FDL Reads: The Radium Girls
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
Reviewed by: Genna Buhr, Library Director
Genre: History, Non-Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults, Teens
What is the book about?: In the early years of the last century, young women in locations across the nation took to the working world by becoming painters of clock and gauge faces. Using paint designed to glow by the addition of recently discovered radium, the women skillfully hand-painted dials in factories using materials and techniques provided to them by the management. The women enjoyed the independence and friendships the work provided. However, many eventually started having extreme medical issues and suspected it was due to the working conditions that they were told were safe. The Radium Girls tells the stories of some of these women, the distress they experienced, and the fight they led to ensure that justice would be upheld.
My Review: The story of the radium girls wasn’t new to me. I grew up near Ottawa, Illinois, where a good portion of this book is set and also grew up hearing decades old gossip and whispers about the glowing ladies. The courthouse still stands directly across from my favorite pizza place, and as I read the book, I wondered how the lives of these women many have intertwined with my family members that came before me. One of the women was from my hometown, and my great-grandmother worked at a clock factory where many of the dials were shipped. The stories of these women have been told in bits and pieces, and I was really excited to learn that Moore was writing their story cohesively and in a way that it could be shared and consumed by a larger audience. Moore doesn’t disappoint and works hard to show the strength and resilience of these women and the depths of their struggles in fighting for their health, for their places in their communities, for their futures, and for justice. The Radium Girls presents a well-paced, personal look at those everyday women whose lives strengthened the movement for safety in the workplace and whose experiences led to labor legislation still in effect today.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Empowering, Enlightening, Inspiring
Give This a Try if You Like… Erin Brockovich, Hidden Figures, Erik Larson’s books
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!
In planning for the Total Eclipse of the Sun on August 21, Fondulac District Library applied for and was fortunate to receive a grant from the STAR Library Network (STAR_Net), with support from the Moore Foundation, Google, NASA, the Research Corporation, and National Science Foundation. The library has received a limited amount of solar eclipse viewing glasses through the StarNet grant to support the library’s related programs. Participants in any of the library’s astronomy and eclipse related programming through August 10 will receive a pair. (Please see our event calendar at 
