Hum took me on an absolute rollercoaster. I spent most of the book unnerved in a way that other books rarely make me feel, which sparked thoughtfulness in me in a way that only such feelings can. I'm not usually a speculative fiction fiend, but Hum had my attention from page one all the way through to the end.

One of my favorite things about this book is the way it portrays how oppressive systems take people's agency not only by taking away options but also by making them forget there ever were any other options. If you can control what people think, you can control them in every way. Hum is a subtle but powerful indictment of capitalism because of that.

May is absolutely suffocated by the system she lives under and has no sense of agency; she does not see a path forward other than to sell herself and her face because she cannot see the system for what it is. We see the way that works out from how she speaks to herself about spending money (reminiscient of some of the language we see around consumerism today that centers the consumer rather than the system that makes us feel like consumption is our only path to happiness) to her fruitless attempts to take a step back from it. May is not a hero in a teen dystopian novel; she is a person who has been lulled to sleep by the system. Her character arc is subtle as she never turns into that hero, but it was realistic in a way I loved. We don't turn into heroes overnight either, and heroes aren't what make revolutions anyway—revolutions require community. I liked that this book didn't try to turn in that direction.

I also really enjoyed the characters in this book—each of them is so human it hurts (literally). I could not stand the main characters for most of the book and that was exactly what I needed to feel. Not only do we see how someone who doesn't see systems takes on a biased view of the people around them via May's unreliable reading of her family, but we also see how living under oppression can turn us against each other even within families. Absolutely, the characters in this book are annoying, but they're also deeply human, which is exactly what makes them annoying. I loved that humanity.

My only issue with this book was the ending. I had some good discussion in the forum about it and so after sitting with it, I no longer dislike it as much as I initially did. However, I still wish Philips had written it differently and more in line with the impact that the rest of the book had on me. I cannot understate how disappointed I was initially, and it's only after some mental scrambling that I decided I'm not as let down as I initially felt. Some may like the ending more than me and I don't think it's a reason not to read this book, but it may be something to keep in mind.

It’s fun! It’s extravagant! It’s ironic! It’s too on the nose! It’s camp!!

Even though this is a murder mystery, I’ll be honest that I personally enjoyed this book a lot more in analyzing the main character and his character development throughout the book. The mystery was still so fun to follow, and it genuinely had me creating conspiracy theories like I was putting clues and names on a murder board, but something about an insufferable character that may turn out to be just misunderstood just does it for me.

Mikey starts off as the obnoxious, spoiled, “I’m rich so I can do whatever I want” type of character, and even though for a while he does come across as annoying, once I started to understand him and his past better I felt so much empathy for him. He grew up surrounded by people that only liked him for his money, surrounded by people that only cared about money, so inevitably he equates his worth with his wealth. He was never taught to embrace his emotional side and instead to suppress it with jokes, that he had to hide how he really felt because otherwise people wouldn’t want to be with him.

There’s so many little moments with the way he interacts with other people or the way he thinks about himself that show this belief of his and there was never anyone to contradict that. It’s only when he gets to the summer camp and his money is stripped away from him that he has to find himself all over again. Yes, it was kinda giving with the power of love and friendship, but it really was real love and friendship that made him understand what was important in his life.

The mystery plot was so fun to follow, and while a part of it was kinda predictable, the way it got there was innovative, going through so many clues and finding different evidences that makes you feel dizzy with theories and suspect everyone, even characters you thought were clear. I kept changing my mind not only with who was the true suspect, but also with what had actually happened with the victim and I love when mystery books leave me feeling like this.

There were a lot of pop culture and movie references through the book, and I can totally understand how it can get too much at some point, but I honestly found it kinda fun. It makes the tone of the story a little less serious, more modern, like you’re reading a friend’s story instead of a random character you’ve just met a few pages ago. Mikey has a passion for films and filmmaking, which makes these references make so much sense to his character, this being his way of showing his knowledge and the fact that he sees movie references in so much of his daily life.

The writing is very Gen Z/modern type of writing which does make sense with the characters and their age and personalities, though I did find it a bit tiring at times, and like it was trying a little too hard to be light and funny.

I kinda wish there had been more from the romance. It felt a little rushed, not really insta-love but still with not that much time for the characters to actually get to know each other and most of the romance felt like it happened off page when I would’ve loved to read about more moments between them.

Was this the best mystery book I’ve ever read and that has ever been written? Well no, but I still had so much fun following both the mystery and the characters trying to solve it.