Review: Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

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.

Publication Date: March 12, 2013

Mila 2.0 read like two different books and with a very slow beginning, I was glad I hung in there and finished. The second half was much stronger and the annoyances from the first half faded away.

Mila was hard to like at first. She was really mean to her mother and for being an android her instincts were terrible. The beginning also had some annoying drama with a mean girl and a case of weird almost insta-love with a new boy in school named Hunter. However, once the reveal is made and the baddies come after Mila, the storyline picked up tremendously.

I loved the non-stop action of the second half of the novel. I really had no idea what was going to happen to Mila if she was caught. She really grew on me as her protective instincts towards her mother kicked in. The author also made her relatable as Mila struggled to deal with learning about her newfound android abilities.

Being inside of Mila’s head made it easy to see why she felt so human despite her robotic roots. I liked how she used her human instincts to help get her and her mom out of precarious situations.

The romance was my least favorite part of the book. The relationship developed super fast and I felt there was little character development for Hunter before he disappeared from the story. Another potential love interest made a second act appearance, but again the lack of character development made me unsure of how I felt about him either.

This was a fun and exciting read and I’m definitely going to read the sequel. I think the second book will be thrilling as Mila continues to run from those who want to exploit her powers.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this novel for review!