The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

The woods are a prominent feature in New Haven. The woods run behind Abuela’s house and are a popular shortcut for students to get to New Haven Middle School. They are also the main site of action in the novel, where Nestor encounters new animal friends and Brandon the bully and eventually fights the tule vieja.

The woods are full of Texan plants, like “twisty live oak trees and sharp cacti” (21), as well as animals like Chela the doe and a friendly rabbit. However, they are also home to mystery and danger, and students are warned to avoid the woods once animals go missing there. In Chapter 4, Nestor sees his Abuela running into the woods, “a large kitchen knife in her hand” (54). Nestor encounters dangerous hunting traps set by Brandon in service of a strange witch. These clues found in the woods, as well as Nestor’s concern for the animals that live there, entrench Nestor in the mystery of the tule vieja.

The tule vieja hides out in a quarry near the edge of the woods. She increasingly leaves signs of her presence in the woods as the threat of danger escalates, such as wolverine claw marks: “There’s a mesquite bush that looks like a wrecking ball hit it. The branch of a cedar tree lies smashed on the ground. A cactus has been slashed to ribbons, long claw marks scarring its flesh” (180). As Nestor prepares to face the tule vieja head on, he must cross through the woods to get to the quarry.

Woods and forests are a common symbol in stories, representing feelings of being lost and overcoming challenges to find personal growth. Here, the woods represent Nestor’s coming-of-age journey. The darkness and uncertain paths of a forest are a metaphor for the challenges Nestor faces as he works to solve the mystery of the tule vieja and save his community of human and animal friends.

Nestor’s sketchbook is where his inner world comes to life. With Nestor’s frequent moves, sketching became a creative outlet and place he can turn to consistently. Nestor finds sketching to be a good way to pass time when bored in class: “I draw because it keeps me occupied in new classrooms as the teacher drones on about equations I learned two schools ago. And paper and pencils are easy to pack” (7). His sketchbook is also a record of his experience. Each time he moves, he tallies how many days his family stays before moving again. He also counts how many days his dad has been deployed, sketches drawings of animals he meets and communicates with, and drafts letters to his father. Nestor’s sketchbook also illuminates the words Nestor wants to share with his father but holds back so as not to worry him:

Hey Dad,

You know, I was afraid that Abuela lived in the most boring town on the planet, but I was wrong. The woods are a minefield of hunting trips. There’s a kid at school who likes to poke his long, unclipped nails into my chest. I have a coyote sleeping under my bed who swears he was attacked by a witch. Oh, and did I mention I saw Abuela stomp off into the woods carrying a knife?

I scratch through everything I’ve written and turn to a clean page in my sketchbook.

Always Be Positive.

Always Be Happy (77).

Nestor’s sketchbook thus highlights the theme of Navigating the Challenges of Military Family Life, emphasizing the distance between Nestor and his father and Nestor’s struggle to find connection. It also supports the theme of finding one’s place in the world. As Nestor goes through his coming-of-age journey and finds a sense of belonging in New Haven, his sketchbook purpose evolves: He plots strategies for defeating the tule vieja and even loses count of how many days he’s lived in New Haven. By the end of the novel, he realizes he’s found his place, as it dawns on him that he wants to “fill [his] notebook with drawings of home” (277).