Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke is the newest book by the author of the stellar novel, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Keeping in tradition with that genre, Tucholke brings to life a book that is said to be comparable to E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars and Michele Hodkin’s The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

True to form, Tucholke weaves together whimsical and lyrical prose that is told in short, half to one page chapters, and alternating points of view. In it, we are introduced to Wink, Poppy, and Midnight; three teens that create a psychological thriller of a love triangle that will catch readers off guard at every turn.

Wink is the strange, mysterious girl that lives on the farm in the middle of nowhere. The daughter of a tarot card reader, she thrives on the mystical and lives in the stories she reads to her siblings. Poppy is the gorgeous, popular girl, who has won the hearts of all the boys and is the envy of all the girls. She is also the biggest bully amongst them all. Midnight is the boy caught between them. He is uncertain, sweet, and torn between his love for both girls.

The novel begins quickly and creates an intense flow that draws you into a heady spiral. Despite having the downfall of an unreliable narrator and the lack of a strong plotline, Wink Poppy Midnight lures you in and makes you question each character and their motives. As imagined, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a secret.

The tagline reads, “A hero. A villain. A liar. Who’s who?” This is the best description for the book. Pages fly by as you try to discern which character embodies which trait, and if in fact, they could even overlap. April Genevieve Tucholke has written an unforgettable novel that will make you think, feel, and wonder, all while being tangled into a web of mind games and deceit.