Review: The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nestor Lopez is tired of moving. His father is an explosive ordinance disposal specialist currently serving in Afghanistan. Nestor Lopez has moved a lot over the past couple of years (five to be precise) and is so used to moving and changing schools that he pretty much doesn't bother to unpack or make real friends anymore. But he isn't lonely. In fact, he can hardly get a quiet moment. Because Nestor Lopez talks to and understands animals. On the positive, they offer a lot of advice and opinions. On the negative, they offer a lot of advice and opinions. This time Nestor and his mom have moved to his Cuban grandmother's (abuela's) house in New Haven, Texas. On the positive, 'Buela is a really good cook! On the negative, all the missing animal posters all over New Haven are a little bit disturbing.

Nestor finds his new school is confusing, what with the randomly numbered classrooms, and then there are students like Brandon, who is so very annoying. But he also meets Talib and Maria Carmen, who seem like they might be friends, at least until Nestor has to move again. Although Maria Carmen, who just met him, is already calling him Pudding Boy. And there's also the mystery of missing pets (including Talib's dog George) and even goats. What's going on in the woods around New Haven? Even the school announces that kids are to stay out of the woods. So of course Nestor and Talib go into the woods, where they rescue a coyote caught in a trap illegally set by Brandon. The coyote seems very afraid of something female. But who is he talking about? In addition to trivia club, Nestor has been busy working on his sketchbook, including its newest chapter, "Days in New Haven," when he begins to remember a story his father told him about the tule vieja, a type of ghost witch that bites animals to absorb their power. Could that be what's in the woods and is the tule vieja responsible for all the disappearances?

This is a fun middle-grade novel by debut author Adrianna Cuevas. A former ESOL teacher, Cuervas has a very deft use of colloquial Spanish integrated into character dialogue.

The audiobook of the novel is narrated by Anthony Rey Perez, who audio readers may remember as the narrator for the Sal and Gabi series by Carlos Hernandez.

I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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