Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

When I picked up Darkness Becomes Her, I was drawn to the post-double-hurricane disaster world.  Living in FL, all my life we know hurricanes and I have lived through many.  I remember the year that Katrina devestated New Orleans and remember when another threatened the same coast that year.  I had always though "what if" myself, so this was a very interesting premise to me. 
The story start out with Ari learning from a mental institution that her mother commited sucide just months after giving her up to Children's Services at the age of 3.  Ari has had a hard life being in many abusive foster homes before ending up with her last good family who have trained her in self defense and made her a legal weapon carrier.  She is trained in the bail bonds business that her foster parents own.  This makes Ari somewhat of a bad-A.  She is a heroine that you can cheer for and will become her own savior. 

Ari decides that she must go in New 2 to get a look at her birth records in hopes that her father is listed or that she can find some other information about her parentage.  New 2 is the name for what is left of New Orleans of the distant future after 2 vicious devastating hurricanes have wiped out the city.  The US has sold the city to 9 founding families who have formed the Novem and rule the city.  It is rumored to be a haven for the paranormal.  Ari finds a letter from amongst her mother's things that warns that she is in danger and must RUN!  Almost as soon as she reads this eery warning, she is attacked by a huge fighter who is trying killed her and speaking in a strange foreign language.  She manages to kill him with his own blade only to have his body disappear.  Now she is freaked and hitches a ride into New 2 with a 15 year old UPS driver, Crank.  Crank introduces her to a band of misfits that squat in an abandoned mansion in the Garden District.  All of the kids are freaks like Ari.  Ari fits in for the first time in her life.  She also finds out the Novem has orders to bring her in also.  She doesn't trust anyone and doesn't know who is after her or why.  In an attenpt to find out what is exactly her curse is or what she will become, she visits a witch doctor who is deathy afraid of her.  Everyone is deathly afraid of her it seems and she cannot find out why.

This story is an incredible read as it takes you into a world that is realistic yet unreal.  The descriptions were awesome and I found myself wanting to visit.  Ari made me laugh, cheer and cry for her.  I love the band of misfits that surround her and develop into her family.  She also uncovers her curse and how it will manifest.  This story sucked me in and I didn't want to put it down.  I can't wait for the sequel to see how Ari will continue.  This book reminded me of the cult movie "Escape from New York" mixed with X-men and other paranormal.  There is a little of everything in this book.  I highly recommend it!