MAY 2013 - AudioFile
Narrator Tara Sands throws herself into this story’s first-person point of view. She sounds fully credible as 16-year-old Mila, a high school student who is often on the edge of hysteria. Sands reads the story’s early scenes with a touch of Valley girl, nicely conveying Mila and her flighty, giggly group of friends, who have boys on their minds and cliquishness in their souls. But soon Mila begins to suspect that she’s not a real girl at all—and being a real girl is her heart’s desire. As an android, though, she is one tough cookie, going from crisis to crisis, mostly chase scenes, in surprising ways. Sands’s high-pitched voice never stumbles. The theme is classic—the story “Pinocchio,” circa 1883, comes to mind. Young audiences will be engaged. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
Mila believes she's an average 16-year-old girl who has moved to a new town following the death of her father. An accident reveals that Mila is actually an android—specifically, a super-covert robot spy developed by a shadowy government project—and her "mother" is a scientist who stole her from the lab to save her from being destroyed after Mila developed human emotions. Hunted by both the government and an organization seeking to sell her tech to the highest bidder, Mila and her mother flee, and Mila will have to embrace both her abilities and her humanity to survive. Driza's debut is likely to hit the sweet spot for YA fans—it's SF set in the modern world with just enough romance, angst, and action to balance the improbably amazing technology. Many plot elements are laid out in this trilogy opener, but character development is skimpy. Cinematic and overly dramatic ("Why? Why even steal me in the first place if you were never really going to let me live?" Mila whispers), it's not surprising that Driza's novel is already in development as a TV series. Ages 13–up. Agent: Taylor Martindale, Full Circle Literary. (Mar.)
Ashley at Booknook Young Adult Book Reviews
MILA 2.0 was everything I hoped it would be: intense, action-packed, and filled with awesome technology…I promise you that MILA 2.0 is pure Bourne Identity and it’s FREAKING AWESOME.
Jen at Makeshift Bookmark
Action-packed? Absolutely. Tear-jerking? Oh, yes. Lack of boring spells? You bet. Don’t brush this one off as just a pretty girl on a cover. There’s depth to MILA 2.0 and I can’t wait to find out where Debra Driza takes this story.
Kathleen Peacock
With edge-of-your-seat action and a shadowy government headquarters that puts Hollywood to shame, MILA 2.0 is a delicious, fast-paced read.
New York Journal of Books
Driza writes a story full of drama, excitement, and sadness with a smooth and complete story arc that nonetheless leaves us eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Deseret News
A must-read. Driza enumerates with intriguing clarity the human-versus-android tension that survives within Mila, all the while delivering an electrifying plot.
Romantic Times
MILA 2.0 is wonderful, filled with action and drama, a strong female protagonist and intense supporting characters. Readers will be hooked from the first page.
ALA Booklist
Driza’s fast-paced, action-packed debut science fiction thriller about identity, will, artificial intelligence, nature versus nurture, and man versus machine would satisfy fans of the Jason Bourne series, the Hunger Games trilogy, and Jennifer Rush’s Altered.
Marissa Meyer
One part teen love story and two parts super-spy thriller, MILA 2.0 raises plenty of questions of humanity, warfare, and artificial intelligence, but it’s the James Bond-esque suspense and formidable heroine that kept me enthralled to the last page.
MAY 2013 - AudioFile
Narrator Tara Sands throws herself into this story’s first-person point of view. She sounds fully credible as 16-year-old Mila, a high school student who is often on the edge of hysteria. Sands reads the story’s early scenes with a touch of Valley girl, nicely conveying Mila and her flighty, giggly group of friends, who have boys on their minds and cliquishness in their souls. But soon Mila begins to suspect that she’s not a real girl at all—and being a real girl is her heart’s desire. As an android, though, she is one tough cookie, going from crisis to crisis, mostly chase scenes, in surprising ways. Sands’s high-pitched voice never stumbles. The theme is classic—the story “Pinocchio,” circa 1883, comes to mind. Young audiences will be engaged. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
A fast-paced sci-fi adventure complete with artificial intelligence, military intrigue, secret societies and a hint of romance. Mila is shocked to learn--by falling out of a truck and discovering wires and high-tech gadgetry where blood and bones should be--that she is not a teenage girl, but a military weapon. Her mother is actually one of the scientists who created her; she then spirited her away when it was decided that Mila should be scrapped in favor of a newer model, as her too-genuine emotions proved an unacceptable vulnerability. When Mila and her mom are caught, Mila must face a series of tests to save her mother and herself from elimination. To survive, she'll have to figure out how to make the most of her military hardware and training as well as her human emotions. While it definitely raises interesting questions about identity and memory, this offering depends much more on the fast-paced plot to keep readers engaged. It eschews for the most part the deep philosophical musings on what it means to be human that elevate otherwise similar titles such as Mary Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2009), for example, beyond thrills. With likable characters and nonstop action, this one will please readers who prefer adventure to ethical exploration. (Science fiction. 12 & up)
