May has lost her job to the artificial intelligence that she helped create, and forced with late bills and the increasing cost of living, she agrees to undergo a controversial surgery that will change her features just enough to make her invisible to facial recognition programs — and she'll get paid enough to do it to cover the bills for a while. When she gets paid, May decides to splurge on a couple of nights in the botanical garden, a walled, nature-filled resort that she would never have been able to afford otherwise. To fully appreciate the nature, however, she asks her husband and two children to be completely unplugged while they're on the short vacation — which starts out OK, but takes a disastrous turn when the kids wander off on their own.
It's not clear from the book when or where this story takes place, but while there is a bit more technology than we have today (the titular hums, for example, are humanoid AI robots), the prevalence of surveillance technology and the monetization of EVERYTHING seems disturbingly similar to what we're seeing today. May's experiences throughout the book (especially after the trip to the garden) are scarily relatable, and through her actions and reactions, Hum offers a meditation on technology and what it means to be a good mother. A fantastic, thought-provoking book, and I can't wait to recommend it widely.
*This book will be published Aug. 6, 2024.
just added to my tbr!!! hope we get it at the library :)
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