Really enjoyed this one! Another very interesting concept and done very well. I love her books because they really get you thinking and you are left remembering them once you’re finished. When reading so many books, often times I will forget what I’ve read very quickly but Erlick’s books are so thought provoking and stay with you for some time.

i really enjoyed this one, mostly. it really held my attention, i wanted to know what would happen, i felt all the feelings, i thought all the deep thoughts, i laughed and cried a little too...... and then that ending was kind of lacklustre. i don't know what i was expecting, but i was honestly a little disappointed.

In this novel, a new medical treatment for grief has been invented where people can apply to go to a facility in the California desert called The Poppy Fields, where you are medically put to sleep for a month or two, after which your grief is helped to abate - but with a side effect for about 25% of people that you feel an extreme detachment to whoever it was that you were grieving. Main characters Ava, Sasha, and Ray are all headed there for their own reasons when their flight gets cancelled because of a tornado, and decide to drive there together instead, later meeting up with recent high school graduate Sky who also had her flight cancelled. We also see the perspective of Ellis, who runs the Poppy Fields and created the technology, along with applicant interviews, articles, podcasts, and more.

Like Nikki Erlick’s debut novel The Measure, this book takes a speculative fiction premise, but really uses it to illuminate and examine essentials about being human that are just as applicable to the real world. And once again, she has produced a lovely, thoughtful, moving novel with characters who intersect in interesting ways. The Measure is still my favorite of the two, but this one is just wonderful as well.

4.25 stars

The Measure was one of my favorite books of 2022, so I was very excited to read Erlick's follow=up,. The Poppy Fields also has the kind of intriguing premise and range of well-drawn characters that will make it a great choice for book club discussions. The novel really makes you think about the pros and cons of proactively trying to ease your grief. Would the upsides be worth the risk of possibly losing some of your humanity in the process? For readers who like high-concept, character-driven stories that will make them think about life's big questions, The Poppy Fields is definitely worth checking out!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the complimentary eARC, in exchange for my honest feedback.

The Poppy Fields had a thoughtful and meaningful message that really stood out to me, and I especially appreciated the way the story wrapped up with a satisfying ending. The themes around memory, loss, and connection were handled with care, and those parts truly resonated.

That said, the pacing felt a bit slow at times, and some parts of the story didn’t quite hold my attention as much as I wanted. The characters were interesting but didn’t fully come to life for me, which made it harder to get completely invested in their journeys. The plot had its moments, but overall it felt somewhat predictable.

Despite its flaws, I found the overall message uplifting, and the ending left me feeling hopeful. If you’re looking for a story with heart and a strong emotional core, The Poppy Fields is worth checking out — even if it wasn’t quite perfect for me.

Nikki Erlich's The Poppy Fields introduces an intriguing premise: a specialized facility designed to help people process grief through a unique sleeping experience. The story follows Ava, Sasha, and Ray on their individual journeys to these Californian fields, each driven by their own reasons. While the core concepts within the book were undeniably thought-provoking, I found the narrative pacing to be quite slow. Nothing truly compelled me to eagerly return to the story, and its consistent lack of momentum made it a bit of a wade

I don't normally gravitate towards speculative fiction, but the premise of The Poppy Fields—four strangers road trip to a controversial grief treatment center—drew me in. One of the better books I've read where really nothing happens. The narrative focuses largely on the characters as they travel together; we learn their backstories and what is bringing them to the Poppy Fields. While the storyline at times felt a bit slow, I enjoyed learning how the characters' stories tied together throughout the book. I recommend The Poppy Fields to those interested in speculative fiction and character-driven stories. Nikki Erlick presents a compelling premise that leaves us pondering life's challenges and the ways we cope with loss.

Nikki Erlick’s The Poppy Fields is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of grief and healing, anchored by a bold speculative premise: could one sleep through heartbreak? Drawing readers in with its cross‑country road trip of four strangers and a dog—each carrying their own sorrow—the novel blends rich character moments with ethical questions about memory and love. While the pacing is gentle and the clinical world‑building understated, the emotional weight and immersive writing make it a compelling journey that resonates long after the last page.
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Thank you to William Morrow Books for the ARC of The Poppy Fields! This book focused on a treatment where one could sleep through their grief - over the course of one or two months under supervised medical sleep, one could awake having healed through much of their trauma. Four characters (Ray, Ava, Sasha, and Sky) meet each other and, all but Sky, drive all the way to California together. Ray has lost a brother, Sasha has lost her fiancé, and Ava has become estranged from her sister. Driving to the Poppy Fields together after a canceled flight left them stranded, they aimed to find answers amidst their grief and trauma. I enjoyed the characters, especially Sky. This story showed how many different paths there are to dealing with grief and how no way is an “incorrect” way to do so. I felt myself rooting for the characters and a happy ending for each of them. The found family elements really made the story enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who looks found family tropes and speculative fiction!

Such an intriguing concept!

As the title would suggest, the plot The Wizard of Oz adjacent (complete with a cute dog). A journey to find answers and fix oneself.

I found myself unable to put this book down! It’s slower in pace, but there was still a lot to the story and twists and turns.

Nikki Erlick’s books always get me THINKING. I was pondering life and grief and sadness and loneliness. How much hurt there is in the world!

I also loved the characters. We meet them through their grief and at their most vulnerable. I love how they became a little family that cared for each other and helped each other.

This one will be sticking with me for a while! I loved it!

Now, would I go to the poppy fields? No! Grief f***ing sucks and I find myself dreading family or friends dying because I have no idea how I will get through it. But, for me, you can’t just sleep through the pain. You have to feel it and know it’s about how much you loved them.

“grief was love in its second shape”

A beautifully tender and quietly haunting novel, The Poppy Fields is a speculative heartbreaker that asks: what if you could sleep away your grief—and would you still be yourself when you woke up?

Following four strangers (and one extremely good dog) on a soul-searching road trip to a mysterious grief treatment center in the California desert, Nikki Erlick crafts a narrative that reads like The Midnight Library by way of Station Eleven—equal parts existential longing, emotional clarity, and surreal beauty.

Each character’s story is distinct yet delicately woven together: Ava’s quiet ache, Ray’s survivor’s guilt, Sasha’s weighty sense of purpose, and Sky’s buoyant avoidance of pain all build to a chorus of longing that feels universal. And then there’s PJ, the dog, who somehow steals scenes with a simple wag.

Erlick's speculative twist—the idea of induced sleep as a medicalized cure for grief—is both eerie and enticing, touching on questions of consent, identity, memory, and the very human fear of feeling too much. The Poppy Fields themselves are part healing sanctuary, part haunting mirage, and you’re never quite sure if they’re salvation or siren song.

This book doesn’t offer easy answers, and that’s what makes it so effective. Instead, it reminds us that grief is not something to be erased or slept away, but something to move through—together, imperfectly, and with hope.

If you loved The Measure, this is a deeper, softer, more speculative dive into Erlick’s favorite themes: choice, mortality, connection. And if you're new to her writing, The Poppy Fields is a gorgeous entry point that might just leave you feeling a little more alive.

The premise of this novel was entirely unique. Unfortunately, it had a strong start but a rushed ending. The reader follows four strangers on a road trip to the elusive Poppy Fields treatment center. The Fields provides hope for those who have suffered an indescribable loss—sleep for a month, and your heartbreak will be healed. Maybe I did not understand the treatment's potential side effect, "emotional moderation," well enough, but it did not make an impact on me. I loved reading about how the author drew inspiration for this novel from The Wizard of Oz, though. I think it will be worth it for me to check out her debut, The Measure.

In a remote stretch of the California desert sits an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from heartbreak and loss to sleep through their pain.

This book was more like an incredibly long, boring road trip. I needed more about the center itself. It could have been an inciteful book about the science behind the treatment. It just feel flat for me and I feel like once they got to the center, nothing happened. 2.5⭐️

Thank You NetGalley for the free e-galley.

This book was so creative. It firmly concreted Nikki Erlick as an autoread author and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

The whole concept of this book was extremely unique and the idea was certainly one of my favorite parts. I think based on the concept, this would make a really good book club pick. I kind of wish I would have read this with a friend so we could discuss what we would do if the Poppy Fields were real.

The characters were also just so easy to like. At first the characters were a little hard for me to follow, but that quickly sorted itself out. I was expecting a little more *something* with the ending, but overall it was an enjoyable read (and listen as I switched between the audio and the book)!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

The Poppy Fields is Nikki Erlick's follow-up to her hit, The Measure. Erlick likes to ask big questions -- in this case, what would you do if you could go to sleep for several months to mute your grief? It sounds great -- but the catch is that 20% of sleepers will lose their deep emotional attachment to the person they grieve. Does this change your mind? I loved The Measure and I like the premise of The Poppy Fields, but this newer novel just isn't as strong. The characters felt flatter and the plot was somewhat predictable. Erlick does a great job of making you think and this would make for a good book club discussion.

I loved this premise. I love that Erlick explores plots where we would really debate the answer. Would we sleep for a month? Mu biggest qualm with this one was I felt a less strong connection to these characters than in the measure. The characters were likable and I was interested to see their stories play out, but Skye felt like a odd piece to the plot.

However, this is a solid sophomore novel bc how the hell do you follow up The Measure as a debut.

Thank you to the publisher for a free netgalley.

Wow, what an interesting story! I’m in awe of Erlick’s beautifully creative brain to come up with a story like this. I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did, but I didn’t want it to ever end. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy!

I had heard of Erlick's previous works and was so interested in reading this! The premise of the book - the idea that someone can be treated to diminish the intensity of their grief - was super interesting, but the pace was too slow for me to enjoy it. Might be more of a slow fall or winter read.

Unfortunately, I did not think this novel was nearly as good as The Measure. I loved the growing relationship between the canary riders and how they were each dealing with their own struggles with the poppy fields. However, I felt like the road trip portion of the book wasn't nearly as interesting as what happened once they made it to the poppy fields. I was hoping for more about that part.

I loved The Measure by Nikki Erlick, so I went into this book hopeful and I was not disappointed. The characters were interesting and fun to follow. Their sorrow and grief was deep, yet I felt along with them and enjoyed the moments when they found joy as well. There was mystery as we tried to determine what each character wanted from the Poppy Fields. Overall, I would recommend this book.