A review by turrean
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
4.0
Hugely enjoyable. The cast of animals is a delight, snarky and sassy and valiant by turns. Nestor’s family and friends are lovingly portrayed, especially his Abuela. And his struggle to balance a natural yearning for friendship and permanency with his family’s iron-clad rule of protecting his military dad from unease about the family during his deployment is nuanced and frankly heart wrenching.
I thought there was a bit of airy hand waving at the conclusion (and then this turned out fine!) but I ultimately decided it suited the way the supernatural is as much a part of New Haven’s as mediocre cafeteria food, sixth grade social life, and indulgent grandmothers. (“Look, some kids are part of military families, some people teach middle school, and some people can turn into giant snakes. It happens.”)
I thought there was a bit of airy hand waving at the conclusion (and then this turned out fine!) but I ultimately decided it suited the way the supernatural is as much a part of New Haven’s as mediocre cafeteria food, sixth grade social life, and indulgent grandmothers. (“Look, some kids are part of military families, some people teach middle school, and some people can turn into giant snakes. It happens.”)