Thursday, February 18, 2021

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas - ESSENTIAL

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez
by Adrianna Cuevas
, 288 pages. Farrar Straus Giroux (MacMillan), 2020. $17 

Language G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (hunting, peril) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

6th Grader Nestor Lopez has moved around all his life, his father is currently deployed, and this move was to Texas to live with his Abuela. It's always just a few months until they move again - this is his 10th first day of school and he's in 6th grade, so Nestor plans to lie low, not make friends and get by with his sketch book and his mom. But this place is different . . . Nestor has always been able to understand animals, but in Texas they are asking for help. There's a witch in the woods, and some people think it's Nestor's Abuela. 

I loved the realistic representation of a military kid, the worry about his dad, his "not unpacking all his boxes," the letters and books they exchange. The story was exciting, a good amount of magical realism with witches and a snake and talking animals, and danger! I'd love to see more of Nestor and hope there's a sequel.

Lisa Librarian

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