Meet the Flyy Girls. The group of girls who seem like they can get away with anything. Veteran author Ashley Woodfolk pens a gorgeous and dynamic series of four Harlem highschoolers, each facing a crossroads of friendship, family, and love.
Lux Lawson is on a spree. Ever since her dad left, she's been kicked out of every school that would take her, and this is her last chance: Harlem's Augusta Savage School of the Arts. If this doesn't work, Lux is off to military school, no questions asked. That means no more acting out, no more fights, and definitely no boyfriends. Focus on her photography, and make nice friends. That's the deal.
Enter the Flyy Girls, three students who have it all together. The type of girls Lux needs to be friends with to stay out of trouble. And after charming her way into the group, Lux feels she's on the right track. But every group has their secrets, including Lux. And when the past starts catching up with her, can she keep her place as a Flyy Girl?
In this searing series opener, Lux takes center stage as she figures out just how hard it can be to start over.
With simply stated text and compelling characters, Flyy Girls is a series that's perfect for readers of any level.
Ashley Woodfolk has loved reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated from Rutgers University and worked in children's book publishing for over a decade. Now a full-time mom and writer, Ashley lives in a sunny Brooklyn apartment with her cute husband, her cuter dog, and the cutest kid in the world. Her books include The Beauty That Remains, When You Were Everything, and the Flyy Girls Series.
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 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!
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.
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.
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 grade and high schoolers. I will read the other books in this series.
I received this book via NetGalley for review purposes only.
This is a series that has been on my tbr forever! I thought it was a middle grade series lol but it's a YA series and a well written one at that.
The first book is such a wonderful intro into the series and focuses on Lux, the new girl. Lux has been expelled from three schools for different reasons and the latest one was that she got into a fight and threw the first punch. Her mom ships her off to her dad's out and she starts at a new school - her last chance before military school.
Lux has a love for photography and at her new school, she focuses on honing her skills and making new friends. She also tries very hard to hide her secret from her new school mates. At home where she has to live with her dad, his wife, and his new daughter, she feels out of place.
Lux's dad comes off as very hard on her and I didn't like him a lot lol. There was little romance in the form of Emmett. I like that this book really focused on Lux as a character and her budding female friendship with the FLYY girls - Micah, Noelle, and Tobyn.
I enjoyed reading this a lot and would definitely recommend it!
Lux is a part of the four book Flyy Girls series about four Harlem High School students dealing with themes about friendship, family, coming-of-age stories and love.
In this book #1, Lux Lawson is struggling every since her dad left their family to just stay in school. She is on her last chance with Harlem's Augusta Savage School of the Arts. Make it there or Lux is off to military school. All Lux has to do is stay out of trouble and be nice.
I found that the writing is incredible easy to read, it will definitely immerse you into the story and I can see how young adults of all ages will enjoy the series and find a connection with any one of these Flyy girls to look up to and understand some of their similar struggles and challenges. I think that the story was well told, quick and fun reads.
I really enjoyed this one and cannot wait to get a hold of the other three books in the series.
This was a quick read. I really enjoyed reading Lux’s story, I only wish it was just longer...I feel like the story had just started and then it was over. - - The pacing for the work was good: I didn’t feel like the story was dragging because the author was giving us extensive play-by-play, but I also didn’t feel like I was missing things because the author was going too slow. I hope there’s more to Lux’s story, as well as more from the author, because I’m a big fan of both. - - - - - - -
*thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review*
This was a great start to the series. I liked seeing Lux make some progress, with herself, with her dad, and liked the idea that we can make mistakes and start anew.
A perfect read for any kid wanting to read up in age categories - Lux is a wonderful girl who is woefully misunderstood. I loved the love of photography throughout - and this book being so short is great for reluctant readers! This will do a lot of good for lots of people :)
(c/p from my review on TheStoryGraph) I liked this but I'm not sure I loved it? I like the idea of related short novellas of young, artistic, Black girls, I like the setting, I like Lux as a person, I like where the story seems to be going. But I think the length is doing the book a disservice. Maybe I would have liked it better if all the books were one with each part a different girls POV, or maybe I just wanted there to be a stronger resolution in the story in general because it feels like it wrapped up pretty quickly and with some ends that didn't tie off as well. I know that some of those loose ends are because the story is ongoing but it still felt very jarringly sudden when the end did come. I will probably read more in this series to get a better idea of how I like it.
TW for this book include: violence, semi-abusive parenting
Quick little novella about Lux, who is the new girl at an Arts school in Harlem. This is the first in a series that focuses on the Flyy Girls, a group of girls at the school.
Very short read (2 hours). I feel like these are a better Bluford High series that moves quickly, set around high school drama, and can work for many students. Better depictions of students
3.5 Stars *I received a copy from PenguinTeen in exchange for an honest review*
This was an enjoyable read, and I really liked the concepts we dealt with while following Lux. I appreciated how the book explored things like dealing with your parents divorce and also the feeling of abandonment that can come about because of it. I do wish that that aspect was dealt with a little more, but this is a short book so I understand why it had the time that it had. I also really liked seeing Lux make new friends and develop the understandings that come with that. I liked the incorporation of her photography and the fact that this is mainly set at an arts school also made the reading experience more fun.
I did have an issue with the major "conflict" that happened towards the end of the book. I know double jeopardy doesn't exactly hold for punishments between parents and their kids, but in this case it didn't make any sense at all to me as to why Lux was being punished for essentially the same thing twice, and that part really annoyed me while reading.
Overall this was a short quick read, I liked reading it, and would recommend it.
I have been searching for years for a good high/low book. High interest/ low reading level. This was one of my favorite high/low books I've ever read. I loved that the protagonist was a junior in high school but that this book was written for students who are struggling to learn to read or who read at a lower reading level. It is such a great entry point book! I am so excited for the other books in the series. This book deals with a Black high school girl who is dealing with the trauma of her father leaving her family to start a new one. That trauma causes her anger to have a short fuse and she gets triggered easily by others in to starting fights. However, she decides to turn everything around when she transfers to an arts high school where she meets a group of other teen artists. I loved this slice of life story and will definitely recommend it to students who are struggling to find stories of interest at their level!
We all deserve a second chance because we're all guilty of doing wrong, whether intentionally or unintentionally. It's what we do with that second chance that defines who we are as a person, and seldom even then, it may take a few bumps and bruises to discover our true potentials and who we are.
In Lux's case, all she needed was to know that both her parents loved her, though her father walked out on them years ago. It takes forgiveness on all our parts to find peace. Where there is peace, there is where you will find love and friendships. This story was a lesson for us all.
I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading more from this author. The read along with my daughter has been fun.
This is a good book to read in a slump or if you’re just looking for a quick read! The chapters are super short and the story flows well. Not revolutionary but cute :) I will continue with the series to see where it goes!
Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for my DRC of this title in exchange for my 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.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
4 ⭐️
As far as hi-lo books go, this is a pretty good one.
It's fast-moving and there's not a dull moment. If - like me - you're used to longer novels that go deep into the characters' feelings and stretch the action enough for extended character development, you might find it a bit unrealistic and too quickly resolved. But for its intended audience, it's just enough conflict to keep them engaged while being short enough not to bore them.
It also has a lot of diversity woven in easily enough that it doesn't sound forced.
I'm looking forward to the other novels in the collection, and I've already ordered the first two for my library.
After reading When You Were Everything, I knew Ashley Woodfolk could write characters. It was still so impressive to read Lux's story -- she's such a fully developed character, she has a solid arc, and her story was both interesting and well paced... all in such a short space! I loved the way the story was both serious and fun; Ashley always manages to find just the right balance. This was a great intro to the Flyy Girls. After finishing this one, I immediately dove into book two! Thank you Penguin Teen for a free advanced digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book was pretty good and I’ll definitely be continuing the series. I love that there’s a series like this out there with 4 black girls who go to a performing arts school as the titular characters. I also enjoyed getting to know Lux, her attitude towards her father and the way she navigates life and friendships is super real. She was just real in general. Emmett was also a cute love interest. I’m really interested to get to know the other 3 girls in depth in their books.
I loved this little book — the characters were vividly drawn, and I can’t wait to read about them in the rest of the series! So glad that book 2 is already out so I have more to read.