Grief is such a complex thing, impacting all of us in unique and profound ways. I found this book really had me thinking about the nature of grief, and moving through it. If you had the opportunity to sleep through the hardest moments of your grief, would you? What about if it potentially dampened the feelings of love you had toward the person? This book would be absolutely perfect for a book club.

I listened to an audio copy and the narration added to the story. Told in multiple perspectives, the multiple narrators manage to reflect the vulnerability and hurt of the characters.

The book follows four strangers who find themselves together in a car headed for the Poppy Fields, a medical facility enabling those with grief to sleep through the hardest time of grief. They are all headed there for different reasons, and not only to sleep.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow and HarperAudio for the Advanced Review Copy.

I’ve never read about an experience I wished to live, until The Poppy Fields. If read in a book club, a question of “would you apply” would be a big conversation and for me it would be a big fat yes… until I heard about the side effect. Then I started to question the decision.
This story of many people and their journey in, or on the way to the fields was extremely captivating. While many characters popped up, a few remained constant.
I absolutely LOVE Nikki Erlick’s writing, and her dystopian type worlds. The Measure is still a book I think about, a year after reading, and I have a feeling The Poppy Fields will be as well. 4.5* Thank you NetGalley and Nikki Erlick for the opportunity to review this ALC.

I absolutely loved Erlick's first book, The Measure, so I was excited to read this. While I like The Measure more, I did enjoy this book. I appreciate how Erlick speculates on a topic and then investigates that topic from multiple perspectives. In The Measure, she looked at the question of time -- if we knew how long we had to live, and how long others had to live, how would that change our interpersonal relationships? And what are the societal ramifications of having this knowledge? In The Poppy Fields, she looks at grief and memory -- if you could ease your emotional pain, would you? That's not as straightforward a question as we think. Our gut reaction is: "of course, I'd choose to ease the heartache of loss." But Erlick shows us the nuances of this idea and how we all must find our way through various forms of grief. Coincidentally, while reading this book, I experienced the death of a mentor. This book made me reflect on my own grieving process and had me thinking about how his family and friends are all dealing with his loss in different ways, based on their relationships with him.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

I highly recommend this audiobook! The entire cast of narrators has delivered an exceptional performance, bringing the story from diverse perspectives and characters. The narrative revolves around strangers who come together in a series of unfortunate circumstances, on a mission to reach The Poppy Field, seeking solace and relief from their very different griefs.

I really wanted to love this book but the multiple view points threw it off for me. However I did love the different take on grief and coping with it. It was definitely a unique book and I love the ending.

If you could sleep away your grief, would you? What if there was a 25% possibility of removing all emotions - positive and negative - related to your lost loved one?

I loved the idea of this! Nikki Erlick is great at coming up with really thought provoking concepts and bringing them to life wonderfully. Like The Measure, we’re following multiple POVs as well as hearing from applicants to the titular Poppy Fields. The applicant transcripts were probably my favorite parts of this book. I did find myself not as interested in some of the characters, but overall felt this was a well written enjoyable novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for access to this advanced copy. All opinions are my own

Really enjoyed this book. It’s my second by this author and I for sure will pick up her next book. I loved the characters and their journeys.

Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of The Poppy Fields in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn't read anything from this author before but heard good things about The Measure so thought I would request this one. I enjoyed the premise of this book and felt that it had a lot of interesting commentary on grief and what people would do to get over that grief. While I enjoyed the concepts and some of the ideas inside this novel, I feel like it was pretty uneventful. We don't get much information on the actual scientific process of how the fields works and I wish we would have. We get a lot of character stories of why they want to go to the fields, but we don't spend a lot of time actually there. Some of the individual stories are fine but at no particular time I was dying to find out what happens next. There is a lot of filler chapters in the middle in my opinion, which makes me think this would have made a better novella.

THE POPPY FIELDS by Nikki Erlick
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@nikkierlick has such a talent in developing the characters and interweaving such a beautiful storyline while still addressing such emotional and thought-provoking questions. This book dealt with a lot of genres. There was a bit of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, a touch of romance and a twist or two but the common theme was grief. As in her first book she makes you stop and think about what you would do in a similar situation. Of course, there are no right or wrong answers just different perspectives. I also enjoyed that Erlick included a subtle nod to her first book when there is a mention of a universe where life is presented as a piece of rope.

Favorite quotes:

"The moment when you realize that YOUR world and THE world are entirely separate. When YOUR world has come to a grinding halt, when you're drowning and flailing about, and THE world just rolls on without you."

"Isn't that what everybody wants, in the end? Just to feel a little less lonely."

"Our love is ours alone to give and ours to mourn."

I absolutely loved The Measure by Erlick and was so excited to get an early copy of her much anticipated second novel The Poppy Fields. Thank you to Nikki Erlick, NetGalley, William Morrow and Harper Audio for the ARC in exchange for my review. The narration was done well, and I would recommend you listen to it if you get the chance. Pub day is in June and you'll definitely want to add it to your TBR list.

Another beautifully written Nikki Erlick book! There is just something about her voice and writing style that I cannot get enough of.
The story was complex and intriguing, I finished this in just over a day- I truly could not put it down.
Like most stories with multiple POVs, it got a bit confusing at times keeping track of all of the characters, but all of their stories came together nicely in the end.

Speculative fiction about an experimental treatment center where people who have suffered a loss can go to “sleep away” their grief. The book follows four people headed there for various reasons as well as the woman behind the project. It covers a lot of big, philosophical topics in an easy to digest format. I like what it had to say, less so the way it was said if that makes sense?

I enjoyed this audio book. (Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!)
It was an interesting concept so it made a good story line. It did feel a bit drawn-out and repetitive.
The narrator was great and I appreciated the change of cast.

The Poppy Fields is where broken hearts go to heal. In a remote part of California there is an experimental treatment centers that allows patients suffering from grief and heartbreak to sleep through their pain. When they wake up they feel more healed and are able to move on from their grief. This book follows four strangers who meet and are attempting to get from the midwest to the Poppy fields. Each of them has their own motivations for getting there.

This book made me cry multiple times and was written exceptionally well. It was a beautiful way to talk about grief and how it affects everyone. I loved following each of the different storylines and getting a look into each of their heads. This is a book about grief, healing and how sometimes the journey can be just as important as the destination.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Audio for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own. The narration was done well and I highly recommend you listen to the audiobook if you get the chance.

This is the first book I’ve read by Erlick. Somehow, I’ve never read The Measure. The premise is interesting. It’s about a company that allows people who have lost someone important to them to sleep through the grieving process.

This is such an emotional read. It’s heart-wrenching at times. It was hard to get invested at first, and I almost DNFd it. There are many characters who at first are hard to keep straight, but the audiobook made it so much easier. I became much more invested with the audiobook and I was able to do an immersive read which changed my whole reading experience. I’m glad I continued through the end because it was a bittersweet and beautiful book.

The writing was hard for me to follow visually, but the audiobook was so much better. It helped me differentiate the different characters so I could get more invested in their stories. The story was thought-provoking and it made the reader seriously consider what they would do in this situation.

I really enjoyed this book once I got into it more. The short chapters helped keep me motivated to continue reading. I flew through this in about 2 days. I highly recommend this book.

This was fantastic. I did an immersive read and couldn’t recommend more. The narration was wonderful. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

Sophomore books are always hard but it’s clear that Nikki Erlick is an author that will be around for a while. That being said it’s hard to read this and not compare it to The Measure and this one didn’t quite meet the level that The Measure had. It may be because the message around grief that this book explores; while universal, is a message that hits harder at certain times in a person’s life and now is not the time for me. I still really enjoyed it though and would recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for an advanced copy.

The Poppy Fields is an unexpected dive into grief and that bone deep desire to just <i>sleep</i>. I was surprised at how gentle and warm this book was to read. I had expected to be brought to tears and have my heart ripped to pieces but this book was not a knife or bullet and was, instead, a soothing balm.

The Poppy Fields follows five characters directly as they go about their journeys. Some are headed to a treatment facility for grief for various reasons, one is a scientist at the facility, and one is simply a free spirit looking for life and adventure. What starts as a bunch of strangers becomes a journey that ties them all together in ways they didn't expect. Through their respective journeys we learn a little of what makes these characters tick and what affects them.

Ava, Sasha, and Ray all end up victims of an unfortunate tornado that rips their intended mode of transportation from them while they are traveling to the Poppy Fields, which is an experimental facility set up to treat the symptoms of grief after losing a loved one. All three are headed there for different reasons and all three happen to meet and find one another and agree on traveling together to their shared destination. As they travel they learn about one another and become friends. What should have been a 24 hour journey turned into roughly 3 days of travel with them as they all work to untangle their own thoughts and emotions about the journey they are on.

Sky was also stranded at the airport, but instead of meeting our other heroes, Sky ends up on her own little travel journey while she explores life and sees what it has to offer her. She embodies youth and the desire to live and to thrive. She lives life like she wants to be swallowed up by the world and embraces it back.

Sky finds the other three protagonists fairly far into their journey, when the three had been ruminating and beginning to stagnate as they pushed forward without engaging in the world around them. After offering Sky a ride, we see how her short time with them completely changes the trajectory of their trip. In one day together, Sky's exuberance and unwillingness to bend to the tragedies life holds brings life back to the others who had remained stagnant since their own losses.

The Poppy Fields is an incredible exploration of coping with grief. How some people are able to get up and continue easier than others, but what makes grief easy or not? Who is afforded the time to truly grieve? What is the point of grief? Pain? Love? What is the right way to grieve? There's lots of interesting backseat questions like this through the book. The Poppy Fields does not aim to answer these questions, either, and instead just simply explore and make you look inward.

I think the book struggles a little in that we don't truly get to know our protagonists, only their pain. I find every character in this book to be relatable in some way, which makes the world feel small in a way I believe the author intended. Everyone feels grief, after all, and it connects us. However, I found that I personally was unable to connect with the core of who these people were beyond their pain, which made them feel a little shallow at times. I was heavily invested in the relationship developing through the story but was a little disappointed in the end by the lack of any payoff there as well. I am not a reader that needs things spelled out, however I just really <i>liked</i> these characters and had wanted to know more about them after this whole adventure.

I have a personal affinity for the inserts, though. I love the little insights into other people and their relation to The Poppy Fields and how it's affected them. I loved the stories of people finding peace, of the people that decided not to last minute, of those that loved and lost and kept going. I loved the ideas brought forth with the sleep, and what it could mean to different people. I really loved this and personally found this to be a strength of the book itself.

I did shed a few tears, these people are very relatable and grief is truly such a unifying emotion that it was hard not to have your heartstrings tugged during moments of personal story and tragedy. Overall though, The Poppy Fields just felt like that hug you get when you're hurting and need support. It felt warm and solid. Nikki Erlick wrote a beautiful book about how grief affects you emotionally, but only explored how people cope through it, which I found to be refreshing and a little different from what I'm used to.

I would highly recommend this novel to people who feel alone in their grief and how they've chosen to cope with the loss in their lives. I think this is a wonderful exploration of companionship and a really solid story of connection and how we heal through talking and sharing and grieving separate losses together.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of the audiobook.

Wow. What a book. This author has a way of creating many different characters that are easy to keep track of that each give a slight variation on the theme so every reader can find one they resonate with. I found something I resonated with in each of them personally.
This story was absolutely magnificent and there were times I was listening that just took my breath away. The way the stories were told just kept me wanting more and I knew we were coming to a conclusion, just as we did in The Measure but I still wanted more.
The lesson for life is told so beautifully. I absolutely cannot wait to read (or listen) to every future title because they just hit.

Grief...sucks. It feels all consuming and like an anchor dragging you down to the bottom of the ocean. But given the chance, would you choose to bypass it altogether? Would you risk apathy toward your loved one just to get to the other side where the pain is gone? After finishing "The Poppy Fields" by Nikki Erlick, I have my answer.

Nikki Erlick authored one of my favorite novels to date—"The Measure"—so I was immediately drawn to this novel, excited to see what she would come up with next and I was not disappointed. "The Poppy Fields" is a poignant road trip by an unlikely cast of travelers, journeying to the controversial site where a new technology allows patients to sleep off their grief and come out the other side significantly "healed" from their pain. But not everything is so clean and simple as there is a potential side effect...

Theslow-burn explores grief and the concept of a cure allowing people to skip the majority of the grieving process, imploring the reader to reflect on their own perspective of loss and heartbreak. Erlick explores skipping vs working through it and what gifts may await on the other side—like the legacy of love, memories, hope, and even tears serving as a reminder of loving someone.

Through an outstanding cast of richly developed, diverse, and deep characters, Erlick crafts a beautiful story that digs into a variety of loss, experiences, and outlooks, even delivering a standout minor character introduced in the final leg of the novel. This character represents a mere pages of an appearance yet creates an impact which pulls the entire story together.

Shout out to a stellar cast of audio performers, all of whom delivered a top-notch narrative performance: Marin Ireland, Dan Bittner, Stacey Glemboski, Graham Halstead, Mia Barron, Callie Dalton, Janina Edwards, Shawn K. Jain, Christian Barillas, Jason Culp.

"The Poppy Fields" is a conceptually robust speculative novel examining something all humans must endure in their lifetime: heartbreak, loss, and grief. How far would you be willing to go in order to be healed?

Thank you to Nikki Erlick, HarperAudio, William Morrow, & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my authentic review.

Nikki Erlick's debut novel, The Measure, was one of my very favourite reads of 2022, so I was beyond excited to receive an advance copy of her latest novel, The Poppy Fields.
In a sense, this book follows a similar formula to The Measure, with the introduction of a unique and thought-provoking concept. In The Poppy Fields, a new treatment facility for grief is available, where people can go for a month or two to "sleep off" their intense grief. However, a side effect affects 25% of those treated.
I really enjoyed the book, and the little nods to the Wizard of Oz were fun easter eggs to discover. While it is certainly more character driven than her first novel, and I would have enjoyed a bit more in the pacing, the way Erlick writes about loss and grief is accessible and relatable. This will be a fantastic choice for book club discussions.
In addition, the audiobook recording was extremely well done.