The Poppy Fields

In this alluring if slow-moving speculative adventure from Erlick (The Measure), four strangers travel together across the U.S. to an experimental and controversial psychotherapy center. Patients at the Poppy Fields, a lab in the California desert, are given a month of restorative sleep, and most wake up with their grief behind them. Some, however, are prone to a notorious side effect, which causes them to lose all affection for their loved ones. Ray, a firefighter, is on a mission to understand why his younger brother, Johnny, died after receiving treatment at the Poppy Fields. Joining him on the trip is Ava, a children’s book illustrator hoping to reconnect with her wayward sister after the death of the grandmother who raised them; and Sasha, an occupational therapist who harbors guilt over ending things with her fiancé. Along the way, they pick up teen hitchhiker Sky, whose zest and curiosity causes the other three to open up about their reasons for going to the Poppy Fields. Erlick weighs down the narrative with a prolonged setup and extended backstories, but the character work is top notch, especially as the seemingly disparate travelers find common ground in their resilience. Once this poignant road novel gets going, readers will be in no rush to see it end. Agent: Cindy Uh, CAA. (June)