Arc Review: Mila 2.0 by @DebraDriza @harperteen

Author:  Debra Driza
Title: Mila 2.0
Series: Mila 2.0 #1
Publication: March 12, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Sci-fi
Source: AroundtheWorldArcTours

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.

Thoughts: Loved it! Driza intricately crafts this fascinating debut loaded with emotional depth and lots of kick butt action. What would you do if everything you've known about yourself gets flipped and you learn that you are nothing what you thought? Jaded? Well, Mila is angry after she discovers by accident that she is not human, her mother has lied to her and someone is after them. Now, on the run, she must come to terms with the details of how she was created. Mila struggles to hold onto some semblance of her shattered normalcy, and the hope she was not created to kill but that may be difficult if she intends to save her life. 

Mila is an interestingly complex and intriguing character. It's refreshing to read about a non-human trying to hold on to the only humanity she knows rather than a human turning into something supernatural, which is usually the norm. Aside from her being a machine, she behaves as if she is human, her emotional levels are spot on for a shy teenage girl, who would rather blend in than stand out and the author did a great job portraying this through Mila. She's strong yet fragile and I think it's that balance that makes her story so fun to read. Now, on another note, her best friend....don't like her she is vapid, fickle and jealous of the attention that Mila receives from the new guy that she's determined to sink her claws into and thus leads to the beginning revelation of Mila's creation. 

This is not really a romance but maybe in the next book there will be more. I liked the love interest but something is up, where did he come from, who is he and why right before things turn sour does he show up in Mila's life, though it could be nothing. Any how, I feel this was more about Mila's sense of identity, belonging and her relationship with her mother who takes great risks to secure her human life. The writing transitions is well throughout the story and the action sequences are fantastic. So, needless to say I'm hooked and can't wait for Mila 3.0 to be released.