Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

Can an android evolve to become human?  That is the possibility that drives Mila and her mom to flee from the CIA/military lab that wants to exploit her capabilities or neutralize her.   The story begins with teenage Mila adjusting to life on a ranch in a small, midwestern town as she mourns the sudden death of her beloved dad and struggles with the increasing emotional distance from her veterinarian mother.  An accident that should have killed or at least paralyzed Mila leaves her merely shaken, and with an obviously broken prosthetic arm.   Forced to explain the injury, Mila's mother tells her daughter that MILA is shorthand for Mobile Intel Lifelike Android and that they--scientist and creation, are actually in hiding from the head of the lab that oversaw the project.  The reader learns all of this in Part One, a section plagued by fairly pedestrian writing, including predictable descriptions and cardboard secondary characters: Mila's friend Kaylee, heartthrob Hunter, and picture-perfect Mom.  The pace picks up, however, once Mila's strangeness is out in the open and her pursuers converge on the ranch.  Parts Two, Three and Four cover Mila's and her mom's flight from and confrontation with General Holland, who plans to test her effectiveness as a weapon and destroy her if she fails. There is plenty of action and suspense as Mila faces one crisis after another and tries to hold on to her hopes to become more human, while the skills she needs to survive are those of a machine. "With every punch, I became less of the girl Mom had risked everything to save and more of the monster Holland desperately hoped for." Mila's questioning what it means to be human adds depth to the story and the final action sequences in Part Four makes this a satisfying read.