I don't want to spend too much space telling you what happens in A HALF-BUILT GARDEN because I don't want to spoil it, I just want you to read it. It's got:
-realistic, complicated AI learning
-realistic, complicated cooperative anarchism
-queers of all stripes
-first contact
-babies
-trees
-Judaism
-flamboyance
-glamorous alien worlds
-Deep Questions
-true love
-climate anxiety
-optimism
I read it in two days, blew off my responsibilities for it, and don't regret a second. Might be the best book I've read all year.