Book Review: Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

 

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.

This was a book of two halves for me.  I didn’t like the first half at all but the second half was amazing. 

I had a lot of expectations going into this and to start with I was massively disappointed.  The storyline was good, the writing was good but Mila wasn’t.  At first I couldn’t stand her, she spent the first half of the book slamming doors, sneaking off when she had been told not to because it was too dangerous for everyone including herself, or thinking about a boy she had literally just met.   Mila came across as stroppy and selfish and I very nearly put the book down and gave up on it.  Thankfully I carried on because at the half way point this book burst into life.

The second half was full of amazing action; there were fights, car chases and daring escapes.  It gave this book the boost it needed and from there it didn’t look back.  Mila began to change as she adapted to and embraced her android self.  She gained perspective, patience and stopped being so petulant.  I felt that she was more human towards the end of the book then she was at the beginning and she went from being someone I hated to someone I quite liked and respected. 

I would have liked some more information in some parts.   I wanted to know more about Nicole, Lucas and the military organization behind the Mila project.  I hope that more light will be shed on this in the upcoming books because I am very intrigued. 

It is a shame that this book was so uneven.  For me the first half was a two and the second a four, a three star rating feels a little low but I cannot dismiss the first half of the book.

Despite my issues with Mila 2.0 I would still recommend it.  The second half is worth it and there is huge potential going ahead.  

3 stars

Published March 12th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books.  A free copy was provided for review. Image courtesy of Goodreads

Review by Kate Phillips