✍ Scribed by Keaton, Kelly
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
A dark and lush paranormal romance set in a richly reimagined New Orleans—now in paperback!
Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.
Her search for answers uncovers a message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.
Gr 9 Up-Fast-forward a generation. New Orleans, now called New 2, has been decimated by natural disaster. Nine prominent families have banded together to buy the city from the federal government; all that used to be New Orleans is now considered "beyond the rim," an area rumored to be riddled with supernatural beings and happenings. Enter Ari. Inexplicably abandoned by her mother soon after the city's fall, she is now a hardened 17-year-old living in Memphis. When she visits a sanitorium near the border where her mother spent her last days, her discoveries lead her deep into New 2. In search of information to help solve the puzzle of her origins, she soon realizes how intricately intertwined her fate is with that of the city and that it will be up to her to lift the curse that has plagued the women in her family for centuries. Darkness Becomes Her is part "Lightning Thief," part "Twilight," and part "Maximum Ride." Unfortunately, Keaton reveals the specifics of Ari's mother's delusion at the book's start, something if left uncovered until later would have packed a much greater punch. Yet, to write this title off as a predictable "been there, done that" experience doesn't do it justice either. For fans of any of the above-mentioned popular series, it's an excellent suggestion for a next read. Keaton paints richly detailed scenes of the New Orleans landscape and crafts fully realized, sympathetic characters. Ari's journey from loner to wary member of a band of misfits and her fall for one of them spins a compelling thread through her quest. Darkness Becomes Her will leave many readers clamoring for the next installment.-Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT
“Unforgettable, complex, and unique. I could not put this book down.”--#1 New York Times Bestselling __ author Christopher Pike
"Darkness Becomes Her is part “Lightning Thief,” part “Twilight,” and part “Maximum Ride.” [It] will leave many readers clamoring for the next installment."--SLJ
"A page-turning story with a multidimensional heroine and an atmospheric near-future setting."--Publisher's Weekly
"Keaton creates a New Orleans setting rife with Gothic rot and decay, and allows Ari to discover, articulate, and explore a range of political and ethical questions without ever striking a didactic note. Deft character descriptions humanize not only the creatures, but also help to individuate characters who suffer a variety of physical and emotional challenges. A great choice for a book discussion group willing to take on another round of vampires. The cliff-hanger end promises a sequel."_--_Booklist, starred review
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A dark and lush paranormal romance set in a richly reimagined New Orleans—now in paperback! Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understandi
Ari can't help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can't be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is. Her search for answers uncovers just one mes