How is this disruptive? The main character in Winter’s Bone, 17-year-old Ree Dolly, has the immense responsibility of taking care of her two younger siblings (and mostly catatonic mother) in the rural Ozarks. Her stasis is disrupted when a Sheriff comes looking for her missing father, who is known to cook meth. Since her father put the family’s house and land up for his bond, if he does not turn up for court, Ree will lose the only security she has: the house.

How does this ignite the story? The steely determination of “I said I’ll find him.”