Author Megan E. Bryant

Young Adult

Megan Bryant - Glow
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Glow

A Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017 Selection
Nominated for the 2019-2020 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award

Separated by the span of a century, two girls are drawn to the same dangerous secret. With her college plans wiped out by her mother’s financial problems, Julie’s stuck in a dead-end job, watching her best friend move on without her. A chance discovery of antique paintings with hidden glowing images captivates Julie and leaves her determined to learn the identity of the artist—even as she is haunted by the paintings’ increasingly nightmarish images.

One hundred years earlier, Lydia spends her days in a factory painting luminous watch dials for soldiers; her nights are devoted to writing letters to her beloved on the front lines of the Great War. Lydia hopes the factory, and its exciting new scientific paint, will provide her whole family with a brighter future.

As Julie’s obsession with the mysterious paintings mounts, truths about the Radium Girls—and her own complicated relationships—are revealed. But will she uncover the secret of the luminous paintings before putting herself and everyone she loves at risk?

Press

Megan interview in Forsyth Magazines

Bryant brilliantly lures readers into an engaging mystery, a page-turner that begins beneath layers revealed in both paintings and chapters. A riveting story of ambitious and self-sufficient women, both in the present and past.
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review (read more)

As each girl tells their story, the true events and stories of the real radium girls are brought to light. Bryant’s novel will surely spur readers to learn more about this dark part of history . . . . Libraries looking for historical fiction novels to add to their collection should consider this a strong purchase.
—School Library Journal, starred review
This fictionalized take on the radium girls is by turns suspenseful, macabre, and, at points, quite gory. Bryant doesn’t shy away from the true horrors that befell these women . . . . An eye-opening window into a troubling moment in history.
—Booklist (read more)