MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza Review

MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza
(MILA 2.0, #1)
Release Date: March 12, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 480 pages

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.

Wow. What a great first book in a series. Heart wrenching, action packed and addicting. If you're wondering how you might find yourself feeling connected to someone whose not exactly human, let me tell you - you won't struggle at all. In fact, more times than I expected I was feeling absolutely sad for Mila. If you could reach in and give characters reassuring hugs, she would've gotten a few from me.

Her love interest, Hunter, I have a weird feeling about him. Like I'm pretty certain I know who he is, in relation to the storyline but I'm not going to say anything and look like a fool if I'm wrong. I do like him, though and I like how though even Mila is 'normal' looking he pays her attention instead of her 'friend' Kaylee, who is a bit more of a pretty girl.

Have I mentioned how much I love this cover? It's kind of a perfect Mila and the way it's designed is kind of all sorts of awesome. It's definitely a cover that grabs your attention and makes you read the synopsis. Let me tell you, this book is just as awesome as the cover.

Kaylee is someone I hate, with a passion. It goes to show that even in a small town, you'll always have that girl that is so catty, untrustworthy and ready to stab you in the back at the drop of a hat. So glad to see we didn't have to deal with her long, especially with what she did to Mila over the whole Hunter/truck incident. (When you read the book, you'll understand what I mean)

When we first meet Mila she's in mourning. Her father was killed in a fire that destroyed basically everything back in Philadelphia. Her mom packed her up and what few belongings they had and moved far away; one would think to get as far away from the tragedy as possible. But is this the real reason for the sudden move to the middle of nowhere or is there more? You automatically sympathize with her because let's face it, we've all lost someone at some point in our lives that we love. Maybe not a parent but a relative, a friend or a significant other. Loss hurts.

Things quickly change, relationships change especially with her mother, Nicole. It's not your normal teenager daughter and mother relationship where every teen gives their parent a hard time (hey, that's part of being a teen, right?). This book takes you from, esstentially, Philadelphia, PA to Clearwater, MN, to London, Ontario to Washington, DC to Virginia Beach, VA - so it's like a mini road trip we take along with the characters.

Lucas...I'm not sure what to say about him except I absolutely am smitten with him. He seems to be your definition of nerd and I am all over that. I'm not sure if he's a possible love interest or if we'll see him again but oh man, can I hug him, please? I'm actually certain that's not the last we'll see of him...in fact, I believe he related to another character...possibly...

The ending of this book doesn't have you like, sitting there with your mouth hung open in shock but it definitely has you wanting more; even after reading 480 pages you're not satisfied. The wheels are turning in your head as you try to figure out things on your own, while knowing you have a year to find out whether it's right or not. I love books like this. Books that get you thinking and books that you want you needing more without making a fool of yourself.

So definitely a great first book in a series and I think any YA fans should read this. Especially fans of sci-fi. But really, I think any fan of YA could enjoy this book as much as I did (or even more).