RATING: ★★★★☆ RATING: ★★★★☆
TITLE: Lux: The New Girl, bk 1 TITLE: Micah: The New Girl, bk 2
AUTHOR: Ashley Woodfolk AUTHOR: Ashley Woodfolk
RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2020 RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2020
SETTING: New York SETTING: New York
PUBLISHER: Penguin Teen PUBLISHER: Penguin Teen
GENRE(S): YA Contemporary GENRE(S): YA Contemporary
Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for my gifted DRC copies of both of these titles in exchange for my honest review.
SERIES TAGLINE:
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.
BLURB:
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.
BLURB:
Micah Dupree had always liked being the “good girl.” She was happy painting, going to church, and acing her school projects. After all, she had a perfect older brother to live up to. But when he unexpectedly dies, Micah’s world is turned upside-down. With her anxiety growing, a serious boyfriend in the picture, and new feelings emerging, Micah begins to question what being the “good girl” really means…and if it’s worth it, anyway.
Lux 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.
Micah Review:
Micah is questioning her beliefs. She isn’t questioning her Christian faith, but instead some of the teachings. She and her boyfriend Ty have been spending a lot of time sneaking away to make out and she wonders if she really wants to wait for marriage to give herself to someone or if she is ready now… if they are ready now.
Along with this development in her life, she is dealing with so much under the surface that she doesn’t really share with the rest of the girls. She and her family suffered a terrible loss and it has been almost a year without her big brother. Now, she is in therapy and enduring some strong panic attacks whenever she hears ambulance sirens. But she keeps so much of these struggles to herself.
This book was all about Micah learning to deal with her pain and her grief. Armed with a sketchbook belonging to her artistically talented brother, she learns more about not only her brother and some of the secrets he kept, but about herself as well.
I am so looking forward to Noelle’s story next.
feather bound books 