Description
Jess and Sara Jean couldn't be more different. He's a loner with a criminal record; a Metis 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 tries to find time to work on a novel that is her escape from her life. Does Jess really have a role to play in what happens next in her life?
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 communitiess apart are the very things that will bring them together.
Author Bio
An author and elementary school teacher, Colleen Nelson earned her Bachelor of Education from the University of Manitoba in her hometown of Winnipeg. Her previous novels include the critically acclaimed Harvey Comes Home, Sadia, winner of the 2019 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, and Blood Brothers, selected as the 2018 McNally Robinson Book of the Year for Young People. Colleen writes daily in between appearances at hockey rinks and soccer fields in support of her two sports-loving sons.
Biographical note
Colleen Nelson is the author of Tori by Design, which won the 2012 McNally Robinson Young Adult Book Award and was nominated for a 2012 Snow Willow Award, as well as one other novel for young readers, The Fall. As a middle years teacher and an avid reader of young adult fiction, Colleen is inspired by her visits to schools and interactions with young people.
