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melaniereadsbooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't know why I took so long to write this review? Now I only remember vibes, but I really enjoyed this book! It's super tense and mysterious and I loved all the different elements woven together throughout. I instantly went and bought the author's other book, so I clearly loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Medical content
Minor: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was so much fun!!
Elysium Girls is a Dust Bowl inspired fantasy of a town that's trapped in a game between life and death deities. The inhabitants of Elysium are pitted against the supernatural to judge humanity. The end of the ten years is coming up soon when the town will be judged. But things aren't going smoothly for Elysium. A small mistake could lead the town to ruin while various illnesses are running rampant through the population.
This book focuses on two main characters: Sal, a girl who is plagued with false visions of rain, and Asa, a demon sent from the Life deity in order to win the game. When Sal is picked as Madame Morevna's successor, she thinks she's finally had the chance to prove she's a leader. Asa is granted entrance to Elysium with supplies for the town. But when these two clash in a duel meant to show Sal is the superior witch, both of them are exiled from the town. They find a group of girls headed by one of the only other Elysium exiles, a witch named Olivia Rosales.
Y'all I didn't think I was going to love this one as much as I did. I knew I would enjoy it, but damn I fell so hard for these characters. I loved both Sal and Asa, their dual POVs worked so well for this story. Both of them have a small romantic subplot, Asa's being more prominent, but overall the focus of this book is friendship, solidarity and winning the unwinnable game of Life and Death.
The cast of characters are diverse and relatable. My favorite side character who is focused on is Lucy. She doesn't get as much page time as Sal or Asa, but her scenes were important. Lucy is a Black lesbian and even in Elysium where things like race, gender or sexuality matter less, Lucy still feels ostracized. She also does a great job of pointing out how this society is supposed to be feminist and matriarchal, but the same limitations on women still exist and enforce gender roles. Lucy acts as a nurse when a strange plague breaks out in Elysium. I cannot tell you how much courage, strength and compassion Lucy has. I loved her so much.
I absolutely loved the girl gang in the desert vibes. Plus the fact that it's a coven of witches makes it even better. I loved this group so much. Sal becomes stronger for joining them and I loved watching her grow and become more confident. I do wish we got to see more of Sal and Lucy together, because I loved them so much. I am going to take the open ending as they do get together when they're ready, but I wouldn't be mad if this had happened on page.
Overall, this is a new favorite. I'm definitely going to be screaming about this one for now on.
Rep: white sapphic female MC, Black lesbian female side character, lesbian female side character, Mexican female side character, Comanche female side character.
CWs: Blood, death, death of parent (past mention), grief, murder, misogyny, racism, sexism, sexual harassment, terminal illness (plague type sickness), violence, xenophobia. Moderate: Colonisation, genocide, kidnapping (mentions of boarding schools Native children were sent to), cannibalism, medical content. Minor: Forced institutionalization, confinement, child abuse.
Elysium Girls is a Dust Bowl inspired fantasy of a town that's trapped in a game between life and death deities. The inhabitants of Elysium are pitted against the supernatural to judge humanity. The end of the ten years is coming up soon when the town will be judged. But things aren't going smoothly for Elysium. A small mistake could lead the town to ruin while various illnesses are running rampant through the population.
This book focuses on two main characters: Sal, a girl who is plagued with false visions of rain, and Asa, a demon sent from the Life deity in order to win the game. When Sal is picked as Madame Morevna's successor, she thinks she's finally had the chance to prove she's a leader. Asa is granted entrance to Elysium with supplies for the town. But when these two clash in a duel meant to show Sal is the superior witch, both of them are exiled from the town. They find a group of girls headed by one of the only other Elysium exiles, a witch named Olivia Rosales.
Y'all I didn't think I was going to love this one as much as I did. I knew I would enjoy it, but damn I fell so hard for these characters. I loved both Sal and Asa, their dual POVs worked so well for this story. Both of them have a small romantic subplot, Asa's being more prominent, but overall the focus of this book is friendship, solidarity and winning the unwinnable game of Life and Death.
The cast of characters are diverse and relatable. My favorite side character who is focused on is Lucy. She doesn't get as much page time as Sal or Asa, but her scenes were important. Lucy is a Black lesbian and even in Elysium where things like race, gender or sexuality matter less, Lucy still feels ostracized. She also does a great job of pointing out how this society is supposed to be feminist and matriarchal, but the same limitations on women still exist and enforce gender roles. Lucy acts as a nurse when a strange plague breaks out in Elysium. I cannot tell you how much courage, strength and compassion Lucy has. I loved her so much.
I absolutely loved the girl gang in the desert vibes. Plus the fact that it's a coven of witches makes it even better. I loved this group so much. Sal becomes stronger for joining them and I loved watching her grow and become more confident. I do wish we got to see more of Sal and Lucy together, because I loved them so much. I am going to take the open ending as they do get together when they're ready, but I wouldn't be mad if this had happened on page.
Overall, this is a new favorite. I'm definitely going to be screaming about this one for now on.
Rep: white sapphic female MC, Black lesbian female side character, lesbian female side character, Mexican female side character, Comanche female side character.
CWs: Blood, death, death of parent (past mention), grief, murder, misogyny, racism, sexism, sexual harassment, terminal illness (plague type sickness), violence, xenophobia. Moderate: Colonisation, genocide, kidnapping (mentions of boarding schools Native children were sent to), cannibalism, medical content. Minor: Forced institutionalization, confinement, child abuse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Genocide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization
strange_little_ranger's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
sarah984's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book takes place in a small dust bowl era town which is pulled out of time and forced into a game of Life and Death. If at the end of ten years they have built a just society Life wins, but if not Death will claim the townspeople for herself.
The majority of the story takes place as the town is approaching the ten-year mark, so there's a time pressure that keeps things exciting. The founding of the town and appointment of the leader who is in charge during the book is glossed over a bit, but it did also happen when the main point of view character was an elementary school aged child so it's understandable. There is also a magical element to the story that I wasn't expecting, where some of the humans have magical powers. It took a while to get used to but overall I liked it.
There are quite a few characters, considering that they are isolated outside time for the duration of the game. Most of the characters are interesting and the interplay between them is fun, but they do end up relying on stereotypes or a single character trait a bit much for my liking. There is a daemon character sent to influence the game and he is likable but also so stupid that I wanted to scream sometimes.
There's some very mild romance, a bit of found family feelings, some pretty wild plot twists and a few fun fight scenes. A few things wound up sort of getting glossed over in the rush at the end, but overall I enjoyed the story and characters. The message about free will and what a just society actually is was a good one.
One thing that bugged me though was the format. The main character’s point of view was written in first person, but every other character who had point of view was written in third person. It would switch between them in the middle of a chapter which could be jarring. I think I would have preferred either all third person or first person with their own chapters.
The majority of the story takes place as the town is approaching the ten-year mark, so there's a time pressure that keeps things exciting. The founding of the town and appointment of the leader who is in charge during the book is glossed over a bit, but it did also happen when the main point of view character was an elementary school aged child so it's understandable. There is also a magical element to the story that I wasn't expecting, where some of the humans have magical powers. It took a while to get used to but overall I liked it.
There are quite a few characters, considering that they are isolated outside time for the duration of the game. Most of the characters are interesting and the interplay between them is fun, but they do end up relying on stereotypes or a single character trait a bit much for my liking. There is a daemon character sent to influence the game and he is likable but also so stupid that I wanted to scream sometimes.
There's some very mild romance, a bit of found family feelings, some pretty wild plot twists and a few fun fight scenes. A few things wound up sort of getting glossed over in the rush at the end, but overall I enjoyed the story and characters. The message about free will and what a just society actually is was a good one.
One thing that bugged me though was the format. The main character’s point of view was written in first person, but every other character who had point of view was written in third person. It would switch between them in the middle of a chapter which could be jarring. I think I would have preferred either all third person or first person with their own chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Terminal illness
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Rape, Vomit, and Religious bigotry
There is a brief description of residential schools
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