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129 reviews for:
The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark
Kate Moore
4.24 AVERAGE
129 reviews for:
The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark
Kate Moore
4.24 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
3.5. This book is important and does a good job putting together a narrative of this story, but it has some issues. The one that stands out the most is the author incorrectly claiming Dr. Flinn’s PhD was in philosophy when it was in physiology (although this certainly doesn’t make him any less of a monster) which is a pretty ridiculous mistake to miss in editing for such an important part of the narrative. Moore claims she cut over 60,000 words from her initial draft, but somehow didn’t catch that she doesn’t know what a PhD is and thinks they all mean “Dr. of Philosophy”? Seriously?
There’s also a lot of repeating information that was stated 2 paragraphs back as if it were new (the multiple times Moore clarifies where Grace Fryer was buried stood out), and a lot of overwrought prose that went beyond painting a picture and into assuming the thoughts and feelings of these women in moments that could not possibly have been on record. This, in my opinion, is an EXTREMELY problematic thing to do with any account of women’s history—speaking over the women and assuming far too many uncited things about their characters is not the move, and is especially disappointing to see from a female author. It comes off as almost parasocial vs caring.
Overall, I think this needed a couple more rounds of editing, but it’s still a worthwhile read bearing its issues in mind, and is borderline required reading for anyone interested in women’s history. Easily the most digestible written work about The Radium Girls.
There’s also a lot of repeating information that was stated 2 paragraphs back as if it were new (the multiple times Moore clarifies where Grace Fryer was buried stood out), and a lot of overwrought prose that went beyond painting a picture and into assuming the thoughts and feelings of these women in moments that could not possibly have been on record. This, in my opinion, is an EXTREMELY problematic thing to do with any account of women’s history—speaking over the women and assuming far too many uncited things about their characters is not the move, and is especially disappointing to see from a female author. It comes off as almost parasocial vs caring.
Overall, I think this needed a couple more rounds of editing, but it’s still a worthwhile read bearing its issues in mind, and is borderline required reading for anyone interested in women’s history. Easily the most digestible written work about The Radium Girls.
emotional
reflective
sad
I really enjoyed. But it was pretty dense. I think students could enjoy but it would probably need to be higher level 6 graders. Maybe more for 7-8th grade. Still really interesting. It did get a little repetitive bc the poisoning kept coming but I still enjoyed the story
informative
i didnt realize i was listening to the kids version so a lot of my experience was "i feel like this was edited weird isnt there supposed to be more? oh"
anyways. glad we dont use radium like that anymore and that workers protections have increased but i wouldnt be surprised if a workplace was exposed tomorrow for the same reasons so
anyways. glad we dont use radium like that anymore and that workers protections have increased but i wouldnt be surprised if a workplace was exposed tomorrow for the same reasons so
Wow. What a horrific story. What a tragic part of our history. What brave girls who changed laws for everyone, yet still all the way until the 1970s workers were still working with dangerous radium without proper safety steps in place. Everyone should read this book.
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2021/02/nonfiction-review-and-quotes-radium.html
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2021/02/nonfiction-review-and-quotes-radium.html
A piece of American history that I had slightly heard of, but didn't know the whole extent. Equal parts hopeful, anger inducing, and heartbreaking. Highly recommend!
So interesting! A bit gruesome, due to the subject matter, but not too heavy for kids.
A well written and engaging story of women taken advantage of by the system, a failure of regulation and capitalism. An incredible book.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent