The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

Nestor postpones searching the woods and spends the weekend curled up with his mom and Abuela watching telenovelas. On Monday, Maria Carmen, Talib, and Nestor attend a school assembly on “Understanding Your Changing Body” (158). Nestor updates his friends about seeing Miss Humala talking to a snake and Brandon’s confession about working with the witch. The friends sneak out of the assembly to look for clues in Miss Humala’s classroom. While Nestor and Maria Carmen scan the room, Nestor secretly interviews Milla, the class chinchilla, hoping to find information about Miss Humala’s connection to the witch. Milla tells Nestor that the snake visited Miss Humala in the classroom two months earlier and had a big argument. The friends prepare to head back to the assembly when Miss Humala appears, demanding to know why they’re in her classroom.

Nestor makes up a story to explain why they are in Miss Humala’s classroom instead of the assembly—a story that contains elements of truth. Nestor tells Miss Humala he made Talib and Maria Carmen skip the assembly with him because school assemblies make him sad:

During my dad’s second deployment, I started watching all these videos of surprise military reunions on YouTube […] I was certain my dad was going to show up for some big reunion in front of the entire school any time we had an assembly or basketball game or play. It made me so nervous I’d spend all day throwing up in the bathroom. I talked Maria Carmen and Talib into coming in here with […] I didn’t feel like barfing all day (166).

Miss Humala buys the story but warns the friends against going places they aren’t meant to.

Later that day, the friends pass by Miss Humala’s classroom and catch her arguing with the snake witch. They eavesdrop and learn that the witch is Miss Humala’s mother and that Miss Humala, in fact, moved to New Haven to get away from her.

Nestor tries to find positive events to share with his father in his next letter. Nestor writes about the trivia club win and finding some old toys of his dad’s in Abuela’s house.

At lunch, Maria Carmen, Nestor, and Talib talk about the witch and plan to go to the woods for more answers (though Talib is reluctant). After school, the friends search the woods. Nestor jokes about asking a squirrel for help while secretly trying to get answers from the squirrel. Though Maria Carmen and Talib don’t hear the reply, the squirrel tells Nestor the witch is everywhere in the woods. They don’t find any more answers, so they reluctantly decide to talk to Brandon. As the friends make their way home, Nestor hears Chela the deer calling for him to tell him that Abuela is hurt and needs his help.

Chela leads Nestor to Abuela. In the urgency of the moment, Nestor doesn’t bother hiding that he’s talking to an animal. Abuela is on the ground, resting against a live oak tree with scratches down its bark. Blood trickles down Abuela’s face, her left arm is injured, and the nature around her has been decimated by claw scratches. Abuela thanks Chela for helping Nestor find her. In this moment, Nestor and Abuela realize that they both share the gift of talking to animals.

Talib and Maria Carmen helped Nestor get Abuela home. There is a clear sign of struggle in the house. A chair and Abuela’s sewing machine are broken. The witch broke into the house earlier and attacked Abuela. Abuela refuses to go to the hospital because she doesn’t want to worry Nestor’s parents.

Abuela looks for a stray tabby cat companion, Celia. Celia appears and asks if Abuela is okay. Talib and Maria Carmen see Nestor and Abuela talking to Celia, drawing further attention to their ability. This explains the times Nestor heard Abuela talking to what Nestor thought was an empty room, as well as some strange animal facts Nestor found in his father’s homemade animal encyclopedia, such as, “According to Mami, hedgehogs think prairie dogs are obnoxious” (184). Nestor’s father doesn’t have the gift, however.

Abuela tells the friends about the witch, who is a tule vieja. Abuela knows about tule viejas from stories her parents used to tell her about a tule vieja from Panama: “She was a woman who had the legs of a hawk, the wings of a bat, and the face of an old witch” (184). However, this tule vieja is distinct: Instead of just looking like different animals, she can actually turn into different animal forms, including a wolverine, snake, and spider. She is trying to steal even more animal forms by biting animals and taking their powers; however, she must do so during a solar eclipse in order to fully absorb its powers. Nestor and Abuela are obstacles for the tule vieja’s plan since they can talk to animals and help them escape.

Nestor worries his friends will think he’s weird, but they think his gift is cool. 

Nestor writes his dad another letter, holding back what he truly wants to say to maintain positivity. In science class, Miss Humala talks about the upcoming solar eclipse. Miss Humala uses class volunteers to hold models of the Earth, moon, and sun, demonstrating how solar eclipses happen. A solar eclipse is due to occur over central Texas in the next five days—the first time in seven years that a solar eclipse has been visible in the continental US. This means Nestor, Talib, and Maria Carmen only have five days to stop the witch.

Another trivia competition occurs after school, and Nestor’s team wins. Nestor’s family is unable to make this competition, and seeing his friends celebrate with their parents reminds him of times he felt lonely when his dad was deployed and couldn’t make events. Talib and Maria Carmen both want to invite Nestor to hang out with them after the competition, but their parents won’t let them since they don’t trust Nestor’s Abuela. Nestor isn’t used to people having an opinion about him since he usually moves before people find out too much about him: “By the time they decide my obsession with Pokémon cards is weird, I’m already packing […] I’ve never had to stay somewhere long enough to endure people hating me” (200).

Nestor walks home alone through the woods, noticing more claw marks. Cuervito keeps him company, and Nestor tells Cuervito why he is in a bad mood: the witch terrorizing the local animals, everyone blaming Abuela, and his father’s deployment. Nestor takes out his father’s compass, wishing his father could help him figure out the answers to his problems. At home, Nestor’s mother packs for a nursing conference in Dallas, leaving Nestor alone with Abuela.

Nestor sits outside and is suddenly met by a group of animals—Cuervito, Val, Chela and her fawn, and three squirrels. They want Nestor’s help fighting the witch. Abuela had been helping them hide and avoid Brandon’s traps, but after the recent attack on Abuela and the town’s gossip, they want Nestor to take over. As they talk, Nestor is suddenly hit by an acorn. It’s Brandon, interrupting the meeting. Brandon looks upset and warns Nestor to stay away from the tule vieja, for his own good. Brandon tells Nestor he refused to help the witch anymore. In retaliation, she stole Brandon’s dad.