The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

Nestor Lopez can’t catch a break, which feels all too real for many of us who grew up moving around.

In Nestor’s case, it’s because of his father being in the military, but as we get to experience him adapting to yet another new school, we discover he has the neatest of abilities—talking to animals.

Nestor’s journey to save his town under the noises of the adults reminds me of when I was a kid keeping secrets from the adults in my life. And with lots of twists and turns, Nestor’s story only gets better and better.

This book is a hilarious, insightful take on a question I always had when I was little: “What would animals say if they could talk?” Nestor can talk with animals; keeping this fact a secret is a constant source of problems for him. Underlying the jokes and magic are Nestor’s struggles with the definition of home and with his father’s deployment. While these themes are deep and heartfelt, they’re punctuated by brilliant and funny turns of the story that lightened the serious tones for me. The battle at the end involves a witch and an eclipse and a whole bunch… show more.

Here we have a triangular friendship among three slight oddballs, which is one of my favorite kinds. It begins and is tested in the midst of a spate of local animal disappearances. Nestor, the narrator, is new in town (yet again) and doesn’t plan to put down roots. He also has a secret: he can talk to animals (and boy, do they ever talk back!). Almost in spite of himself, he befriends classmates Maria Carmen and Talib, and with help from some fauna with plenty of attitude, the three manage to save their town from a nasty witch—and cement their… show more.

What a delight of a book! Nestor Lopez is sick of moving every few years, but this time, when his dad is deployed overseas and he and his mom go to live with his grandmother, things feel different. He begins to make friends—other than the animals he can talk to and understand—but things are not what they seem. A mysterious creature that can transform itself into different animals is preying on the small town's animals and his grandmother becomes the prime suspect. Between dealing with the school bully and trying to win the trivia bowl, Nestor must gather his friends,… show more.