Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Noemi Vidal has volunteered to die for her planet Genesis, which is focused on religious freedom, conservation of resources, and living life with as little technology as possible. Abel is an android with advanced programming to make him evolve into something close to human. He works only to protect his creator, who also created the hordes of AI that work for and fight for Earth. Earth is ideologically opposite of Genesis and at war with them. When Noemi stumbles across Abel and he isn't able to contact his creator, Abel follows Noemi absolutely and is forced to help her crusade despite being on the opposite side. Being so ideologically opposite and isolated, both start to question what they've been taught when exposed to other ideas.

Defy the Stars is a human/AI romance amidst two planets at war. It's a typical romance trope to throw two people together who hate each other only to have them grow to love each other, but I very much enjoyed it. The story is told in alternating chapters from Abel and Noemi's point of view. Abel is the most interesting character by far because he is self reflective and constantly questioning things about the world and himself. His picture of it broadens as he learns more and more about the world and his place in it. Noemi is more focused on her faith, souls, the will of her god, and questioning the holes in the answers her faith provides. They both started out extreme, raised in their respective planets, and slowly come together in the middle by being exposed to the others ideas. I personally don't like Genesis as a planet that suppresses technology and sacrifices its people for no real reason, but Earth isn't much better consuming planets by polluting them beyond repair and moving on to the next.

Their story had me interested up until one point that isn't even very important to the main story, but made me incredibly angry. When Noemi and Abel become separated, both have the same idea of breaking out a unrepentent terrorist named Riko from prison who bombed a popular music concert and killed hundreds. If that's not enough, after getting her out, the narration muses if Riko can compromise with someone who shares her values but abhors violence. Wow. How is this even a question? Why did both main characters think she didn't belong in jail? Releasing her is the action of a villain, not a hero. In the real world, it would be like breaking out someone who shot up a rock concert or a school or bombed a crowd of people and saying if only we could compromise. That implies that their terrorism has any sort of validity, which completely disgusts me. You don't get second chances after acts like this no matter what your values are. I don't know why this was included, especially in this time where incidences such as this have become much more common.

Defy the Stars has good world building, compelling characters, and enjoyable narration. This one detail really angered me and almost had me not finish the book. It occured so close to the end that I just finished it, but it marred my entire experience with the book. I'm really surprised that no other reviews I've read have mentioned this at all. I will not be reading the rest of this series and I am seriously thinking about chucking the rest of Claudia Gray's books in the trash.

My rating: 1/5 stars

LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Eve is only trying to survive with her sickly grandpa. She only has a few credits left and fights malfunctioning robots in a mech for money, but a rigged game has her losing and exposing a power to disrupt electronics with her mind. Her power is considered deviant by the Brotherhood and they will stop at nothing to hunt her down. On top of this, a lifelike or android named Ezekiel approaches her calls her by a different name. Then her whole world falls apart around her. Along with Ezekiel, her best friend Lemon Fresh, and her voice of reason bot Cricket, Eve needs to remember her past and save her loved ones.

LIFEL1K3 is like Max: Fury Road, Pinnochio, and Blade Runner all smooshed together. The world is almost unrecognizable. California is its own island because of an earthquake. Corporations are fighting against each other in War 4.0. The Brotherhood rules all with a fantical iron fist. Abnorms and deviates came from proximity to radiation which can result in some pretty spectacular powers. There are all different types of artificial intelligence from lifelikes (now illegal) to logika to bots to blitzhunds, descending in complexity. People can be enhanced cybernetically like Eve is. She was shot in the head as a child, so her eye is robotic along with some of her skull. Technology enhances peoples lives and also irreparably destroys them.

The characters are all lovely people that I rooted for the entire time. Eve has a fauxhawk and a tough attitude with skills to back it up, only necessary living in this time. Her friendship with Lemon Fresh is super supportive, equal, and awesome. Cricket has a bit of a Napoleon complex, but he is the voice of reason throughout the novel. Ezekiel is a literal coin operated boy and developed a relationship with Eve. He's fiercely loyal and fights through anything. This band of misfits (plus a blitzhund) travel around getting into scrapes and fighting their way out of it one way or another. Their dialogue is hilarious to read. Though the story is pretty fantastical and science fiction, the book is at its core about finding where you fit in and choosing your family.

LIFEL1K3 is a crazy in your face science fiction adventure with family and friendship in the center of it all. I did have a few problems with it. Some of the action sequences didn't make sense to me in the way they were described. For instance, there are people shooting pretty close and a storm with literal glass in it, but the main characters get out without a scratch. What??? However, I really loved the ending. It's a bit of a gut punch but totally makes sense and makes me want the next book NOW.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Mila 2.0

Mila lives with mother in a boring, tiny Minnesota town. She's used to bigger cities and larger populations, but due to her father's death, her mom felt they needed a change of scenery. Mila has gaps in her memory and doesn't remember when her father died or even if she was there when it happened. Needless to say, she is overwhelmed with dealing with her emotions, adapting to her new surroundings, dealing with her overbearing mother, and coping with the death of her father. A car accident that leaves Mila injured uncovers a shocking secret that her mother tried to keep from her: she's actually an android. Now, she and her mother have to run because the government and another mysterious organization are after them. While running from people who want to kidnap her, Mila has to come to grips with her newly discovered state of being and the relationship with her mother that was essentially built on lies.

There have been a few teen series with artificial intelligence as the focus and they seem to be quite similar to each other. I had a set of expectations going into Mila 2.0 because of this, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it didn't follow the typical formula I had become familiar with. The first part of the story establishes Mila as normal teenage girl in a very emotional situation. She keeps to herself and is very shy, but has her own circle of friends. Her social life is thrown into turmoil when Hunter, a mysterious and hot boy, comes to live in the small town. Her friends turn on her when Hunter shows her more interest and this leads to the car accident and revelation of her true nature. I hated her best friend Kaylee, who dropped Mila over a random boy she doesn't even know, but the portrayal is disturbingly accurate. Although I'm usually not a fan of cliche romances, I didn't mind this one. The actual romance is paper thin and based on instalove, but the reason it is there is necessary. It gives Mila something that is only hers, not manufactured by her mother or the people who made her, and it cements her humanity. It's a small portion of the book, but gives her an anchor and something to fight for when she feels despair.

The next portion of the book follows Mila and her mother on the run. Mila finds out what she is and has to process that information. She could have just allowed her anger and despair to consume her, but she pushes through. Not only does she have to rethink her entire self image, but she also has to figure out how to use all her android programming as uncomfortable as that makes her in order to survive. Their journey also makes her differentiate how much of her memories and personality are programmed and how much are hers. The rest of the story is emotional, exciting, heartstopping, and addicting. I love the third act the most because it gives insight into one of the groups out to get her and shows how her humanity and emotions make her a unique hybrid that has the best of both worlds.

Mila 2.0 is a wonderful debut novel. It isn't perfect, but the writing flows well and kept me reading for hours on end. I can't wait for the next book in the series and I would recommend this installment to fans of science fiction and artificial intelligence stories.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins