I absolutely loved the concept and idea of "the Poppy Fields" being a place that people can book to go to in an effort to help combat extreme grief from the loss of a loved one. At the Poppy Fields, they put you to sleep for one whole month and you wake up practically cured of grief. Cool right? Think how much you can do with this storyline.

What we end up doing is following a small group of people all headed for the Poppy Fields that end up traversing the country together to get there. We learn about their past and the reasons why they are seeking out the fields. This book ended up being way more character development heavy than plot based, which was fine, but I really ended up trudging through.

By the end, I felt no connection to any of the characters or emotion towards the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the gifted e-copy of this book.

“It's been said, many times, that we all die twice. The first, the actual moment of passing, and the second, the last time someone living says our name aloud.”

Nikki Erlick is a must read for me after The Measure. I love that she explores the speculative side of grief and death in her writing. The Poppy Fields claims to be a place where you can sleep away the grief that you are unable to cope with. BUT - you must be accepted in order to participate.

The book follows three main characters making their way to California to visit the Fields for their own closure-seeking reasons and form a friendship along the way. It’s just as much about the journey as it is the destination. Would you apply for a sleep at The Poppy Fields?!

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 - very interesting concept! I was really interested in the story at the beginning and end, but the middle seemed to drag a bit.

After loving Nikki Erlick’s debut novel, The Measure I had absolutely no doubt that I will want to read her sophomore one. So I was thrilled to receive an early copy!!

THE POPPY FIELDS is set deep in California desert in the facility that provides grief stricken people with sleep therapy to process their pain.

This thought provoking novel ultimately explores the many aspects of love. Although I didn’t particularly connect with any of the characters individually I was invested in the overall journey of grief, loss, love and healing. Similarly to The Measure it was so interesting to see how interconnected everything and everyone is. While I felt like it took a while to get to the point where I was invested in the story and the back half of it is definitely stronger, I still enjoyed the book. It would make a great book club read!!

The Poppy Fields
By Nikki Erlick
Release Date: 6/17/25

Thank you HarperAudio and William Morrow Books for an e-ARC and Audio ARC of Nikki Erlick's new novel, The Poppy Fields.

This is a speculative fiction novel, following multiple people as they travel to the infamous Poppy Fields and one that works inside of the Poppy Fields. Everyone has a different story and reasons as to what brought them there and why they decided to come to the fields to sleep their grief away. Similar to Erlick's other novel, the Measure, we have many opinions being shared throughout by journalists and such stating what they think of the fields. Along with that people don't hesitate to judge those that chose to sleep to better process their grief instead of facing it head on risking the potential side effects of erasing the memories all together. I applaud Erlick for challenging our thinking on fictitious topics while applying very realistic bias.

I don't feel as though I was drawn into this one as deeply as I was with the Measure, but still another great read by Nikki Erlick. I'm excited to meet her at an author event this summer and can't wait to see what unique storyline she comes up with next!

Nikki Erlick did not disappoint in her sophomore novel. All the thought-provoking, mind blowing membrane that she brought to us are back. I love when I read a story that makes me continue to think long after I turn the last page and The Poppy Fields will do so. Exploring grief, guilt, and forgiveness with a twist, this is one not to miss.

Wonder, worthy, and willingness.

It all started at the Kansas City airport, as a tornado warning goes off and the flights are cancelled. It turns out that three strangers are headed to the desert to the Poppy Fields.
Quite controversial, the Poppy Fields are where grieving people are able to go and sleep for 4/6 weeks to help with devastating losses in their lives. This comes with many questions, support, and backlash from the public.
As we proceed through this very uniquely written story of these strangers, (and their stories), you get to know them well. Why would they be seeking this period of sleep? Relief from unimaginable grief is something everyone would want to obtain. Is time of sadness/hopelessness in our world healed by sleep? Is it worth missing a period of your life, to feel more complete again?
The four day journey that these strangers take, turns into a beautiful story that is one worth every minute of time you spend in this story.

The author of The Measure has come through again, with another incredible thought provoking novel. Thank you, NetGalley for this special opportunity.

What if you could sleep away your grief? In Nikki Erlich’s sophomore novel, a therapy center in California desert called The Poppy Fields admits patients struggling to overcome the loss of a loved one by giving them a medically safe environment to sleep for 4-8 weeks. In their journey to reach The Fields, four strangers grounded at an airport in the Midwest decide to carpool across the country to reach their destination. Along the way, they learn about what brought each of them to the Fields, what they’re looking to find there, and how they hope to heal the losses in their own lives.

While I was extremely interested in the overall concept of this book and enjoyed the reveal that becomes apparent half way through, I found the relationships formed by our main characters in this situation of extremely coincidental circumstance to be a bit forced, and it made the nature of their bond feel a bit trite. There were moments of tenderness and emotional depth as each character share their trauma, and I was invested enough in the storyline to see how it ended despite my hang ups with their development.

Many thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you so, so incredibly much for the advanced copy of The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick. I was a fan of her novel, The Measure, and was excited for an opportunity to experience her next work early.

Erlick has done another phenomenal job with this book. Just… wow. It was creative, thoughtful, and profound. The Poppy Fields has a unique approach to grief and healing, and the concept is executed in a way that’s easy on the page and heavy on the heart.

The reader meets a group of characters through multiple POVs that intersect throughout the novel. Four of them (and a pup) find themselves making their way from the Midwest to California, and another main character is already on-site in California. Per the title, their destination is The Poppy Fields - a controversial but successful experimental facility where approved applicants are put to sleep for 1-2 months with an intent on overcoming grief. The majority of applicants are grieving the loss of a loved one, although Erlick does a wonderful and organic job of incorporating other means of grief and pain that could “benefit” from a prolonged sleep period. There is a 25% chance that patients will wake up with a more intense side effect - one that means they are not less aggrieved but rather indifferent towards the loss.

The writing is poetic. The concept is thought-provoking. The characters each have their own meaning and delivery. The corresponding interviews offer an additional perspective to the topic. I also appreciated the red-string nod to The Measure.

Overall, The Poppy Fields is an easy 5-star review that I hope many readers choose to experience. I’d recommend this to fans of The Measure of course, but honestly to anyone interested in high-concept, meaningful storytelling that offers a different lens on loss, healing, and our limited time here.

Nikki Elick’s The Poppy Fields is a masterful blend of raw emotion, sharp wit, and unexpected beauty, woven into a story that lingers long after the final page. With a title as bold as its narrative, this book challenges readers to find meaning in the messy, the imperfect, and the overlooked.

Elick’s prose is both lyrical and unflinching, painting vivid landscapes of resilience, humor, and transformation. Whether exploring the struggles of identity, the weight of loss, or the strange poetry hidden in the everyday, The Poppy Fields invites readers to embrace life’s contradictions. The characters are achingly real—flawed, fierce, and unforgettable—pulling us into a journey that is as heart-wrenching as it is uplifting.

What makes The Poppy Fields extraordinary is its refusal to shy away from the rawness of existence. It does not romanticize pain, nor does it sanitize joy. Instead, it reminds us that growth often comes from the most unexpected places. Elick proves herself to be a fearless storyteller, unafraid to dig deep and unearth truths that are both uncomfortable and necessary.

With its balance of humor and heartbreak, light and shadow, The Poppy Fields is a triumph—one that will leave readers reflecting on the beauty of imperfection and the power of embracing the messiness of life.

A must-read for those who appreciate storytelling that is both profound and wildly original.

4.5 stars

Erlick has a way of writing about grief/loss/death that is so unique. Similar to The Measure, The Poppy Fields starts with an idea around death. People who have experienced a big loss can go to the poppy fields and sleep off their grief. However, a quarter of them wake up with side effects. Is it worth it? Would you want to sleep for a month or two and wake up with the worst of your grief over?

Thought-provoking and entertaining through and through.

This one started super strong for me then fell a little flat around the 50% mark. I still really enjoyed the concept and the story telling. I love the way all the characters were wrapped up by the end. Sasha’s final chapter had me tearing up. I genuinely feel like I learned so much through these characters and how grief affects everyone so different.
Thank you thank you for the Arc of this beautiful thought provoking book!!

This is as much a treatise on grief and medical consent as it is a near future dystopian roadtrip novel. I enjoyed the character growth and multimedia components, which added complexity without being overwhelming. A good mix of fun, suspense, and insight into human behavior, with vibes almost like Severance (praise Kier)

4.5 ⭐️!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy!

The Measure was one of my favorite books of 2023 and I requested this as soon as I saw it! This was equally as poignant, important, and beautiful.

The Poppy Fields is equal parts inspiring, devastating, and uplifting. I read this right after my grandpa passed away and the message really hit home.

This is my first Nikki Erlick book but it won't be my last. The Poppy Fields is a facility, where the bereft can seek solace and healing but it's not without it's controversy. This story weaves together the journeys of 3 people who, for various reasons, are attempting to gain entry to the Poppy Fields and a teenage tag along who's ready to embark on the great, big adventure that is life.

Grief is subjective and that holds true for the characters. As their individual reasons for wanting to visit the Poppy Fields are revealed, we get a deeper understanding of the many and varied ways grief can touch a person. Each character's story is equal measures heartbreaking and inspiring and when the book was over, I wasn't ready to leave them.

The Measure is one of my favorite books. So, I was thrilled to see Nikki Erlick was releasing The Poppy Fields. What if your grief was all consuming and you had the chance to go to The Poppy Fields? You would sleep for a month or two and wake up with memories of your loss with less emotional stress. What if there were possible side effects that would erase all of your emotion related to that grief? Would you still opt for the chance to start living again? Loved the premise of this book. The key characters, gathered together by chance, were each struggling with grief or had secrets of their own. They end up traveling together to the Poppy Fields for different reasons. As they travel across the country, they begin to share their reasons for going to The Poppy Fields. During this road trip, they discover they are connected to each other and the common link is The Poppy Fields. While I liked this book (4.5 stars rounded up), it did not captivate me as well as The Measure (a solid 5 stars). Perhaps it was not fair to expect The Poppy Fields to meet the high bar set by The Measure. Still, I enjoyed this book and look forward to other works by this amazing author. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Poppy Fields is a story of a scientist who comes up with the innovative idea to create a facility where people who are suffering from grief/trauma can come to heal by being put to sleep for 4-8 weeks. When I first read the synopsis of this book, I was immediately enthralled by this concept and couldn't wait to read it. Having just finished the book, I can honestly say that it fulfilled all my expectations and more...I thoroughly loved the character development throughout the book and how their lives were somehow intertwined together with another character. There were some unexpected twists that added even more depth to the stories of each character and gave a new impression of who they really were and their motivation for the decisions they made. I really appreciated how things came together in the end as I wasn't left wondering what came next. This book would be an amazing book club book as I would love to hear and discuss other readers' perceptions of the book and if/why they would choose to be a patient at the Poppy Fields.

What if you could sleep away your grief?

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick is a haunting and hopeful speculative novel about four strangers who travel across the country to a mysterious desert clinic—where you can enter a long sleep to heal from loss.

Each character is broken in their own way—Ava, Ray, Sasha, and Sky—and as they head toward this strange place called The Poppy Fields, their lives slowly begin to intertwine.

It’s emotional, thought-provoking, and asks: what would you do to let go of pain?

If you loved The Measure or anything that mixes grief with a touch of the surreal—this is your next read.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins publishing for granting my “wish” to read this ARC.

I was a huge fan of Erkick’s novel, The Measure. I loved the premise and couldn’t wait to see what else she had cooked up.

The Poppy Field explores grief. What if you could fall asleep and wake up hurting less? Hundreds of thousand of applicants bade applied to do just this. The story follows 4 people with different stories, grief, losses, and pain on their way to the Poppy Fields for all different reasons.

The concept of sleeping for 4-8 weeks is controversial. There are many opinions surrounding the premise of the novel. However, I feel it lacked tension and layers within the characters that could have been so much more powerful. I had high hopes to open my heart to the characters, but the feelings were lacking. Wanting more conflict and raw emotion from them. (Especially Sky)

I wanted to love this one, perhaps my expectations with loving The Measure were too high.

Nikki Erlick knocks it out of the park again with a story full of unique characters, their struggles, and a question of moral dilemma as the theme. The concept of sleep to overcome grief is fascinating, and Erlick tackles this immense scientific hypothesis on a personal level. I was invested in all the characters' stories, and I liked seeing the different reactions to the sleep from a variety of people. The book is very realistic to how an experiment like this would play out in our world.