A review by bibliobekka
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas

5.0

I’m currently making my way through the 2021 list of Florida’s SSYRA novels looking for books to read with my class of fourth graders. I LOVED this book. I loved the seamless inclusion of Cuban culture that a lot of my students will relate to. The one thing I will say is that there is a short passage at the end of one of the chapters where he is talking about being in emotional pain because his dad is deployed, so he wraps string around his finger until the physical pain dulls the emotional pain. If I read it to my class, I’ll probably omit that short passage because I don’t want to give any kids ideas about self harm. Other than that, the story and the characters are so fun, his Abuela is great! Definitely recommend!