Beyond the Picket Fence

Lori Wick Short Stories #2

by Lori Wick

An uplifting anthology of short stories, each accompanied by the author's personal insights into the characters or background of the tale, ranges from a delightful tale of camping the wilderness to enjoying a Disneyland Christmas, all the while sharing th

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Romance, Fiction, Christian Romance, Short Stories, Historical Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Lori Wick is known as one of the most versatile Christian fiction writers on the market today. From pioneer fiction to a series set in Victorian England to a contemporary novel, Lori's books (over 5 million in print) continue to delight readers and top the Christian bestselling fiction list. Lori and her husband, Bob, live in Wisconsin with "the three coolest kids in the world."

Reviews

[Kristine Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of Lori Wick's books are wonderful. Somehow I had missed this book of short stories. I am so glad I found it in our church library. While all of the stories were delightful, I especially enjoyed the Rancher's Lady. i wish it had been a novel, I did not want it to end. As always, Lori Wick does romance the right way!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful collection of stories!
Each one was unique and meaningful in their way. I also enjoyed the small notes from Lori at the end of each one.
The romances were sweet and beautifully done.
I read a story a night and it was a great way to end a day.
Overall, great, light stories with some great messages.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for some light reading and this book met that requirement. With eight short stories, it was easy to read one a day. Each fiction story was triggered by something out of the author's life. Lori Wick is a Christian author and her stories in this book portray this.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all of these short stories.

[April Schwanke Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a handful of Lori Wick novels, but I wasn't sure how well her skills would play out with short stories. Absolutely as excellent as her other books, this collection gave as much emotion, as many tears, smiles, and other reactions to the wonderful characters I came to care about. Well done, once again.

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful set of Christian short stories by Lori Wick. Three wonderful stories with my favorite being the Christmas gift. Brenda May's story was very sad (child abuse by her father) and touching at the same time as she became a Christian in her own unique way. A very touching ending.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the stories in this book.

[Lori (on hiatus, life is crazy busy)) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great inspirational book of short stories! I loved all the stories in this book. They were uplifting and spiritual.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several delightful short stories. I liked some far better than others, but overall it was a nice break from heavier reading. Sometimes it is nice to just relax and go with some easy reading.

[Nguyen Le · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up at Goodwill because the cover looked promising to read. This is a collection of love stories and they are very religious which I didn't realize until I read it through. It was easy to read and understand, although some stories were rather weird. Nevertheless, they are short stories, so there wasn't much space for character development.

I liked the first story about a woman who suffered tragedy and learned to open her heart to love again. All the characters are designed as kind-hearted, caring, sympathetic, then the couple became lovey-dovey and sentimental at the end. This motif repeats for following stories, so I got quite bored by the last one. I won't say it's mawkish, but it's on the line between being romantic and being too corny.

[jaimedannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun read, several of the stories were almost too short, time went quickly and so there were holes in the story. I do like that Lori Wick shared this part of her creative process. She says she will pause her writing and take a break by working on a short story. It's as if she has to get other characters out of her head so she can get refocused on the book she is working on.

my ratings:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Loved it. Couldn't put it down. I will probably read it again and it has a place in my library.
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Enjoyed it. Good characters, great story. if nonfiction, great information, interesting topic.
⭐⭐⭐: Liked it. Glad I read it, but won't read again.
⭐⭐: okay, I won't read it again, it will not be kept for my library.
⭐: I didn't like it, don't recommend it.

[Bruce Dinsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a long-time fan of Lori Wick and have read most of her books. I was pleasantly surprised by this anthology of short fiction that didn't exactly follow a story arc, but as each entry completed she explained how the story came about. She often wrote things like this to see how much an idea would be fleshed out, but quite often stopped short of novella-sized bites, so this collection is a good view at her writing and thinking as well as showing her faith and her awesome handle on historical periods that are a big part of her writing.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in a free library stand by the road. Reading it brought me back to my junior high years when I lapped up her romances. Time has definitely made me more cynical of the goody-two-shoes characters that are often in her stories, whose limited traumas are dealt with by slapping Biblical platitudes on them.

At the same time, it was refreshing to read something so very clean, and it was like chocolate mousse. Light, fluffy, a treat, but not nutritious or for everyday consumption.

[Jacquie Stricklind · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories were so good and emotional. The Christmas Gift made me cry with tears of joy for Brenda and her new permanent family. Beyond the Picket Fence had so many touching moments between Nikki and the children, Petra and Theo. This book was so hard to put down and showed many examples of how much God loves each and every one of us.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet story. This one a published children's author returns to the home and town she grew up in to write. She makes friends with a father with two children and before long they are in love and eventually get married.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
This was a quick read for me...read it in one day. I enjoyed all the short stories.

[Karen Blazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading. Inspirational stories.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this collection of short stories, she's a very good Christian writer.

[Cricket Muse]

For those who like happy ever after stories with faith-filled content.

[Grace Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the short stories. I don't believe I've read Lori Wick before but now I will look for more of her books.

[Carolyn Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the stories were good, I prefer her series and stand alone novels more

[Crystan M.]

A collection of sweet short stories that cover a variety of life events. Ms. Wick manages to create believable characters in a few pages and had me smiling by the end of the story.

[BrittNeedsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Lori Wick and everything she writes.

[Rhonda (IG: growing_faith.reads)]

Consists of 8 short stories, some more boring and some better; none very fully developed but still a nice collection to have. No spice; a fair bit of faith.

[Adelyn Jonker · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow!

[Nancy Pickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third or fourth re-read of this book. I love Lori Wick's stories that are full of real sweet romance and entertaining stories.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected love is the theme of "The Camping Trip." Neither Hilary Farrell nor Adam Maxwell want to remarry, but when Adam becomes the coach of the baseball team of Hilary's son, the two soon fall in love. Easily the best story in the collection deals with love of a different kind. In "The Christmas Gift," an abused young girl finds tentative happiness in her foster home. Unfortunately, ten-year-old Brenda has been disappointed before, so she is reluctant to bond with the family. Over Christmas she realizes that they truly love her, and she is finally willing to accept their love. Overall, this is a charming collection of stories that should please Wick's fans.

[Judine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lori Wick wrote these short stories without originally intending to publish them. She introduced them by saying there wasn't enough to them for a full novel. I respectfully disagree -- at least three of them would have been improved by being expanded into a book. Otherwise, these are light and satisfactory (though not great) stories.

[Atleastreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful short read. Very satisfying. I loved all of the 8 short stories Lori Wick wrote.
The only thing I had a hard time with was imagining some of the age differences between a few characters. Especially the last one. I didn't picture that much of a gap. But, that's just me I guess. Overall I definitely recommend this.