Renegade

June 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Mila is on the run from the government with Hunter, a boy she loves-a boy who doesn't know they're being chased and who also doesn't know Mila's biggest secret of all: she's an android. The protagonist has no doubt that the wicked General Holland is dangerous-he did order his men to shoot Mila's mother. But she can't quite bring herself to end the sense of normalcy she feels when she's with Hunter, even to prepare him for the danger they're likely to face. Before the teen's mom died, she warned Mila about the dangers of a secret organization called the Vita Obscura. She also gave her daughter a name: Richard Grady. The android and Hunter set out to find Grady and the answers he has about her. But what Grady knows about Mila isn't what she's looking for, and the Vita Obscura isn't what she expects. A little slower than MILA 2.0 (HarperCollins, 2013), this title still has enough action to keep readers engaged. Mila's love for Hunter and her conflicting desires to protect him and keep him ignorant of her true nature provide some depth to her character. A cliff-hanger ending will ensure that teens will be anxiously awaiting the next installment.-Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Driza (Mila 2.0, 2013) delivers the second volume of a trilogy focused on a seemingly ordinary teen girl who is really an android on the run. This installment opens with Mila taking refuge in the arms of adorable Hunter on the sunny shores of Virginia Beach. But with so many enemies in pursuit, she can't afford to relax for long. Mila convinces unsuspecting Hunter to help her find her biological father, and the two set out on a hair-raising adventure that leads them from clue to clue until they finally find the man who can inform her of her rather creepy human origins. All the while, they struggle to stay in front of the organizations hunting her down. Overwhelmed by negative emotions, including the pain of betrayal and rejection as well as constant fear and justifiable rage, Mila initially jumps at the chance to get rid of her human emotions in an "upgrade," but can she live with the results? Her narration is punctuated by feedback from her robotic components, always rendered in a recognizably space-age-y sans-serif typeface. Fans will enjoy learning the secrets of Mila's past and root for her as she struggles to understand herself and to shape her future. Plenty of sci-fi action, a sweet but struggling romance, and a cliffhanger ending will have readers clamoring for Volume 3. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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May 15, 2014
Grades 8-12 In Driza's action-packed sequel to MILA 2.0, teenage android Mila is on the run and still trying to figure out who, what, and why she is. One thing that she does know, however, is that no matter how hard she fights it, her feelings for Hunter seem as real as ever. But does she really know Hunter enough to trust him with her cybernetic secrets? While this sequel is a bit lengthy, there are enough plot twists to keep readers guessing until the end. The pacing will appeal to those who were patient enough to get through other long sequels, such as Stephenie Meyers' New Moon (2006).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)