Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
Published March 12th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
Source: from publisher via NetGalley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads summary: Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.
Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.
Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.
Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity-style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.
Seeing Mila 2.0 on my Netgalley dashboard was a nice surprise that came during a couple of rough days last month. To be honest, I went into this book half-afraid. I had huge expectations from Mila 2.0, but I didn't really like the prequel novella. I'm glad to report, my expectations were met, in some aspects also exceeded.
Mila is an android that more than one group of evil guys would love to get their hands on. But Mila is more than just a cutting-edge piece of technology; there is more humanity in her than her creators could ever assume. The chase starts around chapters two or three, with barely a moment's respite for the rest of the book. Debra Driza doesn't shy away from the painful, the ugly and the tragic, and I think that might be my favorite part of the book. Also, the novel moves at a great pace and there's a nice rhythm to the writing. The android and the human parts of Mila mesh well; she might desperately wish to forget that she has wires and tubes running through her body, but when circumstances demand, she learns how to utilize her android gigs to protect the ones she loves.
On the cons side, there was a point where I started feeling that Mila was getting whiny. The whole ordeal with Hunter was also weird; he is a nice guy, but the sort of guy that I instantly assumed had something to hide. And despite his niceness, I don't think the short encounters between Mila and Hunter warrant that sort of trust. Too strong, too fast, almost insta-love, and as always I have my reservations about that.
If you are looking for a kick-ass, action-packed YA novel, you cannot afford to miss Mila 2.0.
