The Radium Girls: Young Readers' Edition: The Scary but True Story of the Poison that Made People Glow in the Dark by Kate Moore

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Radium Girls: Young Readers' Edition: The Scary but True Story of the Poison that Made People Glow in the Dark by Kate Moore Kiri Palm Moore, Kate The Radium Girls: Young Readers' Edition: The Scary but True Story of the Poison that Made People Glow in the Dark. Sourcebooks, 2020 [432p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 9781728210346 $17.99 Paper ed. ISBN 9781728209470 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-9 When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium in 1898, the world became enamored with the glowing wonder element. Radium-infused water and face cream were bought by the elite, radiation therapy became a standard cancer treatment, and Sabin von Sochocky developed a glowing radium paint, perfect for nighttime reading of watches and mechanical apparatuses. Companies in New Jersey and Illinois hired young women, many of them only teenagers, to paint the fine radium details on watch faces, instructing them to use their mouths to pinch their brushes to the finest possible point, a technique known as "lip pointing," thus resulting in their constant ingestion of radium. What followed is a gripping tale of gross corporate negligence, decades-long legal battles, and agonizing death for countless young women. Published for adults in 2017, Moore's bestseller is now updated for readers closer to the age of the doomed dial painters. Clipped sentences and uncomplicated language make for an easily readable text, and Moore's matter-of-fact descriptions of the girls' physical declines are more harrowing for their lack of sensationalist gore. Intimate details of the girls' lives, including insights provided by family members and the girls themselves, forge an immediate, deep bond between the reader and the girls, making their triumphs and tragedies even more affecting. This is a lesson in corporate greed, bystander ignorance, and the power of perseverance that will inspire and educate all young revolutionaries. Historical photographs, a timeline of events, a glossary, and bibliography are included. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois