Wink Poppy Midnight

Wink Poppy Midnight
April Genevieve Tucholke
Reading level: YA

3/5 stars

I was given this book by the Amazon Vine program in return for an honest review.

Wink Poppy Midnight centers around three teens by those names that are involved in an unhealthy triangle of a sort. Midnight, a mostly average teenager, has been crazy about Poppy for some time, until he begins living next to Wink and falls for her. Poppy (beautiful, but self-admittedly vain and cruel), and Wink (innocent-seeming, fairy tale-addicted, and enigmatic) both strive to manipulate Midnight. Poppy uses him for sex and to boost her ego, while Wink is trying to mold him into a Hero with a capital H.

The story is told in the voices of all three, alternating and picking up where the last one left off. Sadly, the voices of Midnight and Wink aren't as fully developed as Poppy and often seem more like "generic teen" than an individual. The blurb lets the reader know from the beginning that no one is exactly as they seem, and to expect unreliable narration, which adds a pleasant sense of unease as the plot progresses, despite it being a relatively standard retelling of "boy between two girls". The prose is often lyrical and lovely, but seems out of place in the mouths of average teenagers.

Overall, this quick read was enjoyable without being unduly surprising or moving. I did like it, I just didn't find it exceptional.

Note: This is my opinion; on Amazon, 47% of the reviews were 4 stars.