Release Date: May 13, 2014
Author Info: Debra Driza
Series: MILA 2.0
Age Group: Young Adult
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Romance
Format: eGalley
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Edelweiss
ISBN-13: 9780062090393
Goodreads: MILA 2.0 | Renegade
Buy: Amazon | Chapters | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 
BE WARNED: This is a sequel—the review will be hidden from this point in order to avoid any unwanted spoilers.
“There is no one left for Mila to trust. Except for a boy she barely knows.
But Hunter has no idea who—and what—Mila really is. She can’t bear to reveal her secret, even though he’s unwittingly joined her search for Richard Grady, a man who may know more details of Mila’s complicated past.
Yet the road to the truth is more dangerous than ever. With General Holland and the Vita Obscura scouring the earth for her whereabouts, Mila must rely on her newfound android abilities to protect herself and Hunter from imminent harm. Still, embracing her identity as a machine leads her to question the state of her humanity—as well as Hunter’s real motives.
Perfect for fans of I Am Number Four and Divergent, this action-packed and heart-wrenching second installment of MILA 2.0 will leave readers breathlessly awaiting the series conclusion.”
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I’m not going to lie, Renegade by Debra Driza surprised me to no end. From the very start, this sequel to Driza’s debut, MILA 2.0, had me intrigued. Not only does the story begin almost right where it left off, but the prose is so fluid that you can’t help but be immediately pulled in. With it’s nearly non-stop action, secrets, twists and turns, and troublesome romance, Renegade not only outshines its predecessors, but creates a whole new excitement for this series.
Mila, the protagonist, is re-introduced to us as the same android we parted ways with in the first book. What’s different, however, is how much more she acts and feels like a human–at least, for the most part of this book. One of the things I loved about Mila’s re-introduction is that we’re not bombarded with paragraphs describing what happened in the previous book. You’re expected to know how Mila’s life has changed without needing a prompting from the author, which shows trust in the reader (which is awesome).
Driza does an excellent job of making us empathize with Mila as she faces rejection and unforeseen enemies, but she also reminds us of Mila’s differences. It’s this push and pull in the narrative that makes us aware of how complex Mila’s world can be. We can’t just simply love her or hate her, just like she can’t simply be a human or an android. Our emotions are invested in this character because, ultimately, we want her to survive and be what she wants to be, but unlike Pinocchio, there’s no magic fairy to save Mila.
The adventure aspect of the novel was awesome. I felt like I was going to overdose on action and suspense, since I’ve just read two awesome books in a row that feature these two genres. The cool thing about these genres is that rather than making the story lag, it speed things up; adding to the urgency of the situations. The betrayals, the heartbreak, the rejections; they all add up to one explosive conclusion that I did not see coming. At all.
While I normally would say, oh no, another long series?, MILA 2.0 is not finished yet. There are still so many questions left unanswered, people to help, and a lack of acceptance that still eludes Mila. I want the antagonists in this series to realize that Mila is more than an android with debilitating emotions. She is a powerfully imperfect female role model that accepts that in order to be stronger, she needs to know the weakness of emotions.
This is, surprisingly, a fairly quick read. Though the writing is dense and may, at first, appear a bit overwhelming, you’ll quickly become too involved with the story to realize how scared you were at first.
I recommend this series to readers who love Science Fiction, adventure, suspense, and anything to do with androids and how they relate to humanity.
I give Renegade:
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Happy reading!
