Megan E. Bryant

I received a free copy of this e-book (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This YA novel follows recent high school graduate Julie, who finds her college plans suddenly derailed. As she works two minimum wage jobs, she encounters a series of thrift store paintings. Each seemingly innocent painting hides a secret macabre scene, which only glows in the dark. She begins a quest to figure out how the artist made the secret scenes glow. Interspersed with the novel are letters written show more by Lydia Grayson, a young woman who works in a radium dial painting plant during World War I. I really liked that this novel introduces YA readers to the basics of what happened to the Radium Girls and a little bit about the effects of radiation. I think it is an excellent fictionalized account of an incident from our nuclear past. It is important to know that business is not always on the side of the employees, and ionizing radiation is nothing to scoff at. As an adult reader, I did have to suspend my disbelief to fully enjoy this novel. I found it hard to believe that someone who knows what strontium and europium are would not have immediately guessed that glowing paintings from this era contained radium. Even if she didn't her Luke the chemist should have known right away. Also, the handling of contaminated materials was inconsistent throughout the novel. I also do not believe that people put full dialog of their conversations in their letters. A lot of historical novels written in epistolary form fall into this hole. Would you write a letter like that, or would you paraphrase? show less

A lot of history/fiction blends have been coming out recently, and this is a new beginning chapter series in that vein.

Jake has really, really tried in science class. But, once again, he's failed a quiz. And this time his parents threaten to make him quit baseball! The only thing that's left to do is make a wish in the Wishing Well. Rumor has it that if you throw in your most precious possession, your wish will come true. Jake doesn't want to throw in his most precious possession (what would show more it be anyways?) but he does have a whole set of Heroes of History figures...

The next thing Jake knows, he's got a miniature Amelia Earhart and Sir Isaac Newton in his bedroom. When they're not marveling over paperclips or arguing over women's rights, they're willing to help Jake out with his science fair project - which just might let him pass and stay on the baseball team. But will they really be able to help or will Jake's science fair project just get him an even bigger F in science class?

An afterword tells the reader a little more about the two historical figures. This is a fun mix of science and fiction, but I'm not sure I'd be happy handing this to a kid. Both historical figures are necessarily caricatures, their personalities and accomplishments shown in broad strokes without some of the more complex details of their lives. Jake's school felt cartoony as well - do any teachers mark papers with big red Fs anymore? There's also a stereotypical bully. For that matter, how many schools still do a science fair? Jake's idea was cool, and his decision to use his own work and research and not that of Earhart and Newton was a nice conclusion.

Verdict: Not my top choice; this will appeal to fans of Ben Franklin's in my Bathroom and Magic Tree House fans, but it's not what I'd choose to introduce readers to these historical figures.

ISBN: 9780545909518; Published 2018 by Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

GLOW by Megan E Bryant
GLOW tells the heartbreaking story of the young women who went to work for the companies that used radium to make glow in dark objects, mostly watch faces for the soldiers of WWI.
My grandmother worked briefly for The Radium Dial company in Ottawa Illinois. Fortunately she remained healthy although she went every year of life (she died at 96) to The Argonne National Laboratory for extensive testing. GLOW is unflinching in relating the horrific illnesses that plagued the show more radium workers. Although GLOW is aimed at young adult audience, adult readers will also react favorably to this tale.
Bryant uses the true stories of actual workers to underscore her fictionalized work. Sisters Lisa and Lydia help support their family by the “easy work and good pay” offered by the companies. This mostly untold story is also related in THE RADIUM GIRLS by Kate Moore.
Very sensitive readers may be upset by the descriptions (accurate) of the results of “tipping” to paint tiny numerals on watch faces with the radium based paints.
5 of 5 stars show less

I was pretty unhappy with this story. Although the basic premise was a good one (things may be less scary than they look), I really did not like how this book brought out this message.

First of all, the relationship between this story and the classic tale of Rapunzel was so thin as to almost be nonexistent. So why was there the need to take the title of "Rapunzel"?

Second, I really was offended that the "witch" in this book was pictured as a black girl. Was that to indicate that we should all show more be afraid of black children before we get to know them? There was also very little delineation of the difference between a "witch" and an otherwise "normal" person.

I remember that my own daughter was very much enamored of all things Strawberry Shortcake when she was a child. I would not have liked this book to have been part of her library. show less