Wink Poppy Midnight » Book Review

You need to be in the right mood for Wink Poppy Midnight. Unfortunately, I wasn't. I looked at my stack of library books and thought, Wink Poppy Midnight is the shortest of them all. I'll read it, review it, return it, and the librarians won't hate me!

I wasn't having a great day, and I needed a book that would take me away from it all. I had this frantic sort of energy, the desperate need of an engrossing novel, but what I got was pretty words and a whole lot of nothing. If I had been in a softer and calmer state of mind, I daresay I might have enjoyed Wink Poppy Midnight a tad bit more.

Ellen reviewed it a little more favorably than I. Here is a link to her review.

Wink, Poppy & Midnight

The story is told in three alternating perspectives of varying length. We have Wink who is a strange red-headed girl who has many brothers and sisters and a mother who can read palms and tarot cards. Then there is Poppy, our resident mean girl. She is beautiful and cunning, and filled with a rage and sorrow she can't control. Lastly there is Midnight. He is an uncertain boy, torn between Poppy's beauty and Wink's whimsy.

As the description reminds us,
Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

It is up to the reader to figure it out.

Writing & Pacing

The writing is intended to weave around your mind and bewitch you. At least that's what it seemed like was the purpose. My energy was too frantic to be soothed in that manner. I was just profoundly irritated. JUST SAY WHAT YOU BLOODY MEAN.

For a short book, it dragged on quite a bit. Nothing really happened in the first half of the book. The author took a long time to set up everything up. I found it difficult to stay focused and hold my interest. The 'action' only began much later and I wasn't very surprised by anything that happened. At that point, I didn't care for any of the characters anyway.

Last Thoughts

Surprisingly, I enjoyed Poppy's story arc the most. And while I didn't care for the characters, I could say that I had some semblance of understanding for Wink, Poppy and Midnight. After all, I'm a little like Wink. I am always searching for a captivating story, hoping to be the hero in my very own epic.