Bryant, Megan E. Glow, 272 pages. Albert Whitman, 2017. $17.
Language: PG-13 (32 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G (inferences only);
Violence: PG-13 (gruesome disfigurements).
In the present day - Julie’s dreams were shattered when her
father left them and she had to give her college savings to her mother to keep
their heads afloat. While her best
friend is shopping and packing her bags for her college years, Julie finds a
strange painting, made even stranger when she realizes it glows in the dark,
revealing unsettling, actually quite disturbing new scapes. In 1917 - Lydia is so excited when her older
sister gets her a well-paying job at the watch factory. The girls are painting tiny numbers on the
dial in a new paint that allows them to be read in the dark. In order to make such tiny numbers, the girls
lick the brushes to point the tips. The
girls’ stories intersect through a diary and the paintings, which reveal a grim,
little known scene out of American history.
Bryant does a skillful job of interweaving the modern and
the historic, helping readers connect with a topic they might not otherwise
bother with. If you haven’t heard of the
Radium Girls, give them quick look.
Bryant brings both stories back around together in a satisfying, if
tragic way.
MS, HS - ADVISABLE.
Cindy, Library teacher
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