wink poppy midnight

As fans of the unusual and unexpected, we picked up Wink Poppy Midnight on a friend's recommendation with very, very little idea of what to expect.

The Facts

Wink Poppy Midnight, by April Genevieve Tucholke
Basia rates it: 3.5/5
Connor rates it: 3.5/5

The Reviews

​basia

This book used the phrase "sweet girl parts" on page two, so I didn't quite know what to expect going in, but I was already wary.

​The three main characters have voices that are remarkably distinct, especially in a book where perspective shifts so often, which was refreshing and made it easy for me to focus on the story instead of becoming mired in the question of whose narrative voice I was reading. But it's also the sort of book where I didn't really like​ any of the protagonists, and while that itself is not a problem, I'm unsure if that was intended by the author, which is a disconnect that always leaves a funny taste in my mouth.

​I didn't at all dislike the book, I enjoyed its strangeness, but the ending was a bit too vanilla for my tastes. I felt as if it was trying too hard to be a "happy ending," in its own way, at least, which counteracted a lot of the almost threatening strangeness of the rest of the narrative.
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connor

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this book. It's a quick read, and I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys a quirky, curious sort of read.

The writing style is remarkable, mostly because I'm in awe of how Tucholke manages to vary her style and tone for each of the three narrators (who are named, you guessed it, Wink, Poppy, and Midnight). The plot is curiously ethereal; while I didn't predict anywhere near all of the twists it would take, the novel was too dreamy for me to be thoroughly surprised at them. 

While I didn't become particularly invested in any of the characters, I did enjoy this book and all the weirdness it provoked. The ending doesn't tie everything up in a nice little bow, but this is a dreamy sort of novel which makes what might usually be unsatisfactory a bit more vague than that.

(like I said, I'm still not entirely sure what I think about this novel.)