The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick

Nikki Erlick's sophomore novel came out in June of 2025. I really liked her first novel, The Measure, so The Poppy Fields has been on my list for sometime. It was chosen as an Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Books of the Year for 2025, a USA Today Bestseller, and one of Goodreads Most Anticipated books. It deals primarily with grief, but it also has references of death, including that of children, drug use, gun violence, and car accidents.

Ellis has accomplished her dream: creating something important. She is the creator of The Poppy Fields, a place where they use science to allow people to sleep through the worst of their grief. Regardless of what the grief is caused by. Losing someone you love, divorce, injury. Whatever you are grieving, a month of sleep will help you to feel better. After all, everyone always says you'll feel better after a good night's sleep. They were more right than they knew! But not everyone likes the idea of The Poppy Fields. Not everyone feels that is is right or natural. It's part of the reason that Ellis chose the middle of the California desert for her compound, so that their detractors couldn't get to them easily. But on their way to The Poppy Fields now are some surprise guests that Ellis could not have predicted. Ava, a book illustrator with her small dog PJ in tow, a fireman named Ray, an occupational therapist named Sasha, and Sky, who just wants to wander for awhile. Each have their own reasons for the trek and are brought together by circumstance. Put the journey ends up being more than any of them predicted.

I was surprised by how much I liked Nikki Erlick's first novel, The Measure. However, I came into this book with zero expectations. I was pleased to find that I really enjoyed this too. It has a little bit of a mysterious feel. All of the characters are hiding pieces of themselves but it doesn't feel nefarious, they were all strangers when they started their journey so why would they be completely forthcoming. The story is peppered with transcripts from patient applications to The Poppy Fields, which I enjoyed connecting to the bigger story. The main group of characters are very likeable and I loved how each of them handled their grief in a different way. I loved how the story points out that grief can be for more than just people, it can be for a lost dream, or a lost relationship, or an ability that has been lost. And I really liked how it ended. I thought it was a great ending. I wouldn't say that it felt slow, but it certainly wasn't an exciting or action packed book. But it really made me think about grief, and think about it from different angles, which I appreciate.

I'm giving The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick 4.25 stars out of 5. I think it was a lovely story and I can't wait for the next think that comes out of Nikki Erlick's creative mind.

For more from the author, check out https://www.nikkierlick.com/

Pairs well with gravy (you can put it on anything!) and learning how to mend your own clothes.

My favorite quotes:

"She'd lost the person she thought she was and the person she'd planned to become."

"How blatantly they admired the stiff upper lip and cringed at the one that quivered."

"This was the other side of love. This was the aftermath, the cost, the opposite end of the bargain [...] Here, in this room, was grief. But grief was love in its second shape."

Review of The Measure by Nikki Erlick