I wanted to love this book, I was extremely excited for the magical retelling of a dark, and underdiscussed, era in American history. I couldn't wait to read the messages of female empowerment.
The book has that, and racial empowerment, and LGBTQ empowerment... And unfortunately glosses over them all with unrelenting exposition. Plot point after plot point, telling instead of showing, holding the reader's hand as if the audience is very young. And I don't think the audience /is/ meant to be young, because there are some teens-and-older themes: discovering your sexuality, coming to terms with trans-identity, systemic racism, abuse...

I was reminded of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", not by anything in the story's plot, but by the way that the story is /mostly/ plot, and doesn't stop to allow the scenery or the emotions to build. Characters simply announce, "We are friends now! We are in love now! We saved the day now!" The concept, the characters, and the world of Elysium Girls is all interesting, but the writing lacks finesse/artistry for an older audience.