OLIVER

OLIVER
jaar:
2015

genre:

young adult roman, 220 p.

uitgever:

Querido

leeftijd:

15+
prijzen:
Gouden Lijst 2016 (Beste jeugdboek)
Genomineerd voor de Dioraphte Literatour Prijs 2016

OLIVER is a novel about the sixteen-year old Norwegian boy Oliver Kjelsberg, two years before he will meet the Dutch Tycho Zeling - so, two years before the events descibed in my novel THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE. 
OLIVER has great parents, it's summer holiday, he is progressing in his biggest hobby: playing football (he's a goalkeeper), and he has a best friend, Bendik, who is also his nephew. Oliver is not a talker, but does he need to be? 
Well, in this book, all of a sudden his parent's marriage collapses, and within a day some more things happen that make the world seem a whole lot different than Oliver and Bendik always had believed. How do these two boys cope with the scope of events that they are forced to face?

- Dit boek kan apart gelezen worden, maar is tevens een prequel van DE DAGEN VAN DE BLUEGRASSLIEFDE (1999, geüpdatede versie 2015), en ook min of meer als vervolg op ONS DERDE LICHAAM (2006).
Waar DE DAGEN VAN DE BLUEGRASSLIEFDE vooral 'liefde' als thema heeft en ONS DERDE LICHAAM 'vriendschap', zou je kunnen zeggen dat OLIVER vooral gaat over 'familie'.

DE GELUKVINDER

DE GELUKVINDER

jaar:
2008

genre:

young adultroman, jeugdboek, samen met Anoush Elman, 336 p.

uitgever:

Querido

leeftijd:

15+, volwassenen
prijzen:
Glazen Globe 2009 (Beste aardrijkskundige jeugdboek)
Jenny Smelik IBBYprijs 2010 (Beste kinder-/jeugdboek over culturele diversiteit)
Esel des Monats September 2012 (Duitsland)
Genomineerd voor de Gouden Lijst 2009
Genomineerd voor de Buxtehuder Bulle 2012 (Duitsland, 2de plek)
Genomineerd voor de Premi de Literatura Protagoniste Jove 2012/2013 (Spanje, Catalonië)
Genomineerd voor de Vlaamse Kinder- en Jeugdjury (België, 3de plek) 
Kulturdepartementets Oversettelseprisen 2014 (Noorwegen, voor de vertaling)
buitenland:
Duits (Carlsen)
Noors (Cappelen Damm)
Spaans (SM)
Catalaans (Cruïlla)
Spaans (Mexico) (SM)

This novel, which is very dear to me, is based on the true life-story of Anoush Elman (17). It was the first book in the Slash-series, a concept I initiated and that was kindly adopted by my publishing house Querido. In this series well-known authors team up with a younger person - to use their stories as the basic idea for their novel (so the books are 'based on a true story'). Because of this procedure these books try to reflect important tendencies or issues from modern society. THE BOY WHO FOUND HAPPINESS is about the young Hamayun, who has to flee with his family out of Afghanistan, after extreme threats by the Taliban. It's also about the difficult and amazing secret travel they made from Kabul to Western Europa ánd it's about being in a refugee shelter for many, many years, waiting til Immigration Offices make their decision - or not. The subject of this book sounds highly political, but Anoush wanted to tell me not just the bad things, but the good parts as well. 'For me it's actually a book about friendship,' he said, 'friendship and being at home.' I'm still in close contact with Anoush and his family, and this has enriched not only my profession, but also my life.


- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on this book, to be found here.
- The book was also published as a novel for adults.
- The Slash-series consists of 13 more books, by other authors and other young storytellers.

ONS DERDE LICHAAM

ONS DERDE LICHAAM 
jaar:

2006

genre:

young adult roman, 304 p.

uitgever:

Querido

leeftijd:

15+
prijzen:
Gouden Zoen 2007 (beste jeugdboek)
buitenland:
Duits (Carlsen)
Frans (Thierry Magnier)

Duitse cover

OUR THIRD BODY is the second book about the Dutch Tycho Zeling and his Norwegian love Oliver Kjelsberg, after they had met in THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE. But it's half a year later, and they haven't talked to eachother. Tycho moves out of his parent's place, starts a writing training and meets the flamboyant Vonda, who soon becomes his best friend. She is a singer, and together with the third person living in their student's home, dancer Moritz, they enroll in giant adventures: that of the participation (for Vonda) in the Eurovision Song Contest, but especially the needs and requirements, the faithfulness and the betrayal that all can be part of a friendship under pressure. And how about Oliver? Is Tycho still in his mind - like Oliver is in his?

- Dit boek is het vervolg op DE DAGEN VAN DE BLUEGRASSLIEFDE (maar kan apart gelezen worden). Bij het boek verscheen ook de dichtbundel CHATBOX, met gedichten die hoofdpersoon Tycho Zeling schreef. In 2015 werd er een derde deel over Tycho & Oliver gepubliceerd, een 'prequel', OLIVER.
 - Het lied 'Ons derde lichaam', uit het boek, is daadwerkelijk opgenomen! Zangeres Renée van Wegberg en componist Edwin Schimscheimer schreven de muziek. Hieronder kun je het beluisteren:

DE DAGEN VAN DE BLUEGRASSLIEFDE

DE DAGEN VAN DE BLUEGRASSLIEFDE
jaar:

1999, 2015 (bijgewerkte versie)

genre:

young adult boek, 148 p.

publisher:

Querido

age:

15+
prijzen:
Gouden Zoen 2000 (beste jeugdboek)
buitenland:
Duits (Carlsen)
Engels (USA) (Levine Querido)

My first young adult novel, and still in print! It's an intense lovestory - between Tycho (18) from Holland and Oliver (18) from Norway. They meet in a youth camp in the USA and fall in love. The book is all about experiencing your first life-changing love-affair (in this case: between two boys), and trying to find your way in this new reality.

Duitse cover

Cover van de 2de editie (2006)

- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on this book - here.
- A proof translation in English is available.
- There were two German editions. First it was published under the title SPRING WENN DU DICH TRAUST, later it was re-issued as DIE TAGE DER BLUEGRASSLIEBE.
- In 2006 I wrote a folllow-up to this book, ONS DERDE LICHAAM, and in 2015 a prequel was published, OLIVER.