Behind The Picket Fence

by Kori Jane Spaulding

Genres: Poetry

228 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2024

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a profound and poignant picture of what it’s like to grow up in this white picket fence generation— hidden behind polished exteriors, stuck in our own self-centric realities, and addicted to screens. Kori Jane has beautifully captured the unique joys and griefs her generation has faced coming of age in the dawning of constant digital communication, information, and stimulation. Her ability to relive the same day through so many different (yet authentic) perspectives without being redundant was both impressive and thought provoking. Something here for every one to resonate with and learn from—no matter how young or old!

[Emma Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an uncomfortable read, but an important one. Mallory is a painfully accurate depiction of a teenager that has depression despite having the ideal life. She has it all— effortless beauty, popularity, a loving family, a caring best friend— but she still hurts and hurts a lot. She’s loved, but her pain makes it hard to love her, as is evident from the multiple perspectives from which the story is told. Every character in this book is struggling. Lucas is being bullied at school, Jackson is being pressured by his dad, Riley had to become an adult too early because of her alcoholic mother, Camille doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, Richard is fired from a job he only worked to support his family, and Juliet struggles with feeling overlooked by her family. And yet it’s Mallory, with her ideal life, that is teetering on the edge of life and death. She doesn’t know why she has this pain, she just knows that it’s there, which is something that I think a lot of teenagers can definitely relate to. Kori Jane Spaulding wonderfully depicts the pain of not knowing where the pain is coming from, and how maybe God put that pain in our life for a beautiful reason, however hard it is to understand from down here on Earth. Like I said, it’s an uncomfortable read, but the incredibly poignant ending makes it worth the while in my opinion.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the ending.

I loved this book because of all of the different perspectives; I’ve always wanted to read about people just living their lives. Everyone is so different, but our experiences are all so alike. It’s such a comforting thought to know we are all just doing our best to exist. Sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes others make mistakes, but we can still move forward. It’s always possible to movie forward.

I have been following this author on TikTok and Instagram for a while now and this is my second book I’ve gotten by her. I love her writing style and both her poetry and novel are definitely worth checking out online if you haven’t seen her videos or read her work.

[Ashlee Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read!! And I’m not just saying that because the author is my husband’s cousin.

Kori truly has a way with words in her writing. She is able to capture so vividly the thoughts and emotions of someone dealing with negative thoughts. For me it was eye opening to read the perspectives of those around Mallory and how little they understood what she was going through. For that reason alone I recommend it to everyone to give perspective on what someone is going through that you truly may not understand.

[Kaitie Knack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! After following Kori Jane on Instagram, I felt seen as a high schooler battling mental health. Behind the Picket Fence is a novel that shares the POV from each member of the family. Throughout the book you learn about every member’s personal struggles and their challenges with the main character, Mallory, who is on the edge of committing suicide. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is struggling mentally or is close with someone who struggles mentally.

[Amelia D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED IT! I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with their mental health. <3

[Nur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful, I really helped me to keep moving forward, one of my best reads yet.
I have been following her on tiktok and Instagram for so long when she only had one poetry book out, and now she has two and a book! she has helped me so much just because of her poetry and her perspective of the world. I will never miss one of her books.
Thank you, kori, for your beautiful words. If I could I would rate this 6 stars.

[TheeOwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting while waiting for my roommate to come back (he didn't come back till 2am).

You can tell this was written by a poet. Maybe some parts aren't very profound as a novel, but oh my goodness, the poetic and literary elements that are in this are soo good.

I think this needs a second read to let the themes really soak in.

[Nal · Rating 3 out of 5]

-
The Contemporary Fiction novel “Behind The Picket Fence” by Kori Jane Spaulding
is a gut wrenching story about a young girl who struggles with her mental health.
Mallory lives in a small suburban town in the Southern United States. She seems to
be a completely normal teenage girl living a privileged life. People either wanted to
date her or be her. Yet behind closed doors she struggled with a terrible sickness.
She is the prettiest girl at school, dating the football team captain Jackson. Her
mental health takes a drastic dip when she gets involved with high school drama.
Kori’s unique writing technique allows for the reader to relive the same day multiple
times through different perspectives, revealing unexpected plot twists and providing
new insights that provide context to different characters actions. Kori Jane’s novel had an undeniable relatability to it. I found this book incredibly
relatable and often felt like I was reading something about my life. Her views are very
authentic, she managed to put my exact experiences into words. I related very much
to the herion in this novel because her and i both come from upper middle class
families and have a seemingly perfect life yet battle with mental health issues.

[Goli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kori's poetic style is exceptionally beautiful and it was interesting to see how she utilized it in a novel. While it was a difficult book to read, it was fascinating to see how each person in the story was their own main character - positioning readers to think about how they interact with those around them and how our lives impact one another. The ending was truly beautiful and definitely left me reeling.

[Emily Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a really short book and I haven’t had a lot of time to read recently, but I’m honestly glad I took my time on this. It was such an incredible read especially considering how young the author is. I think that’s what made it better. She clearly understands how teenagers feel on the daily and you can tell the book was well thought out. I think that’s anyone who struggles to understand what people dealing with mental health issues are going through, should read this book. It’s so important to hear every side of the story and not to judge people from their outside story. Amazing book.

[Kathleen Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this based on a recommendation from my teenage daughter, who is also a writer and similar age as the protagonist. I enjoyed the various perspectives which created much empathy for Mallory, her friends and family. A great reminder that everyone’s life story is for them to tell and equally important for us to hear.

[Ingrid Tang · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the message it sent, but overall found it quite bland. the explanation for mallory's trauma, however well written, was very shallow and i didn't really enjoy the "i was born with it, you can see it in my eyes," narrative that was exhibited. i liked the thing about oranges though. dont get me wrong, this book i good, but its relatively lackluster for what i expected, especially as to how good Spaulding is with her words. Overall, solid 3.4

[Marshall Ku · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read that brings you to a full circle ending

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story itself was very boring and hard to get through. All of the perspectives were a little much for me, but I did love how it ended. I think it would be a good read for teenagers or even adults trying to understand teenagers, but reading it wasn't very interesting or exciting.

[Sera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. The writing is a bit choppy, but the story is absolutely exquisite. Loved the ending. Amazing!

[m.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5 ⭐️

[J's Reading Journal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about Mallory – a clinically depressed teenager who can’t seem to find any aspect of joy in her life. The story follows Mallory along with various other characters that are related to Mallory, like her parents, siblings, friends, and boyfriend. Each chapter occurs across the same timeline each time, however we get to see the varying perspectives of everyone that is involved in Mallory’s life.
I liked the overall message this book sent, but I was bored reading it by mid-point. As the timeline is the same for each chapter, the story felt quite repetitive. We are essentially reading the same story from different perspectives. I had high hopes for this book as it was the author’s debut novel. I’ve also been following the author on Instagram for a very long time and really enjoy her poetry. I rated it a 3.5 (generously).

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Spaulding's poetry, but admit I was skeptical when I saw she'd written a book about boring realism. But I was pleasantly surprised. Her prose captures the relentless momentum of her poetry, and I was brought to tears at several times during many of these emotional crescendos (the damn phones, a good day especially) .

She's far more adept at writing her female characters than her male characters- Jackson and Harry felt very much the products of female imagination of how men think (particularly the disconnection from the details of concrete things). But her skill at making Mallory, Riley, Juliet- and especially Camille come alive was stupendous.

I'm a mentally healthy millennial man, and have struggled to relate to voices captured so well in Spaulding's prose and poetry- even though I know many. I am grateful for window that sings with such emotion.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

😌no words, just a kind smile for all.

[Jim Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on mental illness and how complex people are. The author is a great writer.

[Dakota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book the way the author writes with such detail gives the book a much deeper understanding.

[Jocelyn Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Gives a great perspective on adolescent depression and SI.

[Michael Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

You never know if people are what they seem by looking at them. Are they really happy or are they tremendously sad? And how did the people in their life help make them that way? Well written from an author that might understand the main charater's world a little too much...

[StardustOxidisation · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an impressively accurate depiction of what it is like being a tired teen/young adult in high school who, from what it looks like from outside, has a perfect life. A warm house, a loving family, popularity, effortless beauty and the perfect boyfriend.
Some of the paragraph made me question: is this what my/my friends/my sisters life would sound like if written on paper? Is this how it really is? Because it sure as hell feels so. The characters were way too real to an unusual degree that i haven't seen in many other works.
Although short, Kori Jane Spaulding's novel is such a deep and meaningful view on one day of trying to survive as a high school student with suicidal thoughts. The story manages to explore lots of characters in a small time by retelling and showing the same day they experience, just from different POVs.
The fact that Kori Jane is also an amazing poet showed it's presence in her novel. Some of my beloved poetry lines, haunting and torturing the characters with this thing called "the cruel reality of being a young adult in the 21st century".

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars. It was a deep story about sadness and truly made me realize how important it was that you need love in your life. Even if you are going through rough times you still have to love because you have to think about others. Love is important and when you are feeling at your lowest love pulls you out you just have to let it.