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:

Sea Otter Heroes: the predators that save an ecosystem by Patricia Newman. 56 p. Millbrook Press/ Lerner Publishing Group, January 28, 2017. 9781512426311.

From the jacket: This healthy seagrass baffled marine biologist Brent Hughes. Water in the slough is chock-full of nutrients from fertilizer runoff on nearby farms. Normally, nutrient-polluted water supports huge populations of algae that block sunlight from reaching the seagrass, and the seagrass dies. Was was the slough's seagrass thriving?

As Brent investigated, signs pointed to an unexpected player helping to keep the seagrass healthy: sea otters! What do these top predators have to do with an aquatic grass at the opposite end of the food chain? Brent's amazing discovery solved a modern science mystery-and gave scientists insight into the delicate balance of ecosystems.

I'm so excited to read this new title by Patricia Newman. Her earlier titles, Plastic Ahoy and Ebola are great science resources in my library.

Purchased:

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge. Unabridged audiobook on 1 MP3-CD. 12 hours. Performed by Charlotte Wright. Brilliance Audio, September, 2016. 9781526607888.

Publisher synopsis: Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy - a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men. But inside, Faith is full of questions and curiosity, and she cannot resist mysteries: an unattended envelope, an unlocked door. She knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing. She knows that her family moved to the close-knit island of Vane because her famous scientist father was fleeing a reputation-destroying scandal. And she knows, when her father is discovered dead shortly thereafter, that he was murdered.

In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father's possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father's murder - or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself. Frances Hardinge is the author of many acclaimed novels, including Cuckoo Song, which earned five starred reviews.

I have read nothing but stellar reviews of this. Students who love fantasy have been recommending her earlier books to me for years. 

Happy New Year! That's what's new with me. What's new with you?