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
Middle School: Horrible Enough Without Somebody Dying
It's safe to say Corinna Burdette's life stinks. As if eighth grade isn't already difficult enough, Corinna's mom dies of cancer two weeks before school starts. Her dad's in a fog, and her best friend Joci has been MIA since the funeral, and as school begins, Corinna's sure she's going to be either made fun of, or turned into the "class pity project." After all, how could anyone possibly relate to her life right now? Everyone she knows still has a mom.
Rising Action
Gotta Love Girl Drama
Corinna still needs Joci in her life, but Joci's being a pretty lousy friend—she says some really insensitive stuff, like that if her mom died, she'd kill herself. And when she invites Corinna over to her house one day, Corinna sees a bracelet in Joci's room identical to one she lost. Huh. Plus, Joci won't stop complaining about her mom at the lunch table. Joci is not nailing this whole Corinna's-mom-died situation.
When Corinna meets Clare, though, she finally has a friend to whom she can relate, since Clare's dad died. It isn't just smooth sailing from here, however, since Joci gets jealous and demands to know why Corinna and Clare are spending so much time together.
Climax
I'd Kiss You Even if You Smelled Like Old Spice
After a year of feeling like the most abnormal girl on the planet, Corinna's crush, Alex, pays attention to her. Finally having gotten somewhat of a clue, her dad takes her to The Gap, where she gets a cute outfit to wear to the school dance. And then—as if this all weren't good enough—Corinna and Alex do that junior-high face-bumping thing that passes for kissing. Our girl finally comes out of the grief pit, a little, for an evening. Yay. This is definitely a turning point.
Falling Action
Toilets: Use at Your Own Risk
The Burdettes were planning a trip to Japan before Sophie got sick, and Corinna's grandparents offer to pay for Corinna and her dad to still go. They travel to Tokyo, where they meet Sophie's former host parents, the Ishibashis, and then it's off to Kyoto, where they meet the Ishibashis' daughter, Aiko, who introduces them to Obon, a festival to honor the dead. She teaches Corinna how the Japanese summon their ancestors at a shrine, and Corinna takes some incense back to America to make a shrine to Sophie.
Corinna and her dad share some good times together during the trip, finally laughing together again. What else are you going to do when you flood the Ishibashis' bathroom with their toilet/bidet?
Resolution
High School: One Step Closer to Freedom
A year has passed since Sophie's death, and it's time to start ninth grade. Corinna and her dad are beginning to joke around again, and he's even learning to cook. She and Joci have patched things up, and Corinna's looking forward to being friends this year—as her dad drops her off at school, she thinks she sees him smile, which makes her think they might actually return to something resembling normal.