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The Poppy Fields
By Nikki Erlick
William Morrow, June 2025, 320pp.

The Short of It:

If you were stricken with grief, would sleeping through the pain help?

The Rest of It:

Enter The Poppy Fields. A center for the grieving. Those, suffering from an unbearable loss, can simply sleep away their pain. Ellis, the creator of the center sees it as an invaluable resource, but it’s not for everyone. Many apply, but several are turned away. The ones who make it through? They have a chance to sleep their pain away in a controlled, loving environment.

Successful treatment renders the patient calm, more able to address the day. But there are risks. Some side effects include emotional numbness. Unable to feel anything. Is that better? Worse? For those around them, quite possibly worse.

Ellis, the creator of the center had her own reasons for coming up with the concept. She left a younger sister back home and that sister, Ava, has met up with three random strangers on her quest to find Ellis. What Ava doesn’t realize is that these strangers are also headed to the same place for different reasons.

This was a surprisingly thoughtful read. Erlick recently wrote The Measure, which many of you read. I had not read that one but when I saw this one come up for review I snatched it up. Grief can be hard to put down on a page, in a realistic way. Erlick does it beautifully.

Our main characters:

Ava – grieving the loss of her grandmother and the relationship she had with her sister.
Ray – carrying the heavy loss of his brother after his brother’s trip to the center.
Sasha – devastated over the sudden loss of the love of her life.
Sky – a free spirit who accepts a free ride on their way to California.

This rag tag crew explore grief together. What it means, what it does to a person, and together they pull each other up. Sky, young and carefree but surprisingly empathetic, accompanies them and supports them in a way that only a young person can.

I found myself completely choked up at times! The writing is gently poignant. Thoughtful and full of yearning. These characters complement each other in surprising ways. As they make their trek across the desert to The Poppy Fields, they share personal stories and feelings only to find out that they are more alike than not. What starts off as a random ride across the desert becomes something much more meaningful.

As for the clinical aspect, it’s minor. Very minor. I remember how cold and sterile Never Let Me Go felt. The Poppy Fields touches on the clinical aspect but mostly focuses on human connections. It’s warm and inviting but will definitely have you thinking about things or people you’ve lost.

Highly recommend.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

The Imagined Life
By Andrew Porter
Knopf, April 2025, 288 pp.

The Short of It:

You know that feeling of gently working your way through a story because it’s just so good? No? Read this.

The Rest of It:

Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy. ~ the publisher

Steven’s family lives in a nice, Orange County neighborhood. His parents host pool parties, movie nights and are surrounded by academia everywhere they look. Their friends, professors themselves. They talk education and research and accomplishments. This is a touchy subject.

Steven’s father is brilliant and happily married but his quest for tenure at the university puts a strain on his marriage and family. This is where I tread carefully when I say that the undue strain of jumping through academic hoops to prove his worth leads him down a path of no return.

Let me paint the picture. Warm California evenings, a cabana house, plentiful liquor and jovial conversation. Attractive, powerful colleagues and a man who wants that for himself. The casual, friendly interactions fueled by drink, slowly become something more.

Twelve-year-old Steven senses a shift as he watches these parties unfold. Observing these parties from the privacy of his room, he notices the familiarity of good friends but also the tension, mostly in how his own mother reacts to what is going on.

What is going on?

Steven is very close to his mother so when she returns to the house after these parties, he knows she is hurting. He’s not entirely sure why or what he can do for her, but he feels compelled to be there for her.

What he does, is gently explore his father’s thoughts. Walking out to join him after the guests have left. Listening to his plan to publish his book and earn tenure. As good a guy as his dad is, Steven knows that he’s a dreamer. Never has been much of a realist. He takes this with a grain of salt.

For a young boy, navigating the delicate nature of his parent’s marriage and also figuring out what he desires for himself, proves to be complicated.

We see Steven as an adult, dealing with his own personal issues but ever present is his quest to figure out what happened to his father that year he went missing. When everything blew up and his father left without a trace.

This is a tender story about so many things. Family, the relationship between a mother and a son, a father and a son, Steven’s coming of age and how all of it influences his own family as an adult. It’s about identity and value and sacrifices made for the sake of your family.

The last few chapters were breathtakingly beautiful. I re-read them, sat with them awhile and felt the weight of Steven’s memories.

So good.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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