Posts

Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl – Review by Cindy Mayberry

Fetching DreamsFetching Dreams by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Neyah and Abby are pen pals. Both learning about each other’s lives. While the girls are the same age, they live very different lifestyles. Neyah lives in Africa while Abby lives in a city on the other side of the globe. Abby works on her social life, while Neyah gathers contaminated water for her family. Neyah longs for the days when she can go to school, while Abby goes to school everyday. Such an inspiring story for all to read. I found both main characters to be strong independent young girls. Who strive for a better life for each other. This author has captured my heart in this story. I feel every 12 year and older child should get the opportunity to read this story. To have a pen pal from a different country and to learn how fortunate they are to live without fear. As this story unfolds many lives are touched by the strength of these two girls. Fantastic story to read! It’s fast paced and you find yourself wanting so much more. I feel this to be an excellent read for young teens, teachers, librarians and parents. Let’s open our children’s minds and bring back helping others.

 

Review@cinful

View all my reviews

Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl – Review by Candice Estes

Fetching DreamsFetching Dreams by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Neyah is a young girl living in Africa, which means that she misses school a lot due to having to walk many miles a day to fetch water for her family to use for food, bathing, washing, crops and livestock. When her school starts a pen pal project with a group of middle school students in Minnesota, Neyah gets to know an American teenager named Abby. Abby is surprised by how different things are, such as a lack of running water, or that Neyah is the one that has to miss school and not her four brothers. Throughout the book, we see many problems that Neyah faces in her daily life, such as diseases caused by lack of clean water, her dad’s lack of willingness to change how things have always been done, the dangers of her climb to and from the different water sources in her area of Africa, bandits, and the possibility that her father will sell her as a second wife for cattle. Neyah at first thinks that Abby’s life is “perfect”, but quickly we learn that Abby has issues of her own. Her parents are struggling after issues of their own, and then Abby ends up with a brain tumor. The girls start working together to get access to water in Neyah’s village, by raising money and awareness of the situation that Neyah lives every day. This is a great book for reminding people that everyone has their issues, we are not that much different than other people our age in other places around the world. This is a great book for adults and teenagers, alike.

View all my reviews

Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl – Review by Shelly Kittell

Fetching DreamsFetching Dreams by Mary Evanson Bleckwehl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a book that grips your heartstrings with the story of two girls living two different lives with two separate challenges but they are both so strong and brave. Neyah has a very tough life and yet she perseveres and continues to write of her adventures to Abby. We get an idea of what is going on. There are moments of joy and moments of heart break. For Abby, life is different. She may have more but she is facing her own battle. We learn about her adventures in her letters to Neyah. I felt like I was on the emotional roller coaster with this book. It was a good thing because this story reminds you that you are alive and blessed. The author does a very good job of making this story feel realistic. The writing and the characters just keep you wanting to find out what’s coming next. This story is a definite tearjerker so I’d keep tissues handy. It’s one of the best YA stories I’ve read this year.

View all my reviews

Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl

σ(ൈ)φ BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE φ(ൈ)σ
Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl
Genre – YA, Family
Page Count – 298
Cover Designer – Ashley Literski
Two girls living a continent part become pen pals. Quiet and shy Neyah lives in a rural African village and longs for more time in school, but spends most days fetching water for her family to survive. Bold and boisterous Abby lives comfortably in a modern city and spends much of her time planning her social calendar. Despite their differences, an unlikely friendship forms and they discover they have one thing very much in common. Their lives are tragically threatened by something they can’t control. Or maybe they can.         

~ AMAZON ~

Click here to view the Book Trailer of Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl

Click here to experience a Chapter Reading of Fetching Dreams by Mary Bleckwehl

Mary Bleckwehl believes words matter. As a children’s writer she uses them to challenge readers to not just imagine a better world but to take action to make it so. Passionate about promoting literacy, Bleckwehl has presented to nearly 100,000 school children as an author.

Bleckwehl grew up in an Iowa farm home with few books but a trove of experiences that are the foundation of her writing. As a writer, she draws on youth experiences as well as her imagination and years of parenting and teaching. She craves variety and, thus, writes non-fiction and fiction for many age groups. Her newest book for middle-grade through adult readers is Fetching Dreams-reviewed by Kirkus as “an engaging tale about finding one’s voice and making faraway connections.” Bleckwehl’s latest picture book, Arrrgh! Me HATE To Wait! joins her award-winning picture books, Henry you’re late AGAIN! Henry you’re hungry AGAIN?and Claire’s Hair. Other published work: The Birthday Cookbook (2021) a fun and easy recipe book for kids; her debut middle grade novel, The Worry Knot (January 2022); and four nonfiction books in the Awesome Disgusting Careers series (September 2022). She has three more books due out in 2024.

Bleckwehl graduated from Wartburg College and received her M.S. in Educational Management from Lesley University in Boston. She lives in Northfield, Minnesota where she taught school. Together with her husband, she raised three children, a few unruly pets, and plenty of garden weeds. When she’s not dreaming up a new book idea, Bleckwehl can be found presenting to book lovers in schools, libraries and conferences or enjoying a peaceful pontoon ride with family.

Author Interview with Mary Bleckwehl

~ FACEBOOK ~ INSTAGRAM ~ TWITTER ~ TIKTOK ~ PINTEREST ~ GOODREADS ~ BOOKBUB ~ WEBSITE ~ YOUTUBE ~

~ WEBSITE ~ FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER ~ PINTEREST ~ YOUTUBE ~ INSTAGRAMFACEBOOK GROUP ~ TIKTOK ~