LUX

A 16-year-old Brooklyn girl struggles to get a fresh start.

Lux Lawson has had a hard year—her father left for another family 10 months ago, leaving her feeling unworthy, and she’s on thin ice with her mother after two expulsions. This is why, after she loses it on Simone, a girl who’s harassed her since she arrived at the third school in a year, she knows she’ll be living with her father and his new family. Faced with no choice, Lux arrives at her father’s swanky apartment knowing she must make the best of this situation if she wants to avoid military school. Lux devises a plan, starting with her acceptance into the Augusta Savage School of Arts in Harlem, where she can hone her photography skills. Lux just needs to stick to her father’s strict demands, stay out of trouble at school, get in with the Flyy Girls—known for being popular, low-profile pranksters—and keep her mistakes from haunting her to get what she wants. In this short, accessible volume, Woodfolk creates an authentic cast of characters that reluctant readers will engage with from the opening scene. Short chapters and clearly written prose make this first-person narrative a brisk read, and the ending leaves readers thirsting for more. Lux and the rest of the cast are predominately black.

A lively series opener.