Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Hum by Helen Phillips!

Hum by Helen Phillips is a chilling, all-too-real future dystopia where the only work left is gig work and the only thing left to sell is your personhood. The main character and her husband are raising their family, doing the best they can, when she decides to sell her face, basically. With the money, she takes her family on a vacation to a theme park-like experience in their city where nature is recreated.
I was torn apart by this book. The experience of parenting publicly already feels too real. Observable parenthood, plus our children being plugged in to screens all the time. The decisions she made felt so real. I highly suggest this book, especially for discussion in a book club setting. There's a lot of meat to take apart.

Helen Phillips’ Hum is a thought-provoking and imaginative novel that explores the boundaries of reality and human connection. With rich, lyrical prose and a dreamlike narrative, Phillips creates a world that is both surreal and deeply emotional. The characters are complex and beautifully drawn, and the story’s themes of memory, identity, and love resonate long after the final page. This is a unique and powerful read for anyone looking for a novel that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally rich.

This book hit a little too close to home with the state of the world right now. It almost felt like we were right around the corner from being able to relate directly to this book. It was eery but I gave it 4 stars because I just wish it touched a little bit more on character development.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

On the spectrum of dystopian novels, this one is relatively calm. It’s not gory at all (see The Grace Year below) but hits on issues of technological dependence and living in a surveillance state.

It follows a family living in a large city sometime in the future. All parts of society are supported by hums, intelligent robots that handle everything from the mundane to critically important government activities. Everything is tech-enabled — people watch videos in immersive “wombs” and all children wear something called a "Bunny” on their wrist that services as a friend and tracking device. There is very little access to nature; the city doesn’t seem to have any parks or green space in any capacity. The one exception is a luxurious park that serves as a vacation spot for the wealthy looking to escape to semi-simulated nature retreat.

The main character May finds a way to bring her family to the nature reserve, but quickly finds herself in a situation in which she must trust the hums to protect her family and the small joys they still find in their daily life.

This has lots of big ideas and a very keen eye on parenting, as well as a lyrical writing style - it's definitely literary science fiction.

I really enjoyed this work of speculative fiction. I feel like every day AI is advancing and I continue to draw parallels between our advancing technology and the technology Philips imagines in this novel.

I love how this book really made me reflect on how to keep myself grounded amongst the world as it continues to develop faster and faster. This was also a great reflection on motherhood and how hard it is to protect your children from this changing technology. This novel brings up the great question of how much is too much and to what extent should we engage with technology before it permanently changes or damages the way we associate with others.

Thank you for access to this ARC. Unfortunately I will not be able to read this and give it a proper review. I apologize, and if I have time to properly review it I will return to it.

- I am a big fan of Phillips’ atmospheric horror. With HUM, she takes it into the near future with incredible results.
- What a time to be reading this particular vision of the future, which feels about nine seconds away from right now with the rise of AI, constant surveillance, and online viral notoriety.
- Phillips is also excellent at evoking the horrors of motherhood. Even as someone without my own children, I found myself losing my breath as May rode the rollercoaster of this plot.

Interesting concept and poignant subject given the emergence of AI in the social zeitgeist. Thought provoking and entertainment.

Relevant. Climate change, people being outsourced to AI and therefore are subjected to become guinea pigs in order to survive but arent we anyway? Gorgeous prose examines possibilities of utopia and dystopia and utopia and the fine line in between. Wonderful interrogation of surveillance., technological addiction, green blindness, and family survival.

Hum is a near-future speculative fiction tale brimming with interesting concepts that will make you think. It’s a quick read, and while I wish it had fleshed out the story and characters a bit more, it was still an entertaining read.

Thank you Helen Phillips, Marysue Rucci Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Helen Phillips is the queen of dystopian workplace horror. This is her scariest thrilling book yet. You will not believe what you are reading.

I wasn't sure if this book would be for me. I don't often read speculative fiction. That said, as upsetting as the futuristic storyline with technology was, it didn't seem too far away from the possible reality. Once I got started reading, I didn't want to put it down to find out how the story would wrap up. I'm rating the book as how I enjoyed it 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars, but easily someone into this genre I would imagine would rate it 4 stars.

I just didn't like this book. There were jarring descriptions of things that weren't needed and so many of the characters were just plain unlikeable with no redeemable qualities.

I am so thankful to Simon and Schuster, Simon Audio, Helen Phillips, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this galley before publication day. I really enjoyed the dialogue and plot of this book and can’t wait to chat this one up with my friends!

I ended up enjoying this book more than I expected, considering the relatively low Goodreads rating. Like many good speculative fiction/dystopian stories, it’s largely depressing and then hopeful. The main character’s children and husband are often annoying and frustrating, but possibly redeem themselves in the end. I was fearful pretty much the entire time that the husband was cheating, but was so relieved that wasn’t the case! I’m not a mother, but I imagine many mothers would be able to empathize with the main characters’s complicated emotions and the need to come across as perfect to others at all times. I think the pacing of this book worked really well and am glad it was a quick read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

‘Hum’ by Helen Phillips is a book about a possible near future where technology takes an even bigger grasp of our lives.

When the book opens, May, a mother, is undergoing experimental surgery that will make her less recognizable to the world around her, especially the robotic ‘hums’ that are everywhere. The money will help keep her family afloat a little longer. She uses some of the money to buy her family a dream vacation at the botanical garden, a place where the climate hasn’t wreaked havoc. She has her husband leave behind their various devices, to the protests of her children and husband. This choice may come back to haunt her and her family.

The book strikes a good balance of how tech can help us and intrude in our lives. It shows a future where that is eroding our humanity even more and what identity and privacy look like when technology plays an even bigger role. I like the balance between dystopia and dark humor and this book shows that there are no easy answers, but we should be probably be asking the questions.

a lot of strength hidden in the iron spine of this work! a lot of interesting technological questions brought up. tysm for the arc, 4 stars.

This one definitely makes you think. It’s a dystopian novel where AI comes together with climate change and the economy is in big trouble. There are a lot of political aspects to keep up with, but it’s a very thought-provoking novel. Overall, good read!