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.
Comments
Post a Comment