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I was expecting to really like "Mila 2.0". The plot is about a teenage girl named Mila who has recently relocated to a rural town with her mother after the death of her father in a fire. This is a lengthy novel clocking in at a whopping 470 pages (in Advanced Reading Copy form, anyway). The first third of the book tells of Mila making new friends at her new school, including the even newer new kid Hunter. She struggles with her grief and Hunter is the only one who seems to 'get' her. We know things aren't what they seem because Mia's mom is being distant and there are some hints of danger. Mia also seems to have some abilities that her peers don't have. She can hear things from far away and she can move faster than she should be able to move. When she is hurt, the big secret is revealed. However its not much of a secret because if you read the back blurb you know that Mila was actually created in a computer/science lab. Mila is in fact mostly android although she is made with some human cells.
Why the first part of the novel doesn't work for me: To start there is a big build up where Mila and her best friend are both into Hunter. Kaylee becomes very nasty to Mila very quickly. Buy the middle part of the book, Hunter and Kaylee are both gone from the plot. I felt like I was invested in that story and to have it just be gone immediately bothered me. And I didn't like that we knew Mila's secret from the back of the book. It would have been much more exciting had it been revealed to the reader as it was revealed to Mila. What did work for me: I really liked Hunter and I liked the the scenes where Mila's true identity start to reveal itself.
The middle part of the novel is an 'on the run' story. This may have been the most exciting part of the book. I am trying not to give much away but there was quite a bit of action in the middle portion of the book and an unexpectedly funny scene as well. I felt for Mila; she truly went through the wringer as she discovered she wasn't a normal teenage girl. What didn't work for me: Mila finds out about herself and how she came to be created via an IPOD. A man's voice literally explains everything to her while her Mom leaves Mila alone and runs errands. That was a big 'what the heck?' moment for me because I couldn't really buy that a mom would let such devastating news be delivered so impersonally. This was just seemed like an easy out.
The last part of the book was my least favorite. It seemed to drag on but I knew that this part should have been the best part. I should have felt excited and exhilarated reading it. But it just felt so flat. The villain is pretty darn evil which is a good thing, but we are suddenly introduced to another young man named Lucas and while there is no direct romantic interactions between the two, it still feels like the start of a love triangle. In all fairness I liked Lucas a lot also. He and Hunter were my favorite characters. Both of them had a bit of backstory and had some mysteries of their own which kept me interested. The problem is that I didn't feel invested in Mila's mom and I didn't really understand or appreciate the relationship between the two of them. Therefore when Mia's mom became involved in a situation I didn't really care about the possible outcome as I should have.
The general plot of the story was excellent and I think that Mila would make an excellent action movie or tv series. The writing was strong as well. What it boiled down to for me is that there were too many ideas that were just dropped and there was a lack of build up of excitement and anticipation. This would have worked better had the story been split into two novels. I just think that would have flowed better and provided more space for character development. I see so much potential in this series but I just don't think I will stick around for the next installment.
Why the first part of the novel doesn't work for me: To start there is a big build up where Mila and her best friend are both into Hunter. Kaylee becomes very nasty to Mila very quickly. Buy the middle part of the book, Hunter and Kaylee are both gone from the plot. I felt like I was invested in that story and to have it just be gone immediately bothered me. And I didn't like that we knew Mila's secret from the back of the book. It would have been much more exciting had it been revealed to the reader as it was revealed to Mila. What did work for me: I really liked Hunter and I liked the the scenes where Mila's true identity start to reveal itself.
The middle part of the novel is an 'on the run' story. This may have been the most exciting part of the book. I am trying not to give much away but there was quite a bit of action in the middle portion of the book and an unexpectedly funny scene as well. I felt for Mila; she truly went through the wringer as she discovered she wasn't a normal teenage girl. What didn't work for me: Mila finds out about herself and how she came to be created via an IPOD. A man's voice literally explains everything to her while her Mom leaves Mila alone and runs errands. That was a big 'what the heck?' moment for me because I couldn't really buy that a mom would let such devastating news be delivered so impersonally. This was just seemed like an easy out.
The last part of the book was my least favorite. It seemed to drag on but I knew that this part should have been the best part. I should have felt excited and exhilarated reading it. But it just felt so flat. The villain is pretty darn evil which is a good thing, but we are suddenly introduced to another young man named Lucas and while there is no direct romantic interactions between the two, it still feels like the start of a love triangle. In all fairness I liked Lucas a lot also. He and Hunter were my favorite characters. Both of them had a bit of backstory and had some mysteries of their own which kept me interested. The problem is that I didn't feel invested in Mila's mom and I didn't really understand or appreciate the relationship between the two of them. Therefore when Mia's mom became involved in a situation I didn't really care about the possible outcome as I should have.
The general plot of the story was excellent and I think that Mila would make an excellent action movie or tv series. The writing was strong as well. What it boiled down to for me is that there were too many ideas that were just dropped and there was a lack of build up of excitement and anticipation. This would have worked better had the story been split into two novels. I just think that would have flowed better and provided more space for character development. I see so much potential in this series but I just don't think I will stick around for the next installment.