The Radium Girls Book Review

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
on April 18, 2017
Genres: Nonfiction
Format: eBook
Goodreads

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.
Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.
But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.
Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives...

Ever since reading Midnight in Chernobyl, I have desperately looking for another non-fiction book that gives me the same passion and I think The Radium Girls may just be it. I started reading it a really long time ago but put it down because my sleep deprived brain just wasn’t getting into but I picked it back up this month and I’m so so glad I did. This book I could not put down and it was in the worse way like a slow motion car crash where you just can’t look away.

People in The Radium Girls

I went into this book with no knowledge of anything that had happened to The Radium Girls and I wasn’t expecting to fall so head over heels in love with them and to root for them quite as much as I did. There was so much happening and so much technical data that you would think the people would get lost but they just don’t. Kate Moore does a fantastic job of making sure this story feels as human as possible and really focuses on the impact that the radium had on not only the victims but the people around them.

When I say The Radium Girls made me emotional it feels like an understatement, when you read about these women and the horrific things they had to endure because of negligence your heart breaks over and over again. There is a sense of inevitability when you’re reading their story because you know chances are it’s going to end one way only, but you keep the hope alive because just maybe there’s a miracle cure that you haven’t heard off.

The people in this story alive and dead all have my unwavering admiration. I truly believe their names will stick with me forever, and I can’t help but feel my heart break again when I think of this book and their stories. It was a phenomenon that should never have been allowed to happen but Kate Moore tells you the story through the eyes of these women and it feels like you might be sat across having a cup of tea with them.

All the bits of The Radium Girls

I usually write about the GOOD and the BAD bits of a book in this part of the review, separated by a lovely title. However I genuinely couldn’t think of any bad bits and if I could I don’t think it’s appropriate to point them out, seeing as these are real women’s struggles.

The good bits for me, was just the writing style. The Radium Girls covers a huge amount of history as well as some really dense medical jargon in a perfect way, it feels as though you could be reading a fictional novel. In some ways you wish you could be. I fell completely into the world of this book, I could imagine the streets, the girls walking up and down it, I felt the frustrations when medical advice was not only ignored but warped and pedalled as something completely different. The Radium Girls brought to light something I should have known about and I’m so glad I finally learnt the girls names and their contribution to history.

One thing I truly loved about this book was just how much detail was brought in and how it changed my entire perspective on a lot of things. The girls’ story and everything they went through was told with respect and without it being a freakshow. The emotional intelligence of Kate Moore is something to be applauded. One of the best non-fiction books I’ve read in a really long time.

Next move

I don’t know what my next move is going to be, apart from recommend this book to everyone I meet. It is so shocking to me that this story isn’t taught in schools especially with the impact they had on nuclear power and safety measures. I will definitely be picking up any of Kate Moore’s other books in the very near future and I implore that you do the same!

Have you ever read a book that has left you completely dumbstruck? I would love to know if you have any recommendations for non-fiction!