Redemption

MILA 2.0 #3

by Debra Driza

Mila has been running for her life for so long. But there might be nowhere left for her to go. Especially now that she’s an incredible danger to herself and anyone who dares get close to her.

That’s why Mila has gone into hiding with friend and tech expert Lucas. She can’t take the risk of hurting people worse than the way she hurt Hunter: the boy she’ll always love, the boy who might never forgive her for what she’s done.

But then Mila discovers that General Holland—her ultimate enemy—has plans that are an even bigger threat to humanity than she is. His quest to reclaim Mila is only part of a larger mysterious endgame that will put people’s lives at stake. Mila must make a choice: either push aside her fears and fight him with everything she’s got…or turn her back on the world forever.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy, Audiobook, Thriller, Fiction

408 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 2016

About the author

I'm the author of the MILA 2.0 series and the owner of the messiest purse on the planet, aka: the black hole of doom. I think bow ties are cool and when I grow up, I want to be Veronica Mars.

I rarely check my account at Goodreads, so if you need to get in touch with me, try twitter or Debra at debradriza.com.

Reviews

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well EXPLETIVE!

I am honestly proud of Debra for that dramatic and fitting conclusion.

3.5 Stars.

Overall, I enjoyed this series despite my dislike of yearny romances and overally angsty characters. LETHAL TEEN ANDROID BEING HUNTED BY NEFARIOUS GROUPS SO SHE CAN BE USED AS A DEADLY WEAPON. That's the good stuff right there. Not teens making moon eyes at each other. It's a question of what makes sense for the story development and finding the right balance and way to express this. The romance in this story made sense. I won't say why because of spoilers. However, it was too instalove and too 'they complete me' and too 'I can't breathe when they are near but can't live without them' for my tastes. That being said, I think this is a good series to have in a YA library.

3.5 Stars

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a middle of the road series for me. Each book had things I liked and things I didn't like. There were many elements I liked in this final book, but I do think this story has gotten away from the original premise. It seemed to morph into something else (though related) and I didn't feel like there was much payoff with the final conflict.

I think you'd like this if you like stories that explore what it means to be human. There are good messages about emotions and acceptance. There is a love interest with a disability.

I enjoyed my binge listen (the narrator took some getting used to at first but then she grew on me) but I do not think I would have enjoyed these nearly as much if I had read them as they came out with large gaps between each one. So I'd recommend a binge read.

[Debra Driza]

Sooo, I've been seeing some talk about who Mila might end up with in the last book--is it Hunter, or Lucas? Neither, or both? Quinn, or General Holland? (Okay, so maybe I never saw anyone talk about those last options. But still.)

I want to thank you all for waiting so patiently for REDEMPTION. Hopefully you'll find it worth the wait! I can tell you that there is quite a bit of Lucas-time in this book (yay, Lucas fans!), and also, that Mila ends up with---------

(Seriously, you didn't think I was really going to spill, right? Thanks again for your patience--not long now!--and happy reading! :)

xo
Deb

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA that doesn’t suck! Finally!



This is the conclusion of the Mila 2.0 trilogy, though there could potentially be another book. Reading the previous books is highly recommended.

Mila spends most of the time this book with Lucas, who is a great character, as they try to figure out how to stop the villain Holland once and for all. They decide to investigate the death of Sarah, the girl Mila was based on. There’s the mystery plus a bunch of harrowing near escapes—all three books are incredibly suspenseful and are among the most thrilling of thrillers.



There is kind of a love triangle, but the characters (unusual for YA) don’t have much time for romance. It’s well written. Pacing is great. Characterization is great. Font size and generous leading were pleasant on the eyes. An actual thrilling action/adventure, which are hard to find.

Some comments on the ending:

I got really worried when we were running out of pages and the heroes hadn’t made much progress. So I saw the end coming, hoped I was wrong, and was then devastated. So many feels! But I’m not sure how else it could have ended. Mila would be stuck forever as a teenager, opening the book to a completely different story to explore.



I stayed up late finishing the book and then was unable to fall asleep for a very long time because of it. This continued the next night too! So good job, Mrs. Driza.

Language: Mild
Sexual Content: None
Violence: Action/adventure violence; not graphic
Harm to Animals: None
Harm to Children: None
Other (Triggers): Betrayal

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many emotions plagued me as I finished this series: sorrow, longing, denial, satisfaction, but at the same time, so unsatisfied. I basically felt like this -


How can this be the end?! There has to be more to the story. Too many threads left untied. Too many characters left without a real ending. Take Lucas for example. By the end of the first book we are enamored with him for he is truly the only one that fully accepts Mila - androidness and all. However, the end of the third book just leaves him wanting. Lucas, so dependable Lucas, has to be able to find a way to fix what appears to be unfixable. **sigh**

Don't get me wrong, I thought this was a great series; I'm just struggling with it being over and wanting (wishing I could demand) more.

"Choices. We always had choices." pg. 17

"We do the best that we can... If our choices turn out to have unintended consequences, then next time, we choose better. We grow and learn from our mistakes. And try to treat ourselves kindly along the way. That's what people do." pg. 65

"Redemption didn't always lie in the forgiveness and approval of others. Sometimes, it had to be born inside ourselves, nurtured into bloom by conviction. Still. Forgiveness was nice." pg. 357

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 3 out of 5]

Οφείλω να αναγνωρίσω πως η συγγραφέας έχει κάνει μεγάλα βήματα από βιβλίο σε βιβλίο, με το 3ο να έχει το πιο ισορροπημένο τέμπο και κατ' επέκτασιν, τον καλύτερο ρυθμό, αν και ο αναγνώστης πρέπει να είναι ιδιαίτερα προσεχτικός κατά την διάρκεια της ανάγνωσής του, προκειμένου να μην του διαφύγουν λεπτομέρειες που μπορούν να του δώσουν σημαντικές απαντήσεις αργότερα. Ωστόσο, συνολικά, η σειρά δεν είναι κάτι το ιδιαίτερο, όχι τόσο γιατί στερείται πρωτοτυπίας, αλλά επειδή δεν καταφέρνει ν' αφήσει το στίγμα της.

[Allison Turner]

This needs to come out ... Like now

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I read this book with no memory of books 1 and 2.

Here's the thing, authors always write a brief summary at the beginning of books because each book is about a year apart so readers need to remember what the previous book was about. I always hated that part about books. But Redemption (a lovely and perfect title) did not have a good enough summary to make me remember. So it becomes ironic that I really needed that summary, but this book failed to give a clear one.

Redemption explained the purpose behind MILA, but at the same time, all the additional characters needed to create more android/humans and the purpose of Mila specifically wasn't much explained.

I understood Sarah's purpose but what I didn't understand was why she was so unique.

But in the end, the ending was incredibly sad, yet so abrupt and forced.

Sacrifice and redemption are hard to accomplish and achieved, yet the strong are brave enough to try. Mila, at the end, proved such bravery and will power to see what was right. Lucas as well.

[Courtney]

LOOK AT THAT COVER! LOOK HOW GORGEOUS IT IS!

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK! DEBRA TWEETED ME AND TOLD ME THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE LUCAS IN THIS BOOK AND THAT'S ALL I REALLY WANT OKAY LUCAS LUCAS LUUUUCCCASSSSS

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Dschaper54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this trilogy, however, with that said I did not like the ending. It was nothing like I expected which is usually awesome but not this time. I would like to hear what others think.

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot how long it had been since I read the first two books in this trilogy - in pretty quick succession, too, if I remember correctly. Because of that long gap, it took me a while to get up to speed when starting this third and final book, and as a result, I found it a little hard to keep focused on the first half of the book or so. But then the second half, when Mila and company make their way to an elite boarding school linked to the conspiracy surrounding her creation, that's when the action really picks up and reminds me why I got into this trilogy (one of the more underrated pieces of YA lit out there) to begin with.

All of that action builds up, on and on into the final pages, and does NOT let up. Especially at the very end of the book, which boasts one of the most "WTF?" endings in YA history. No kidding.

To Mila 2.0, I now say ave atque vale.

[Madeleine Knutsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 3 stars but I was so disapointed with the ending so thats why I rated it only 2 stars.

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

*quietly ships Lucas and Mila*

[Erica Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2024
Eh a lot of buildup to a not awesome ending

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking it over....it had to end this way. I enjoyed all 3 books in the Mila 2.0 trilogy. Not my usual cup of tea, but the author did a great job of keeping me interested. Just enough android hi-tech aspects to keep me reading.

I also suspect this could not be the end if the author choose to extend the series. Here is a vote for a 4th book!

[David Swager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much teenage angst in this one. I understand the whole self-doubt concept with respect to teenagers and having an android with feelings as a teenager compounds that with the "what does it mean to be human" and do I qualify aspect, but make the point and move on. This is book 3 already.

***SPOILER***
Not a fan of the tragic ending. The whole concept of the melding of the android and human parts of Mila was the interesting part and should have been explored more in depth. And the suicide ending defeated the whole redemption aspect. It wasn't for a noble cause or because it had to be, it was giving up just when there was something to "live" for. It was precisely the act of killing Sarah again.

[Belle]

Still waiting to read book two. Really hoping I'll like it, but either way I'm going to look forward to the cover and title release for book three. Both the covers and titles for first two books have been really interesting so far.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

But..

WHY!!

[Jaden Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read any Mila 2.0 books in a couple years, so I'm proud of myself for actually remembering the characters and general plot.

The writing style was different from many books I've read recently and took some adjusting to. Driza wrote like the author of the Testing series did: more into telling emotions and thought processes than showing them. While some authors show the character's emotions more through actions and dialogue, I think Driza just tells you how Mila's feeling. Nothing wrong with that, just a different writing style that I've noticed while reading various books.

I liked Mila and Lucas and their relationship. It was a good example of friendship between a guy and girl without anything romantic about it. They were an efficient, productive team, each using their best set of skills to work out problems. Then there was Hunter; oh how he changed. I felt like his change was a tad drastic, even though some of his animosity was understanble since Mila did kill his step dad but she was under brain control by Quinn. So really, Hunter should be mad at Quinn more.. Most of the other secondary characters weren't too interesting because I felt like their appearance in the book was very linear. One after another interacted with Mila but they never interacted with each other. They seemed flat, like they had no other purpose for existing except to help Mila. Once they got to the school, though, the minor characters became more interesting.

I liked the mystery part of the book best. Not the characters, not the even the sci-fi parts, just really the mystery and school conspiracy. Note on that: because they somtimes use code names, a couple times they made editing mistakes. For example, one girl named Abby had a code name of Annie but was called Abby by someone that only knew her by Annie.

The ending was the only thing that I disliked. I hate when a trilogy ends on a cliffhanger! Prime example is champion by Marie Lu. Now that one killed me. But this one just felt unfinished. There were still many loose ends that weren't tied up by the last sentence. I wanted more explanations.

Anyway, Mila 2.0: redemption is a fun read and a good conclusion to the series. I'd recommend this trilogy for younger teens that like a combination of sci-fi, mystery, and action with a little romance.

[Gertie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series, and this was a good addition.

Silly me assumed this was the end of the series. Not only isn't it, but it ends on a MAJOR cliffhanger. If I'd known that I would have waited for #4 to come out... though I wonder if #4 will be the last one? I really will try to pay more attention from now on.

[Céline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book. This book! THIS BOOK!!!

Warning: possible minor spoilers ahead.

I was onboard from the first page, where Mila and Lucas were hiding out in a quiet cabin in the mountains. A little after that, I admit I felt the story started dragging a bit, feeling a sense of deja vu for a good chunk (except with Lucas instead of Hunter, and different people they were looking for answers from), but then once the gang got together, I was SO onboard again!

I really liked the relationship between Mila and Lucas; it was sweet, but still different than that between her and Hunter. I also just really liked the relationships between the different characters in general. The tensions and differences between how certain characters viewed things, and how relationships changed and developed, kept things realistic and interesting.

I LOVED the mystery that came about surrounding the prep school; it had a sense of first-book mysteriousness that I really liked (as in, I could easily see it being the central plot of its own first book). It kept the story fresh and new, even though it was halfway through the third book.

While I became really attached to the main characters, I wish we'd had a little more time with some of the supporting characters. I liked them, but didn't feel a strong connection with any of them. There were also a few continuity errors that annoyed me, in addition to some technical details and connections made that I didn't feel were explained clearly enough (though the latter is highly possibly due to me not taking enough time to stop and think about it to make sure I understood).

And then that foreshadowing. Yeah, that. Fantastically done. Maybe I'm blind, but I totally didn't pick up on that until after it happened. I mean...as the climax was going, I started anticipating what was going to happen, but I didn't make the connection between that and the foreshadowing until afterwards.

Then...the ending. I don't often cry in books. I will often get teary-eyed, sometimes enough for one or two tears to fall, but actual crying is pretty seldom. Despite the fact that I knew what was coming, I cried. The android with a heart...it is definitely thought-provoking, and I will be thinking about this for a long time to come.

[Hadia Aslamy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay so I had SO many problems with this book.

For starters, the last time I read a book in this series was in 2014, so I remember like NONE OF IT. I forgot all the characters, the story, the villain, the problem, everything. I just remembered what Mila was.

Before, in 2014, I guess I could see (sort of) why I found this book series to be good. And maybe the earlier books were good. But this one just had too many problems.

First of all, the storyline seemed to go NO WHERE at times. I was startled when I realized I was 200 pages in the book and I was still waiting for something to happen.

Other times, the action and plot seemed rushed, making it difficult to keep up.

The ending. Holy crap. This is not a good holy crap. I've never been a fan of the main character dying, and this book did exactly that. But here's the thing; Mila's death was so POINTLESS. It didn't solve the problem at all. If anything, I feel like it may have caused more problems. I honestly think that was a lazy way to end the story. I understand that authors have the MC die sometimes. But it's usually for a PURPOSE. This was my problem with Allegiant by Veronica Roth, and this is my problem with this book.

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The end was awful. There are huge spoilers and it gets a little ranty. They accomplished nothing. The company or military can simply appoint a new head of the MILA project. Also what happened to any other characters? And Mila's feelings for Hunter are there and then they're not. She flips to Lucas and never really looks back after mooning after Hunter for 2 whole books. The bomb was another thing that wasn't done well. They spend the whole book worrying about it and then it's like lol there was no actual danger but that was a fun experience. Lucas says that the location on the bomb is a place or person and I think it would have been much better if the trigger was something Mila couldn't stay away from like Hunter or Daniel or even Sarah's old house. Moncton would have also been good, then she can't expose Holland without risking the liveees of everyone involved but no.

[Leanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS SO AMAZING!!! I have seriously fell in love with this series. it's one I can read again and probably again. it's action pact and leaves on the edge of your seat.
honestly I just can't express the emotion this series has put me through.

Mila is definitely the most awesome female character I have ever seen. she is amazing. She will do ANYTHING to protect those she cares about.

I loved her and Lucas in this book, Lucas truly cares for her and doesn't care about what she is. His description if what a heart was so beautiful ♡♡. He treats Mila like a real person, the way she deserves to be treated. and he always understands her even she doesn't understand herself and that made him my favorite male character.

This is definitely a favorite series. ♡.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would totally give this book 5 stars if it had a better, and less sorrowful, ending. How can that be the end? When I saw that Lucas's sentence was cut off and it went straight for the acknowledgements, I literally cried inside.

I was just like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I mean, the series was great. But reading all 3 dang books for that kind of ending???? Please, someone tell me that there is another one coming? (spoiler alert) That maybe Lucas figured out a way to bring Mila back? Some sort of chip with the memories? Like Baymax??? BAYMILA??

[Brianna Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

all i remember is not being able to function as a normal human being for two months after reading this book. the ending wrecked me.

[Raney Simmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

To view on Rainy Day's Books, Video Games and Other Writings: https://rainyday.blog/2018/02/24/book...

After getting to the end of this book, I can definitely say I enjoyed reading Redemption. While the ending itself made me want to cry, the overall direction Debra Driza takes this last book in the trilogy was really enjoyable to read. I felt like we finally got the real answers we needed as to why Sarah (the person who Mila used to be) died in the fire and found out what Holland was planning on doing next.

I found the way the story developed to be quite surprising. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but I went with it because I wanted to see where this would all end up. I also enjoyed reading about Mila’s relationship with Lucas. You could tell there was a good connection there and I really wanted to see where it’d go. While I like Hunter’s character, I found that I actually like Lucas better because he’s understood Mila since the beginning and still wants to help her find out the truth. And at this point in the story, Hunter and Mila’s relationship is pretty much dead anyway.

One of my favorite things about Redemption is the amount of detective work the characters do to find out the truth about Holland and what he’s plotting. In particular, the last half of the book where they are in the school trying to find out what’s going on with the scholarship recipient students. It’s quite an interesting plot in the story I wasn’t at all expecting because then we realize how big of a threat Holland truly is.

I also enjoyed that redemption was a big part of the story too. It came into play with Mila gaining back the trust of some of Quinn’s members of the Vita Obscura and Holland at the end of the book. Because after the events in Renegade, a lot of the characters are still weary of Mila and whether she’s really someone who can be trusted. The same is said with Holland because he is given a choice to make at the end of the story, which I feel like I can’t really get into without ruining the end of this trilogy. But it’s definitely a big choice, I can say for sure.

As the last book in this trilogy that I’ve enjoyed reading, there were still some things I didn’t quite enjoy about this one. For starters, while I enjoyed seeing a connection blossom between Mila and Lucas, I hated that the beginning of Redemption was pretty much the same as Renegade, except that Lucas is the boy with Mila instead of Hunter. But the plot pretty much starts out the same there because they both look together to try and connect Sarah’s death with Holland and to find out what he’s planning on doing next.

I also wasn’t quite fond of the way Driza decided to end this trilogy. I hated it because I felt like Mila deserved so much better after everything she’s gone through and it actually made me want to cry. But it also didn’t really tell us much either because we don’t know what happens with the other characters afterwards. Mind you, I wasn’t exactly expecting this trilogy to have a super happy ending or anything. I was expecting it to have a neat resolution though, and I feel like that didn’t really happen.

I think as a trilogy though, I think that’s one of my biggest problems with it. Because while I’ve enjoyed reading this trilogy overall, I just feel like there’s something missing in the plot. I guess the best way to describe it would be to say that it’s rushed so certain things that happen in the trilogy don’t necessarily make sense to me. The best example that comes to mind for me right now is the Vita Obscura group as a whole. From the beginning of the trilogy, the author made this group sound like it was huge with a lot of members in it. However, the only members of the group that come to help Mila out with uncovering the truth about Holland are the ones she interacts with in Renegade. Then, there’s everything that happens with Holland in general that’s full of plot holes. I know that Mila as an android is supposed to be a secretive military operation that not too many people are supposed to know about. But besides Holland, Quinn, Nicole and Daniel, there weren’t too many other key players who knew about Mila. To me though, that just seemed too convenient because I feel like more people would’ve played a part in Mila’s creation, therefore they’d be playing a big part in the story.

And that’s one of my biggest problems with this trilogy. The story being told overall is unique, amazing and everything I want to read in a science fiction, young adult story. But there’s just so much with the plot that doesn’t add up, isn’t fully explained that makes it hard to wrap your head around and accept what’s been told to you.

However, I still enjoyed reading this trilogy and was sad to see it come to an end, even if the ending isn’t at all what I wanted for Mila. It left me feeling emotionally sad to be done with these books, but also looking forward to whatever book I decide to read next.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

*This is just a generalization of all three books (book 1: 4 stars, book 2: 4 stars, book 3: 3 stars)

*I thought the series as a whole was an interesting concept. Lots of action to start but I felt as the series progressed, the action seemed to decrease when it should have increased.
*No matter who Mila was around, she wanted to fit in. I get it but the first book she annoyed me with trying to fit in with the ‘mean girls’ like why go through to torture to fit in? I’m just glad that she found someone that liked her for who she was. No forcing or pretending.
*Mila is a cool girl. She’s really one of a kind even though General Hollard says otherwise. Also with her being different, she can figure out how to get out of tough situations in a non-conventional way.
*I liked how Mila discovered what she is (and that was due to her mean girl friend) and how she continued the series finding out more about what had happened, who she is, and to make sure it doesn’t continue to happen.
*The instalove kinda sucked. It seemed forced and I’m glad the story veered away from this person in the third book.
*General Holland got what he deserved because he just sucked but I wish he was dragged through the mud more.
*I like the twist that came to Hunter and his family in the second book. Though I predicted that was going to happen, I still liked it because it brought them to this other group of people. But of course, there was only one bad apple in the group. Don’t worry this person doesn’t stay long. There was a couple stand up people and they had more of a part in the third book.
*The way the series ended. It was sad but I can see why it went that way. Wish it didn’t though because I wanted to know about the aftermath. Like did the group announce it to the world? What happened to these other kids? What happened to the betrayer? So many questions that didn’t get answered.

[sy · Rating 1 out of 5]

stopped reading at page 137 and skimmed read the rest

life is too short to read books you are not interested in. i realised that i was just forcing myself to trudge through the pages and the writing just does not interest me.

i read the first 2 books many years ago and i do not remember anything, except that Mila is an andriod and Hunter is her love interest. i vaguely remember that i enjoyed the first 2 books but my taste in YA has changed drastically since becoming an adult so LOL

while Mila/Lucas's relationship wasn't insta-love, i found myself really annoyed by it LOL i just did not buy the chemistry and the fact that it was a love triangle between Mila/Lucas/Hunter just made me even more :/ also, completely destroying Hunter's character in this book after Mila was in love with him for the first 2 books just....no. you do not have to destroy the 1st love interest's character just to justify the main character's relationship with the 2nd love interest. Lucas was a really boring character and he sounds like a cringey self help book

the plot...was kinda predictable. i found the writing boring and juvenile. the reveal that Holland was creating android teenagers as soldiers to sell to foreign countries made me LOL. the ending where Mila committed suicide to sacrifice herself...meh....i don't buy this ending, it doesn't make much sense and seems pointless. so what if Holland dies...hes not even a scientist and his research won't die with him so his organization can still continue his work and create another Mila anyway

the other supporting characters seem to exist only to help Mila LOL

but yay to finally striking this book off my 'to read' list and finishing the trilogy LOL