An illuminating account of a terrible part of American history, Radium Girls tells the story of the young women who painted luminescent watch dials, ingesting and exposing themselves to Radium.

From the publisher’s summary:
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.

I enjoyed the book, although I disagree that it reads at a “breakneck pace.”  While I was anxious to see the women get justice, I found the book dragged in a few places. Author Kate Moore also used phrasing like “she knew not” in more than one instance. While grammatically correct, it sometimes read as awkward and stilted.

Those are minor criticisms, though, and do not stop Moore from accomplishing her intent: humanizing these women and their stories.  I found myself having to periodically step away from the book because I was so enraged that how the women were treated, and how difficult it was for them to get any justice.  Yet the legacy of their fight lives on today.  It’s time these women were given a louder voice, and that their story is heard by more people.  Radium Girls is a must read for anyone with an interest in social justice, courage, and heroism.