The Days of Bluegrass Love

Written by Edward Van De Vendel

Narrated by Tom Picasso

Tycho Zeling is drifting through his life. Everything in it – school, friends, girls, plans for the future – just kind of . happens. Like a movie he presses play on, but doesn't direct.

So Tycho decides to break away from everything. He flies to America to spend his summer as a counselor at a summer camp, for international kids. It is there that Oliver walks in, another counselor, from Norway.

And it is there that Tycho feels his life stop, and begin again, finally, as his.

The Days of Bluegrass Love was originally published in the Netherlands in 1999. It was a groundbreaking book and has since become a beloved classic throughout Europe, but has never been translated into English. Here, for the first time, it is masterfully presented to American readers – a tender, intense, unforgettable story of first love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705066140

Edward Van De Vendel

Edward van de Vendel has been a school principal, founder, and teacher. He has won many of the highest prizes for children's literature in the Netherlands, including the Golden Kiss and the Silver Pencil. He lives in Rotterdam and travels widely.

Reviews for The Days of Bluegrass Love

[Dylan Murphy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just finished this book! Started and finished in one day because of how short it was! I think the audiobook made it sort of difficult to follow along just because of how quickly some things move, but I’m giving it 5 stars because of how beautifully brilliant the story is. This was top notch and the narrators voice is lovely. 100%, recommend. Very much.

[oldandnewbooksmell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 1999, eighteen-year-old Tycho wanted a change and a way to maybe find himself. So, he applied to be a junior assistant at an international youth camp in Knoxville, Tennessee. On his way there, he meets a Norwegian boy the same age, Oliver, who is also heading to the same camp as a junior assistant. The two immediately make a connection. Their bond grows as the summer moves along and not long after become a secret couple. But after a night out together they are evicted from the youth camp. Tycho follows Oliver home to Oslo. But Oliver still has another love, football (soccer), and he wants to get noticed. Will the love between Tycho and Oliver last between the desire Oliver has to be discovered? The first part of the story at the camp was beautiful and I really enjoyed getting into those events and seeing how the boys got to know each other. Then the second part, I was feeling super unsure if both boys wanted the relationship… you could tell Oliver wasn’t as freely open about his relationship back home as he was in the States and I was feeling so bad for Tycho. The anxiety Tycho felt about his relationship with Oliver was well written and portrayed splendidly, I really felt my heart aching for him.“It was as if he was being taken by the hand to see it all happening again. But this time he could also see he still hadn’t done enough. That he’d just been trailing along after everything. That he’d been running himself silly, like a stupid fullback”This is a story about your first real love and what you would do to be with them… until you have to step out into the real world again and not “the honeymoon” love bubble.The Days of Bluegrass Love is a great novel for teens and adults. It’s a quick read that will put you into summer camp and falling in love for the 1st time again.I’ve seen there are more books in this series, and this is the first of them. I am very curious about the others and will be keeping my eye out for those to be translated as well.* Thank you Levine Querido and Edelweiss+ for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review