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.
Everyone wants to believe that they are normal. We all want to believe that we are our own individual, but the same as everyone else. The thing is, we are all normal. We smell the same scents. We taste the same foods. We breathe the same air. We touch the same surfaces. After all, we are all human, right?
What would happen if you found out that you were not like everyone else? What would happen if you found out that you weren't even human?
Sixteen-year-old Mila Daily is the "you" in this situation.
Mila Daily has lived a very dreary life. Her most recent memory is that of a fire; a fire that stole the life of her father. Now, her mother has whisked her away to a new life, with new people, and new "friends". All she wants is to live her life in peace. However, many things - including the new boy in town - like to complicate her life. Kaylee, a "nice" girl who is really a menace in disguise, is set on getting Mr. New Boy (AKA Hunter) to like her instead. When she finally puts two and two together, she realizes that Hunter will only ever have eyes for Mila. In a jealous fit, she winds up hurting Mila significantly. So significantly, Mila comes out of the fight with a hole in her arm.
A hole that protrudes a liquid.
A liquid that is not blood.
Horrified, Mila treks back home to her mother, questions and confusion whirling around in her mind. Mila refuses to believe that her arm is prosthetic. She finds it easier to believe that she may have imagined the hoard of wires harbored in her body. She keeps on trying to convince herself of this, but every time she looks down at the gash, reality strikes her.
When she arrives at her home, her mother takes one look at the way Mila is covering her arm, and she knows. Instead of shock overtaking her features as Mila expected, her mother pulls out a kit, tells her to sit down, and begins to fix Mila's arm. Her mother - Nicole - then hands Mila an iPod with all the information she needs to understand what she is. And with that, she finds out her whole life is a lie. Mila is simply a Mobile Intel Lifelike Android. She was created in a lab to work as a spy for the U.S. Military.
And she was stolen from the lab by Nicole.
Confused and betrayed, Mila is torn by the emotions rolling through her. She feels human. She has human emotions. How was this possible? She had a heartbeat - was it even a heartbeat? Or was it something synthetically created like everything else about her?
Nicole tells her that she had no choice but to steal her from the lab. There, she would have been treated like some sort of abomination. Nicole couldn't handle that idea. Mila was too human for that. Though the scientists may not believe that, the evidence of the humanity in Mila was standing before them. Mila understands Nicole, but she cannot ignore the betrayal she feels.
It doesn't matter anyway, because with the sequence of incoming events, she is forced to deal with is.
Suddenly, the peaceful life that she once lived is now in constant turmoil. It seems as though everywhere she goes, someone is trying to either steal her and sell her, or terminate her. Not only does she have to battle with outer foes, but she must learn to accept herself.
Mila and Nicole's lives depend on it.
Woah! I didn't go into this novel expecting that. Many of the reviews of this book left me skeptical as to whether or not I would like this novel, but I can easily say I'm glad I have it a shot. While I was able to foreshadow many of the events of this story, a lot of the plot twists came as quite the surprise. Personally, I would never have guessed that ending.
The story was well written and very enticing. I could tell that Driza felt comfortable with her characters and knew where this story was going. I really felt like Driza put her best foot forward while writing Mila 2.0. For that, I salute her.
My rating:
Three and a Half out of Five Stars!
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