"Compelling, inspiring, and radiant." -- FOREWORD

"Excels in showing the camaraderie of the 'Ghost Girls.'" -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"Another example of how great graphic novels are at teaching history." -- BOOK RIOT

It’s 1918 in Orange, New Jersey, and everyone knows the “Ghost Girls.”

The proud holders of well-paying jobs at the local watch factory, these working-class young women gain their nickname from the fine dusting of glowing, radioactive powder that clings to their clothes after every shift painting watch dials. The soft, greenish glow even stains their lips and tongues, which they use to point the fine brushes used in their work. It’s perfectly harmless . . . or so claims the watch manufacturer.

When teeth start falling out, followed by jawbones, the dial painters become the unprepared vanguard on the frontlines of the burgeoning workers’ rights movement. Desperate for compensation and acknowledgement from the company that has doomed them, the Ghost Girls must fight, not just for their own lives but the future of every woman to follow them.

A stunning graphic novel retelling of the shocking and inspiring true story.

2022 GNCRT Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List
2023 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens
"While the focus is on their work and the radium poisoning that comes with it, the book offers readers a glimpse into a world where drinking is illegal and speakeasies abound, where women’s bathing suits are literally measured for length, and the right to vote is newly won." -- BOOKLIST

"Though inspired by a tragedy, RADIUM GIRLS is a compelling, inspiring, and radiant historical novel." -- FOREWORD

"What shines here most brightly are the voices and characters of the women involved." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

"Excels in showing the camaraderie of the “Ghost Girls” as they become accidental activists." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"Another example of how great graphic novels are at teaching history." -- BOOK RIOT

"Brings to life an important period in history and will keep readers engaged in these women's stories from the first page." -- ALA GRAPHIC NOVEL ROUNDTABLE

"The quickness of the story and the beautiful artwork will hold teens’ attention for this important history lesson." -- YALSA

"Cy tells us about the terrible fate of the Radium Girls, these young women unjustly sacrificed on the altar of technical progress." -- CULTURAL SERVICES OF THE FRENCH EMBASSY IN THE U.S.

"One of the most stunning graphic novels I’ve seen in a long time." -- LIBRARYCOMIC.COM

"Cy’s soft colors and abstract shapes carry so much weight and power to this story." -- MULTIVERSITY COMICS

"Cy has created a graphic novel to show the humanity of the women who suffered." -- FANGIRL NATION

Cyrielle Evrard, publishing under the nom de plume Cy, was born in 1990. She studied at the École de Condé Paris, where she did a higher cycle of illustration after a BTS Visual Communication. Her previous work includes The True Sex of Real Life, volumes 1 and 2.