250 Hours — Colleen Nelson

Jess and Sara Jean couldn't be more different. He's a loner with a criminal record, a Métis raised on the reserve, the son of a residential-school survivor. She's from nearby Edelburg, a conservative small town. Abandoned by her mother, Sara Jean cares for her obese grandmother and writes to escape.

When Jess is found guilty of arson, he's ordered to complete 250 hours of community service, starting with Sara Jean's neglected garage. Sorting through boxes left by her grandfather, they discover that the secrets keeping their communities apart are the very things that will bring them together.