Literally Leander discussion

Our shortest month of the year featured Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost. There are some major spoilers in this thread, so consider yourself warned!

This month, our discussion prompts were written by a staff member. If you do not need them, don't feel pressured to use them! We'd love to see anything you have to say about this book, whether it be your opinions or questions of your own.

1. Write a one sentence blurb for Elysium Girls. Which aspects of the novel do you think are the most eye-catching for a prospective reader? What genre(s) would you assign to this novel?

2. Describe the setting for this book. What parts of the setting do you think are the most important to the story? Do you think there is a particular reason this setting was chosen?

3. Mother Morevna’s magical talisman is a jeweled pendulum while Sal’s is a penny. If you had magic, what object would you choose to use as your talisman, and why?

4. Compare Sal and Olivia. In what ways are they similar? Different? If you had to choose one to be the proper Successor of Elysium, which would you choose?

5. Were you surprised to find Mother Morevna was Death’s Wildcard? Looking back, what actions or decisions do you think were hints to her identity?

This is a book that I was excited about because of the cover. Yes, you read that right. I was eager to read this because the cover looked freakin' awesome. Unfortunately, it didn't take me long to realize that this was not a book I was going to like. The only reason I finished it was because it was for book club, and I wanted to feel vindicated in my dislike by proving that I still finished it. I'm curious to know whether you guys agreed or disagreed with me on these points:

There's way too much going on. Like, mysterious goddessses, witch leaders, and somewhat neutral demons disguising themselves as humans? Mix that with poisoned well water, secrecy, and major dust storms and I found my head spinning trying to keep up.

Personally I think the worldbuilding left much to be desired. At the same time, I think that this whirlwind story would appeal to some just because it hits all these genre boxes.

I thought the characters were too one-dimensional. I actually stated in my review that the characters were overtaken by the mishmash of major plot points. Sal and Asa, who shared narration, were just kind of boring to me.

Lastly: is it just me or was everything solved too quickly? Answers were practically falling out the sky in neat little packages that came with instructions. :(