Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition
Imagine Tom Sawyer Had a Gullible Little Brother…
… and you have yourself the Great Brain. He's even named Tom. Our story begins in Adenville, Utah, in 1896, where the three Fitzgerald brothers live with Mamma, Papa, and Aunt Bertha. They fit the "all-American" boy stereotype in that they love to play, fight, get dirty, and drive their parents nuts. The twist is that the middle brother, Tom, is incredibly clever, and he puts that cleverness to good use by figuring out ways to make a penny or two off just about everything life throws his way.
Rising Action
Dolla, Dolla Bills, Y'all
As the school year ends and summertime comes, Tom's schemes grow increasingly lucrative and increasingly morally questionable. By the time September rolls around, he comes up with a plan to get the new schoolteacher fired. The stakes are higher than they've ever been—a man's career is on the line—bust J.D. cracks under pressure, leading Papa to force Tom to confess before the school board.
Climax
Deal or No Deal
Tom strikes a deal with Andy Anderson, who has just lost a leg and is desperate to learn how to do his chores and play with the other boys. Tom agrees to put his great brain to work on the problem—in exchange for Andy's new erector set. But after helping Andy get back into the swing of things, when Andy offers up the erector set, Tom finds he can't take it. It's almost Christmas, and perhaps, like the Grinch's, Tom's heart grows three sizes that day. Either way, he realizes that sometimes, doing the right thing is its own reward.
Falling Action
He's Not Sick, He's Just Happy
J.D. is sure something is wrong with Tom, but Tom says he just realized it wouldn't be right to take Andy's erector set. He even returns J.D.'s real Indian beaded belt that he swindled him out of months earlier. Tom is all set to follow a new path.
Resolution
It Gets Boring Really Fast
According to J.D., the Great Brain has reformed, so Adenville becomes Dullsville. It's the end of the story, and the end of the book.