Thursday, May 16, 2013

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.

I wasn’t sure about this book when I first picked it up. I’m a huge fan of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and I was afraid I was going to be inadvertently comparing the two stories. Which I did, a little, but Mila 2.0 is different enough that I was able to let that go early on.

For the most part, I enjoyed this story. It starts out slow, with standard characters that don’t add much to the story: Kaylee is the typical selfish mean girl, Hunter is the typical hot guy who is inexplicably attracted to the main character, Mila is the typical angsty teenager, Mom is the typical overprotective type, etc. The relationships between these characters aren’t explored or deepened, so when they fall apart it’s not a big deal. Even though it *should* be a big deal.

But then things take an adventurous turn. Mila discovers who she is and goes on the run with Mom, and from there it’s impossible to put the book down. Mila has so many people after her that she never gets a moment of rest, and the pacing reflects that.

The lack of depth in the character relationships is problematic throughout, though, and got a bit annoying when it came to Hunter. We got such a small glimpse of him in the beginning that it’s not really clear why Mila keeps thinking about him. Well, not clear emotionally…I have a theory as to why—it’s completely plot driven, and therefore a bit contrived. I’m guessing this is going to be the opening of the next book, which will launch another break-neck paced adventure right away. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. :)

5 comments:

Jessie Harrell said...

that's a bummer that the character development was lacking.

Kelly Hashway said...

Was there a book before this one or am I recognizing that cover from somewhere else?

Tabitha said...

This is the first book, so maybe you've seen the cover around?

Catherine Stine said...

Good title! It also reminds me of a novel by Kevin Brooks called BEING. This trope is appearing more and more.

Anna Staniszewski said...

Thanks for the review. I've been wondering about this book. I loved JENNA FOX, so I'm glad this one was different enough that you weren't comparing too much. I might have to see if my library has it. :-)