A slightly gritty, realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by a group of girls at a high school for the arts. It feels a bit formulaic, as if the characters were created specifically to address their different issues. For Lux, it's her temper and her parent's divorce. A quick read that would work for reluctant teen reader.

This is definitely more interesting than any Hi/Lo book that I've seen in my own collection at the library. It's one that I will advocate for to be added that way our teens have access to it. I think they'll enjoy it. I was provided an ARC of this book by Penguin Teen. All thoughts are my own.

I want to start this review by saying that I'm hoping/praying that people do not rate this book low because of the writing style. This book is considering a hi/lo book which has been confirmed by the author. This means that the books are written with high interest, but a lower difficulty level for those students that may not be on par with their reading level or could possible be reluctant readers. The simplicity with which the book is written IS INTENTIONAL. It's meant to appeal to an older audience, but also be accessible. With that being said...on to the review!

Lux: The New Girl is a part of a new short series that Woodfolk is writing. The first two are being released this year and I believe that the final two will be added next year. The first one focuses on a young girl by the name of Lux who has some serious anger management issues after her father leaves. Once she gets into a physical altercation she's sent to a new school. While there she meets a group of girls known as the flyy girls. Lux will do anything to fit in with the girls, but also make sure they never learn about her past.

This is a fast paced novel which I definitely expected. I completely and totally enjoyed the drama of Lux going to this new school and attempting to get to know the flyy girls. Woodfolk does an amazing job creating an atmosphere that showcases the every day struggles of being a teenager especially those that deal with the separation of parents. Lux has to go through a series of attitude adjustments and realizations to understand the importance and value of friendships and family. I think it was incredibly important to showcase how Lux had a difficult time getting along with her stepmother Penny and her new baby sister. I went through the same experiences at the age of 14 and I would have loved to have access to a book showing a character going through the same emotional experiences as myself. There was also this passion for the arts that is illustrated and hands down that was probably one of my favorite parts. I love seeing young Black characters so invested in art based programs like photography or fine arts and Lux's passion for photography radiated through each page. The friendship that develops between the characters is also enjoyable to see. I was weary of how the other girls would treat Lux, but I think that everything comes full circle for a plethora of reasons.

My only criticism of this book is that I wish that Woodfolk would have incorporated more aspects related to mental health. Lux clearly struggled with severe anger issues as a result of the separation of her parents and what she felt was abandonment by her father. The Black community has always struggled with conversations related to mental health and I feel as though this book would have been a great opportunity to showcase how normal it is for young teens to seek professional guidance and support when they are unsure of how to deal with their emotions.

Overall, this was a great start to a new series and I can't wait to get my hands on the second book.

This is a great quick read geared towards a YA audience. I would even say the younger end of the teen spectrum. This will be a great addition to my recommendation arsenal for teens and especially reluctant readers.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lux: The New Girl is the first book in Ashley Woodfolk's new Flyy Girls series! I really enjoyed this one. It's a cute and quick story, and I liked Lux and her new friends. I'm looking forward to reading the next few books.

Short and sweet, this book was a quick and fun read. I really enjoyed reading about Lux and seeing her as a 17 year old simply trying to live a peaceful high school life. I was able to really empathise with her anger and upset directed towards her father and found that her emotional arc was simplistic yet natural. I wish the book had been longer because I wanted more but even this bite sized piece of Lux’s life was a pleasure to read.

This is my new favorite series for reluctant teen readers. Flyy Girls is the next generation's Bluford High: high-interest, low-difficulty books about a diverse group of high school girls dealing with fitting in, mental health, family, and identity. Lux's narration feels authentic, like listening to a friend venting in the cafeteria. I saw Ashley Woodfolk speak at this year's SLJTeen event, and her vision of a relatable, accessible series is absolutely realized in Lux: The New Girl.

Despite the simple prose and short length, this book packs a punch. There is some swearing and Lux gets into a pretty nasty fight that haunts her for much of the book. It's a little more mature than Jason Reynolds' Track series, but nothing that teens haven't heard in the hallways.

This little book packs a punch. In this first installment of Flyy Girls we follow Lux as she struggles with anger issues following the divorce of her parents. She must change schools for a third time because of fighting. In here new arts school she finds a group of girls who teach her how to deal with her anger. She finds stability in a life that was changed overnight. I love this little series and I cannot wait for the final two to come out next year. These stories are so relatable. Don’t let their size fool you, these stories will change lives.

I enjoyed this book! Very short sweet snapshot of what it’s like to be struggling with difficult things as a teenager and the importance of second (or third or fourth) chances. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and was a bit to “convenient”, hence the 3 stars. Pretty enjoyable overall though! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy!

Ashley Woodfolk is writing a new four-book series about a group of girls in Harlem. These four girls call their friend group The Flyy Girls. The first book does a deep dive on the character Lux. She has been kicked out of three schools and ends up at this high school for artists as a last resort, next stop military school.

I think this book will be so relatable for many teenagers. The prose is direct and easy to inhale. Lux is a complex character that struggles with anger. (Although I didn't love the feeling of one-dimensional parents and adults. I wish she had more depth, but that may be due to the length of the novel.) It was inspiring to watch Lux release some of her anger, step away from her past transactions and pain, and pursue her passions with great purpose.

I think it’s smart to write these in-depth character studies/series about a particular group of teenagers. It forces the reader to see beyond the surface and encourages her to do the same with people in real life.

Thank you Penguin Teen for a gifted copy of this book.

Lux Lawson has been kicked out of several schools for her reputation of fighting. Most would see Lux as a trouble kid. But deep down inside Lux has and is struggling with the fact that her father walked out on her and her mother with no explanation or even so much as a goodbye.

Her mother has had it with Lux's behavior and because of her third strike, sends her to live with her father and his new family. It was this or military school, so Lux agrees to abide by the rules so that sooner rather than later she can get back home to hopefully stay with her mother for good.

Her mother pulls some strings and gets Lux an interview at Harlem's Augusta Savage School of Arts. This gives Lux a chance at a brand new start and a chance to focus on the one thing that brings her peace...photography. Lux vows to keep her head in her camera, avoid boys, make friends, join a club and most importantly STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!
Lux finds her way into a group of three girls that call themselves the Flyy Girls. As she starts to get closer to the girls, the secrets of her past coming to surface is what scares Lux the most. Will she lose it all before she blinks, or will Lux make her place in this new life solid?
This was such a quick and easy read, full of amazing characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to continue reading this series.

This was a very fun and quick read! This story is about Lux who has been expelled from three different schools. After her third time in trouble her mother decides that Lux needs a complete change. Lux moves in with her Dad, who recently left her and her mom so she’s having a hard time as she feels that her Dad abandoned her. Lux's Mom pulls some string so her daughter can attend the August Savage School of the Arts. Lux is extremely unhappy with her current living situation with her Dad, his girlfriend and her new baby sister. To fix this issue she has a plan she's going to to do well at her new school, make new friends, join a club, and stay away from boys. However, she meets a group of girls called the Flyy Girls they are the popular girls in the school who are also notorious pranksters.

This was a super fast paced book that I think any reader would love! Lux was a interesting character and my heart broke for her as she’s dealing with so much. Her Dad really upset me and I was pretty disappointed in him. However, I understood her Mom’s decision for her to live with him and I think she’s a great Mom who just wants the best for her daughter. I’m looking forward to the next book and reading about the other Flyy Girls!

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for sending me the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lux Lawson has been kicked out of multiple schools for fighting. At the school she currently attends, one girl totally has it out for her. Simone bullies and baits her into a fight, which ultimately gets her expelled for the third school in a row. When her mom has had enough, she sends Lux to live with the father that abandoned her, where she is to attend a gifted arts school in Harlem.

Lux's dad is no nonsense. Living there with him, his new wife and their newborn baby feels like torture, when all she wants is to be back home with her mom. Armed with her list of things to accomplish (like stay out of trouble, make real friends, no boys, etc...) Lux attempts to maneuver though a mid school year transfer without anyone finding out about why exactly she had to leave her previous school. But, in this new school, where she gets to hone her photography skills, she meets a group of junior class girls, dubbed the "Flyy Girls" and immediately wants to be part of their group. She also immediately meets a super sweet, handsome boy named Emmett, whom she tries to keep a distance from.

I loved this short dive into Lux's life. She is a good kid who gets herself into some bad situations. She struggles to find common ground with the father she can't forgive. And all she wants is to fit in with the girls that everyone admires. I cannot wait to read more about this really talented and unique friend group.

Lux: The New Girl is a fabulous start to a YA series about a group of girls. It's a series that celebrates friendship, each delving further into one of the Flyy Girls. Lux's story is one focused on trying to alter our image. About starting fresh and choosing to be someone else. She's been expelled three times and the Augusta Savage School of the Arts is her last chance. Lux: The New Girl navigates her coming to terms with her father's new family, and priorities, still struggling with how he left her.

I loved this story so much, and it was great introduction to all the Flyy Girls. I immediately felt for Lux as she was trying to navigate the challenges of her home life while getting bullied at school for no reason. She struggles with her anger but also has nothing positive to redirect it towards or support from her family in that area, So I loved seeing get to see how she adjusted and changed after getting accepted into the arts school. What I enjoyed the most though is that her anger didn't suddenly disappear. She still had to work on herself and started putting her energy into making friends with the Flyy Girls and her photography.
Lux is determined and goes after what she wants. She makes mistakes like any other teenager, but she is still deserving of love and care, and I was so drawn to her personality and just wanted the best for her. Lux takes up space and doesn't make herself small which is hard for a lot of people to accept when it comes to Black girls. This was my first time reading Woodfolk, but it definitely won't be my last as she encapsulates the different facets of being a Black girl so well.

Proof that engaging YA stories can come in non-intimidating lengths.

Lux is trying to start over. Her mom can’t take her fighting anymore, and has shipped her off to her ex-Marine dad in the middle of the school year. If she can’t make things work at her new school— Harlem’s Augusta Savage School of the Arts— the next stop is military school.

“The school looked like it gave out second chances: a place where she might find her place.”

Lux slowly gets acclimated to her new life. And she might be starting to make real friends. But in the back of her mind,

“No one could know the real reason she had to transfer in the middle of the year or what had happened at her old school. No one could know how often she got angry, or that videos and photos of her latest fight existed.... She’d been at enough schools to know that if people knew your history, you never got a real chance to start over.”

Can Lux recreate herself? Will she always be trying to outrun her past?

Ashley Woodfolk pulls off authentic characters and a compelling story in less than 150 pages. An excellent hi-lo series opener.

Thank you, Penguin Young Readers and NetGalley, for the advance readers copy.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this wonderful book! I had the opportunity to hear Ashley Woodfolk speak about this new series in an author chat at SLJ Teen Live, and it made me very excited to read this book and all the others in the series. This is a lovely book about a girl who is trying to figure out how to both fit in and be herself, and she deals with many relatable real-life issues. I especially love the positive way that Lux's anger management issues are dealt with in the book, since it is rare to find a book that truly allows a girl to feel angry. Lux's anger definitely gets her in trouble sometimes, and she has to figure out how to manage that, but there is no sense that the anger itself is bad or problematic. It is also incredible that the author was able to develop so many real, deep relationships in such a short book. Lux's relationships with her mother, father, stepmother and friends all feel true and fleshed out, and I am very excited to read more about these girls. This book will appeal to more reluctant readers because it is short and easy to read, but it has plenty in it to engage more consistent or advanced readers as well. As a white educator, I have been specifically trying to seek out and read books for teens by black authors that portray black characters, and this series is definitely a great addition to any classroom or library! Highly recommend!

I was a little uncertain of this book when I first started, but after the first section at Lux's old school I got really into it and read it all in one sitting. It's short - less than 150 pages - and a very quick read over all. Lux was an intriguing main character with her hot temper and her recognition of her own flaws. I enjoyed her growth over the course of this short book and am looking forward to getting to know the other Flyy Girls better in future installments to the series.

Lux Lawson’s temper and antics have taken their toll on her mother and she is putting her foot down. Lux must live with her father where rules and structure will be enforced. She gets accepted into a prestigious arts school and soon meets Noelle, Tobyn and Micah. They are known as the Flyy Girls and Lux is interested.

This YA contemporary book is about a young girl’s anger and need for control. Lux’s character is very relatable. She is a typical teen who is angry about her parents not being together and believing they do not understand her. Lux must adjust to another school, her stepmother and little sister who cries all the time. I was thinking the Flyy Girls where a bad influence on Lux, but when she does not tell the truth to her father or her new friends, I was sure Lux needed to change. It was fun seeing her evolve throughout the story.

It deals with divorce, anger, learning from bad behaviors and building friendships, which is situations teens are dealing with today. This is a great book for middle graders. I will read the other books in this series.

Short and sweet. I look forward to reading more about the girls. Lux feels very authentic as a teen but the lack of sex and language makes this a book that may work perfectly for upper MG.

Super quick read. Thank you to PenguinTeen and Netgalley for the e-ARC! Lux has been expelled from 3 different schools, is looking for a new start but can’t seem escape her past. When it threatens to catch up with her she tries her best avoid it.

I enjoyed getting to know Lux. I’d wish she didn’t feel the need to lie or hide herself to “fit in” but I think that’s just a right of passage growing up. We need to find ourselves, determine who we want to be and the people we want in our lives.

I thought her father came off a bit pretentious but I understand he felt he was doing what was right for his daughter.

Overall a pretty good read! Happy to read part 2!