Climate change has ravaged the world. Sometimes the outside air is so bad you cannot leave your house. Greenery is a thing reserved for the richest people, packaged and sold as a luxury holiday. Capitalism is everything here. You can't escape adverts and marketing, your personal data is used to sell you things, phones are permanently attached to kids' wrists, and AI robots have taken all the jobs. This is the world in which May is trying to raise her family.

Some climate fiction is scary because it is so extreme. Some climate fiction is scary because it feels so incredibly real in the here and now. This book falls into the latter category. The world presented to us in Hum feels just a step away from where we are in 2026. It was not at all difficult to imagine May's reality, and that, I think, makes for a truly unsettling read.

May has lost her job to an AI, and as a result, her family struggles to make ends meet. She opts to undergo facial surgery for cash, an experiment to see whether subtle changes can bypass facial recognition. This one, seemingly small decision is the catalyst for a string of events that spirals more and more out of her control.

I enjoyed this book for its exploration of themes surrounding AI, technology use, consumer culture and family. Interestingly, I did not get very attached to the characters, but I think that might be thanks to the way it is written, and I do think it is purposeful. The world here is one of constant surveillance and marketing. It's inescapable, and it almost dissolves people of their individuality. We are definitely observers in this story, much like the faceless bureaucracy.

Overall, a perceptive and unsettling read that feels far too close to home.