What's New? Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Hop on over there to ogle what other bloggers got this week.

For review: 

Nate Expectations by Tim Federle. 249 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, September 18, 2018. 9781481404129.

Publisher synopsis: Third time’s a charm! Nate Foster returns home to Jankburg, Pennsylvania, to face his biggest challenge yet—high school—in this final novel in the Lambda Literary Award–winning Nate trilogy, which The New York Times calls “inspired and inspiring.”

When the news hits that E.T.: The Musical wasn’t nominated for a single Tony Award—not one!—the show closes, leaving Nate both out of luck and out of a job. And while Nate’s cast mates are eager to move on (the boy he understudies already landed a role on a TV show!), Nate knows it’s back to square one, also known as Jankburg, Pennsylvania. Where horror (read: high school) awaits.

Desperate to turn his life from flop to fabulous, Nate takes on a huge freshman English project with his BFF, Libby: he’s going to make a musical out of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations. (What could possibly go...right?) But when Nate’s New York crush ghosts him, and his grades start to slip, he finds the only thing harder than being on Broadway is being a freshman — especially when you’ve got a secret you’re desperate to sing out about.

This magical conclusion to Tim Federle’s beloved Nate series is a love letter to theater kids young and not-so-young—and for anyone who ever wondered if they could truly go home again. Especially when doing so means facing everything you thought you’d left behind.

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Sea Monsters by Jackson Pearce & Maggie Stiefvater. 166 p. Pip Bartlett series #3. Scholastic Press, Scholastic Inc., June 26, 2018. 9780545709323.

Publisher synopsis: Pip and Tomas have dealt with magical creatures that burst into flames and runaway unicorns. Now they are headed with Tomas' family to Port Candor, a seaside showplace full of magical sea creatures. Soon they are surrounded by Slimekrakens and Tubafish and Spinnerseals and other dazzlers of the deep. AND they are involved in a big mystery that involves a sea monster that might not be staying in its tank. The adults are confounded by the magical misbehavior--but Pip and Tomas aren't afraid to dive in! 

Borrowed: I was going to request this at the Scholastic Booth at Annual next month, but then it occurred to me to ask my bookseller acquaintance if she received one. She's kindly loaning it to me. So excited! Is that not the most gorgeous cover?

Soof by Sarah Weeks. 208 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., October 9, 2018.9780545846691.

Publisher synopsis: All her life, Aurora has heard stories about Heidi and all the good luck she brought Aurora's family. Aurora, though, doesn't feel very lucky. The kids at school think she's weird. And she's starting to think her mom thinks she's weird, too. Especially compared to Heidi.

On the eve of a visit from Heidi, more bad luck hits Aurora's family. There's a fire in their attic, destroying a good part of their house. And, even worse, Aurora's beloved dog goes missing. Aurora and her family have always believed in soof -- Heidi's mom's word for love. But sometimes even when soof is right there in front of you, you still need to find it -- and that's exactly what Aurora is going to do.

That's what's new with me. What's new with you? Leave a comment with a link to your stack and I'll stop by.