Hum: A Novel BY Helen Phillips

In Hum, named Most Anticipated by Goodreads, LitHub, and Book Riot, Helen Phillips delivers a gripping dystopian thriller set in a world ravaged by climate change and dominated by advanced technology. The city where May lives is plagued by intelligent robots known as “hums” and struggling with the fallout of global warming. When May loses her job to artificial intelligence, she’s driven to desperate measures to support her family’s mounting debt. She volunteers for an experimental procedure that alters her appearance to evade surveillance, hoping to buy her family some time.

Seeking a temporary escape from their grim reality and the addiction to their devices, May treats her family to a rare opportunity: three nights in the Botanical Garden, a lush sanctuary where nature thrives amidst the surrounding urban decay. However, her insistence that her family leave their devices behind leads to unforeseen complications. The once-peaceful refuge soon reveals its own challenges, and when May’s children face danger, her plans unravel.

May must navigate a precarious situation with the help of a hum whose motives are unclear. As she fights to protect her family and restore their security, she grapples with profound questions about marriage, motherhood, and identity. Phillips’ taut, urgent prose captures the tension and urgency of a world on the brink, blending dystopian and utopian elements to explore uncomfortable truths about our present and future. Jeff VanderMeer praises Phillips for her ability to illuminate contemporary issues through her speculative narrative.