Due to her summer internship which included some controversial research with a brilliant scientist, Julia’s life is about to take a turn for the extraordinary and unbelievable. Nadel really stretches the imagination with the possibilities that are considered and explored in their studies. The plot thickens with each turn of the page, and things become pretty intense, especially in the last half of the book. There are some seriously passionate characters in this story and some who really get in your head, making it a little difficult to sleep at night if you’re one with a vivid imagination. As the events switch between past and present, you see an increased depth to several of the characters and they become even more interesting and alive. Eternal is an outstanding tale similar to Romeo and Juliet, with a scientific addition and a paranormal twist that will appeal to both male and female audiences ages 16 and older.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Gibbs Smith

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 2 religious exclamations; 18 mild obscenities; 3 anatomical terms.

Violence/Gore: Many (42) brief incidents including threats; imagining potential violence; people injured in emergency room including one with severed finger; character’s family member dies from cancer; second hand report of characters committing suicide; non-life threatening physical injuries such as getting cut and character getting grabbed by arm; characters hitting, kicking and punching others; characters getting tased; fantasy violence including dead characters posessing bodies of living characters; vandalism to gravestone; character electrocuted to death; character commiting suicide; recalling story of violent death; characters murdered; character tortured and reproductive organ violently removed. One extended incident of characters fighting.

Sex/Nudity; Many (61) brief incidents including hugging; kissing; touching face, arm, feet and back; massaging shoulders and legs; holding hands; cuddling; female character’s shirt removed for medical reasons; innuendo; characters thinking of other characters; referring to self and others as sexy; character referred to as a slut; mention of character not getting to have sex; characters making out and touching shoulders under shirt; reference to a story about an affair; song with a sexual reference; character’s reproductive organ removed due to another character disapproving its use.

Mature Subject Matter:

Cancer, Death of a Family Member, Exorcism (mentioned), kidnapping, souls being posessed, amputation of character’s reproductive organ.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Teenagers doing drugs and drinking; adult drinking; song about a teenager in a bar; PCP given to both adults and teenagers without them knowing; character suggesting another character was on drugs.