Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
Release Date –  March 12, 2013
Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages - 480 pages
My Rating- 4.5/5
**Provided by publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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.

There is no other word to describe Mila 2.0 other than page turner. Once I had fallen into Mila’s world I couldn’t put the novel down. A compulsion to find out what would happen next made for a long night of reading. A fun, thrilling read that starts off a little predictable but quickly builds into a pulse pounding second half.

Mila is the heart of the novel. She’s rather endearing. Her character makes you question what it means to be human, and what it is that makes someone human. Is it emotions? Biology? The answer isn’t easy and Debra Driza makes the argument that Mila, an android, may have more humanity in her than the humans who helped create her. I sympathized with her immediately, and was a fan of her character development.

The other character I was intrigued by is Lucas. I hope that the secondary characters get more developed in the second novel. Most of the novel's time is spent on Mila, and I want to care about the other characters just as much as I care about her. The romance as a result felt a little lacking. It was tentative, and did not have the impact I had hoped. Hunter seems sweet enough, but I want more from his character, especially if he is to be involved with Mila.

The story has already been picked up for television adaptation and while reading I could easily picture what this will look like. It’s rich in characters, descriptions, and emotion. There are plot twists, enough is revealed to feel satisfying, and enough is held back to make you wan the sequel immediately. It’s a fine line, and Debra Driza lays it out wonderful with pitch perfect pacing.

The stakes for Mila in this novel felt authentic. The later half of the novel is filled with heart racing action sequences that left me gasping. This type of story demands an antagonist that make the stakes feel real. Concern for the characters needs to be warranted, or else the urgency is lost. This story has not only a chilling villain but other complicated secrets to keep the tension.

The later part of the novel propels the plot forward by doing something I never expected. It offers an intriguing direction for the sequel. A few stunning reveals, and I am desperate to get my hands on the second installment. A perfect blend of heart, romance, action, and a main character that I adore, this one is not to be missed.