Set in Portland, Oregon in 1992, Julie Winter is ignoring the HIV/AIDS epidemic as she is encouraged to join the swim team by flirtatious Alexis. Julie explores the secrets left by her older brother, who moved to Germany after failing to qualify for the Olympics in swimming.
Publisher’s Description
It’s 1992, and the world is caught up in the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the Balkan Wars, but for fifteen-year-old Julie Winter, the news is noise. In Portland, Oregon, Julie moves through her days in a series of negatives: the skaters she doesn’t think are cute, the trinkets she doesn’t buy at the craft fair, the umbrella she refuses to carry despite the incessant rain. Her family life is routine and restrained, and no one talks about Julie’s older brother, a one-time Olympic-hopeful swimmer who now lives in self-imposed exile in Berlin. Julie has never considered swimming herself, until Alexis, the girls’ swim team captain, tries to recruit her. It’s a dare, and a flirtation—and a chance for Julie to find her brother, or to finally let him go. Anything could happen when her body hits water.
Genre: Historical
Representation:
Gender:
Cis girls: Julie, Alexis
Sexual Orientation:
Lesbian/Queer:Julie, Alexis
Romantic Orientation:
Homoromantic:Julie, Alexis
Race/Ethnicity:
White: Julie, Alexis
Disability
HIV/AIDS