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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 Reading List
By Sara Nisha Adams
William Morrow & Company, 9780063025295, August 2022, 400pp.

The Short of It:

Sweet and charming. Wholesome, even.

The Rest of It:

This is another winner. A book about books and reading. I’ve been loving these this year.

Mukesh is a widow. He lost his dear Naina but his three adult daughters keep him on his toes, as well as his young granddaughter, Priya. They are all a bit chatty over him. “Get out more, Papa. Eat better, Papa. Make more friends, Papa.” They mean well.

Aleisha is a young teen, only seventeen and a librarian at the local library. She lives at home with her older brother Aiden, whom she adores, and her mother who is suffering from an unnamed mental break that causes her to have fits, remain inside a buttoned up house, and requires constant care. Between Aleisha and Aiden, they do the best they can for her, but what she needs is professional care and she refuses it.

To get Aleisha out of the house, Aiden encourages her to take a librarian job. Aleisha doesn’t read and really isn’t an example of customer service because what Aleisha wants is to be left alone.

In walks Mukesh. He asks Aleisha for a book recommendation. His wife used to read so much, he’d like to see what all the fuss is about. Aleisha is initially very rude to him. Sarcastic even. Mukesh is confused by this but goes on his way.

But then a list is left behind at the library. A list with books on it. She’s curious who left the list but thinks that maybe these can be the books she can recommend in the future. Books like To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, Beloved, Little Women.

Aleisha uses this list and a friendship is born between Mr. P (Mukesh) and Aleisha. Down the line, this friendship becomes very important as they learn about themselves through books.

This was a wonderful read. Full of reading goodness but also dealing with some heavy topics. Love, loss, mental illness. Woven between these bookish interactions is a lot of pain and trial but in the end, there is hope.

Highly recommend. It’s an older title, came out in 2022 but I missed it when it first came out and it was readily available from the library! Lovers of libraries, grab a copy and enjoy.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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