Phillips wonderfully captures the near future of AI and the erasure of individual thought. Hum peers into our near reality and pulls at every anxiety of the reader. The novella follows a family whose relationships are tumultuous and growing more distant every page on a vacation to a utopian garden where there is nature and clean air. However, the family is reminded that big brother is watching everywhere even in the blissful gardens.

Thank you to Simon element at Marysue Rucci Books and NetGalley for the arc!

Timely dystopia for these days where we give away a lot of information and control to AI and other little helpers. I don't know of what day and age this story was telling, but I found it little too disturbing to sell one's face to get some money to be able to pay rent. I have this weird feeling that it might be closer than I think.

We meet May on an operation table where her face was getting slightly altered in exchange for a sum of money and this would make her unrecognizable by the tracker cameras. However, this operation would make her unrecognizable to anyone else. Needing money and not having a job, this sounded like a good deal to May. Unfortunately, just like every other too good to be true deals, this one had a catch too. A catch, she might realize when it was too late.

We had good old cell phone dystopias, then came internet dystopias, followed by Covid dystopias. Now we are at AI dystopias. Scare tactics stayed the same, means to scare changed over the years. I expect few more of these to come in near future, but this one I think has that first mover advantage. Let's see what else is in the store

*Hum* is a gripping speculative fiction novel that delves into the challenges of family and identity in a world ravaged by climate change and advanced technology. When May loses her job to AI, her desperate attempts to alleviate her family's financial woes lead her to undergo an extreme transformation that masks her identity from the pervasive surveillance of society. Her decision to take her family on a tech-free retreat to the Botanical Garden—a lush sanctuary amidst a crumbling world—reveals deeper tensions as they confront their dependence on devices and the fragility of their connections. This taut narrative offers a thought-provoking exploration of motherhood, resilience, and the complexities of modern life, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the intersections of technology and humanity. Readers will appreciate how Helen Phillips deftly combines urgency and emotional depth, making *Hum* a powerful reflection on our current dilemmas and potential futures.

Speculative fiction at its finest- and scariest! This novel is suspenseful while tackling themes of motherhood, identity, and the unknown... Every page buzzes with tension, and Phillips' writing is both poetic and razor-sharp. I couldn’t put it down—her ability to make the ordinary seem compelling and vice versa is *chef's kiss* If you love psychological thrillers that make you question reality, this one’s a must-read!

As a fan of the Netflix limited series "Maniac," and commentaries on advertising, I enjoyed this novel, although I am not sure "enjoy" is the right work. Reading this made me feel anxious, paranoid, and scared for my future and my children's futures (I don't have children but it was that intense). I understand the author's perspective, but I am not sure I am any better off after reading this. It made me feel a little sick, but i that Black Mirror way that made me appreciate the freedoms I do have now, including that when my friends text me, I know it's not an advertisement...

This was such a thought-provoking novel about what the future of AI robots might look like. This novel has stuck with me and would be great for a book club discussion.

A vision of a near future where human reliance on technology devolving into an even more anxious lifestyle. It explores what robots and AI may do to the human need for fulfilling work and how good parenting can get twisted by videos on social media.

Welp, this book is going to make it easily into my top 10 for 2024. I was promised a book about climate change and advancing technology but I wasn’t prepared for the dark social commentary. Phillips is an incredible writer and I felt every part of this book so deeply.

Short chapters kept me moving along and even when not much was happening with the plot I couldn’t put this one down. I got Vandermeer vibes from the universe that Phillips crafted, and Vonnegut vibes from how masterfully this book made me go “ohhhhh” when I drew a parallel to reality.

I think anyone with an addiction to their phone and comfort devices should read this one, along with anyone remotely interested in scifi and climate fiction. I genuinely can’t wait to read more from this author even though I anticipate that it will scare the sh!t out of me all over again!

**Thank you to Simon Books and Marysue Rucci Books for the physical copy of this gorgeous and unapologetic novel and to NetGalley for the eARC!!**

This book started off slow for me. I felt like about 30% of it could have been trimmed to make it an easier and quicker read. It wasn’t until I hit the 55% mark that I really became hooked, and after that, I finished the rest in one sitting.

The author did an excellent job of capturing the experience of motherhood—more so than many other books I’ve read. The anxieties, the pressure, and how all-consuming it is, impacting every relationship you have—she really nailed it.

While this book reads like science fiction, I can easily see this scenario becoming a reality in the next 10 years or so.

I loved this book. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump the last couple weeks, but once I started Hum by Helen Phillips I didn’t want to put it down. Definitely recommend! Thanks for the ARC!! @netgalley @marysueruccibooks @simonandschuster #hum #helenphillips #scifi #booksonmotherhood #bookstoread2024

Wow -- what an interesting, timely and well-written novel! Set in a climate-destroyed city in the near future, where scaringly humanistic A.I. robots called Hums are everywhere, offering unsolicited advice and constant nagging to approve purchases of things they are shilling. The story's protagonist, May, is fired from her A.I. job. so to help repay debt and make ends meet for her struggling family, she undergoes a face-altering procedure that makes her undetectable from surveillance. Her husband, Jem, does odd-jobs -- removing dead rats from traps being one of his specialties, and he is addicted to his phone, being especially obsessed with his job approval ratings. Their two young children, Sy and Lu, also are addicted to their A.I. watches called "bunnies," which are so attached to their wrists, that it is literally painful when their mom tries to remove them. The family members also spend an inordinate amount of time in their individual "wooms" (kind of like a womb), where they can escape to a sensory world of their choosing.

May -- without telling Jem -- signs the family up for a weekend trip to the city's Botanical Garden: a walled oasis with grass, forests, animals, waterfalls, even little strawberries to pick. They are assigned a cozy cottage with an outdoor shower, fruit trees, and delicious pastries that appear on their kitchen table every morning. It is ridiculously expensive, and the family really needs the money to pay bills, but they all quickly become enamored of the utopia-like environment, despite the ever-present Hums offering help and things to buy. It looks perfect, but of course, it's all basically a sham, because the crumbling world is visible through doors and windows in the walls.
Inevitably, something goes terribly wrong, and well, maybe, having all-knowing robots and surveillance around isn't so bad after all... is it?

This is speculative fiction that is all too possible. Climate change, A.I. concerns, class differences, dependence on technology, all fit into this highly recommended book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books, and the author for the ARC and the opportunity to review this novel.

In Hum by Helen Phillips, May and her family live in a world run by AI creatures called Hums. And, unfortunately, it's a world May helped to create through her tech job. She did such a good job of making AI work that she made her own position obsolete. Out of work, she's desperate for money. So desperate that when she's offered money for an experimental facial surgery, she accepts. The surgery only alters her appearance a little bit, making her unrecognizable to a Hum's facial recognition technology. With some of the money May earns, she buys her family a trip to the Botanical Garden where her children get to experience grass, waterfalls, and fresh air, free from the constraints of their tech devices.

But this trip is also where May's family encounters trouble, turning May into a viral sensation for all the wrong reasons. All May wants to do is provide for her family and be a good mom, but she finds herself fighting to keep custody of her children.

The book is very short with some chapters only being one page. I think I anticipated the book being more about the tech in this future world, as opposed to being about May's struggles mothering in this new world, longing for things long gone, and trying to be a good wife. This book is very much about family dynamics and how one generation relates to another.

It was interesting to read about a future world that might not be far off from our own. The kids are addicted to these wrist things called Bunnies. Facial recognition software knows who you are and everything about you. The air quality is terrible. However, the book definitely did not go in the direction that I thought it would. It would bring about some good discussion for a book club.

Hum is published by S&S/Marysue Rucci Books and is available to purchase now. I received a free book in exchange for this review.

In a NYC very near to our future, people have started losing their jobs to hums, AI generated "robots" who have been programmed to do any job that needs doing. May is a mother of two who has lost her job and agrees to an experimental facial procedure to earn some money. When she splurges on a trip away for the family she has no idea that it is not going to be the idyllic time she imagines. This was a fast-moving ride through a future that could very well be ours soon.

Hum, by Helen Phillips, is an anxiety-inducing look into a possible future ruled by AI and a constant barrage of advertising and needless consumerism. Driven by desperation, the main character agrees to a drastic medical procedure in exchange for much-needed money and then has to live with the resulting regret and unfortunate fall-out. The book mirrors how difficult it is in our own time to avoid the constant pull to buy more stuff that we don't need. I enjoyed the book, but then immediately felt the need to go declutter my house!

If you love…
✅ Severance by Ling Ma, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, and/or everything by Jeff VanderMeer and Katie Williams.
✅ Crawling out of your skin with discomfort over the way our world is very quickly looking more and more like the stories on these pages…
✅ Thinking about how intertwined humans and technology have become… For better or worse.
Congrats!! Because you'll both love this book and hate the world we live in 🤝

This might be a contender for best book of the year for me! It's such a solid addition to the genre of "oh shit is this what our world will become???" sci-fi/speculative fiction.

I caught myself wanting the perks in Phillips' world without the costs. Give me a woom! Give me a hum! Give me a bunny! Give me the bougie Botanical Garden that is basically an oasis vaca in a bubble! But… Don't give me a ruined earth with dangerous conditions as a result of global warming (sounding familiar?), or insanely steep prices that are so far out of reach for most people in order to stay alive or access basic human rights, like clean air or water (even more familiar?).

This book is devastating but, I think, so important to read before we're literally a part of its story. And that ending… You could see it coming but that doesn't stop it from hurting so much!!

A book that began with me being very interested in what it could do but sadly I quickly lost that interest and just kept waiting for the ending.

I seldom use the term "weirdly good" to describe a book, but that's the best way I can characterize Hum. I simply could not put it down! It both scared and intrigued me, evoking a sense of anxiety while also making me contemplate. Surprisingly, it even prompted a few chuckles from me, particularly with the constant AI ads, which I found rather humorous.

The book's setting immerses you in a not-so-distant future where technology reigns supreme. Personal smart devices, AI robots that perform most jobs, and ubiquitous cameras that record everything depict a society deeply intertwined with technology. May and her family deeply rely on technology and experience a sense of deprivation without it. Sound familiar?

Hum is a short novel (272 pages). However, Phillips's succinct prose still offers vast themes that provide contemplative discussions: climate change, the complexity of motherhood, how technology affects our human connection, the quest for authenticity, and how to survive in a digital world. I'm thankful I buddy-read this with @amy_alwaysreading and @rachellelovesbooks because I needed to sort through my thoughts, feelings, and story themes. I highly recommend grabbing a buddy to read this strangely wonderful book!

I was really waiting for the main character in this novel to make some sort of action or change in their life. Nothing ever seemed to happen though. I felt like I was reading the diary of someone that was clinically depressed but never got any help or tried to improve their circumstances. The author painted an interesting, if grim, world but never really had any action or movement within it.

Hmm this was an interesting picture of the future and certainly an immersive one. There was a lot that I liked, particularly the botanical garden but I do think the ending fell a bit flat for me. There were just one or two strands that felt like they were missing in the deeper connection between the hums and the humans that if pushed a little bit further I think would’ve made me feel more invested in the journey and satisfied by the ending. Given all that though, I’m still a sucker for sci-fi and this is a quick and interesting sci-fi read. I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man, what a disappointment for me. I don't know why I had hyped this one up so much in my head but it didn't live up to my expectations at all. I mean, a literary sci-fi horror sounds like perfection, but this one fell flat on all three accounts. I expected some sort of profoundness or existential thinking, but the literary mark didn't hit. The dystopian and hi-tech aspects were lack-luster. And it was more boring than thrilling. It really wasn't great for me. The main character was two dimensional. The children were obnoxious and for no reason given way too much weird dialogue that didn't make sense nor make me care about them. Even as short as it was, it was a struggle to finish this one.