a meaty book so it might be best for readers in grades 7 and up. Filled with personal stories, primary sources, and copious notes and an extensive bibliography, this is a well-researched and well-sourced book. The story is heartbreaking and tragic. Moore brings to life all of the women affected by the duplicitous radium companies who might have had an inkling that radium was dangerous and yet did nothing to protect their young, female workers in their quest for increased profits. Some of the descriptions of the ailments and illnesses are tough to read, so if a reader is sensitive to gore, these sections can be skimmed. But the writing and the story are gripping;  this is narrative nonfiction at its best.  And the message is necessary; radium plants were still in operation with some harmful practices as recently as 1978 and cleanup from all of the radioactive industrial waste is ongoing as of 2019. Recommend for cream of the crop.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth