Hum

Bookseller recommendation

“Set in the near yet distant future where AI is integrated in all things, a mother makes extreme sacrifices after being laid off (truly replaced by AI) to ensure her family can survive. This is uncomfortable commentary on technology addiction, the endless reach of AI, and how even doing the right thing can me viewed as wrong. Hum will leave you rethinking if you need to make the time to read the Terms & Conditions that we mindlessly accept.”

— Jenny • E. Shaver, bookseller

Bookseller recommendation

“Helen Phillips takes us on a wild, anxious ride into the (near?) future: an AI-driven world. Fast-paced and tense, Hum ponders the current state of technology and its effect on human behavior. A brilliant, futuristic page-turner!”

— Caroline • Andover Bookstore

Bookseller recommendation

“A fascinating take on the rise of AI and our potential future relationship to it. With facial recognition completely pervasive and necessary for everything from purchasing a piece of gum to accessing buildings, semi-anthropomorphic AI robots assist and guard everything. Taking this as the baseline, Helen Phillips doesn't dwell on this aspect of her story, instead deciding to focus on May, a mother, wife, and recently unemployed, who decides that in order to bring in a little extra money to tide them over until she finds a new job, that she will undergo a surgery that will make her invisible to facial recognition. Throughout Hum Phillips exposes fraught elements of our society that we take for granted and inquires after the costs of our allowances to technological innovation in our lives. What does it mean that many of us have phones that continually listen to our every day encounters and mine that for how to better sell us products? Are we destined for a world where consumerism trumps everything else, and the ability to make ends meet is an ever-dwindling prospect? Though this could easily be a dystopian tale of woe, Phillips is able to focus the story on May and her family in such a way that the negative aspects of this future do not hinder the appreciation of the characters; after all, this is just a story about a simple person trying to give her family a holiday from their troubles. Aren't we all allowed that at some point?”

— Roxanne • Odyssey Bookshop

Bookseller recommendation

“A dystopian look at cities, families, and AI in the future. Written in a taut, suspenseful, blunted style, one family goes through some very difficult times, just trying to survive. I listened on Libro.fm to this well produced story. ”

— Melanie • The Well-Read Moose

Bookseller recommendation

“Hum dragged me in and didn't let me go. Hum took place in a world that was a little too close to reality. This is told from the perspective of a mother named May, who partakes in an experiment that alters her face so it won’t be recognized by security. Fed Up with her family’s addiction to devices, she uses the money from her surgery to go to botanical gardens in her city. The botanical gardens that May once saw as an oasis, turn into something much dark and more sinister. Blending ideas from our reality and maybe our future, Hum is a page-turner. While reading the book, I had a deep sense of dread in my chest, and I found myself gripped in suspense. ”

— Izzy • Off the Beaten Path

Bookseller recommendation

“An intriguing take on how AI will take over our society, from a female lead perspective. We are already seeing the impact of screens have on children but how could change the landscape for parenting as a whole? ”

— Kathryn • Copperfield's Books

Bookseller recommendation

“A very true, raw, and interesting look at the not-so-distant future. Really good story involving AI… the ending really makes you think. ”

— Brandy • Watermark Book Company

Bookseller recommendation

“This thrilling dystopian sci-fi was intense and anxiety provoking!! Forests and wild animals are a thing of the past, and there are robots called Hums that coexist with humans. When May loses her job to AI, in order to keep her family afloat, she undergoes an experimental surgery that makes her face unrecognizable to AI. The unforeseen consequences of this decision slowly escalate, putting her entire family at risk, until she is forced to trust a Hum to save her children. This book is very fast paced, eye opening, and so relatable in so many areas that we are currently dealing with—AI, technology, climate change, screen time, and unrealistic expectation of mothers. ”

— Sandra • Underground Books