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 (Initial Situation)
Something Ain't Right
Twins Jude and Noah Sweetwine used to be super close, but something—we don't know what—has torn them apart. When they were in the 13-14 range, Noah was a sensitive artist and Jude was aggressively normal (a.k.a., a scantily dressing teenybopper with a hankering for boys). By age 16, they seem to have switched personalities. By flipping back and forth between their perspectives, we're gonna see what happened and figure out what the heck is going on.
Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)
Big-Time Drama
When Noah and Jude are 13, each person in their family is involved in one or more intense romantic relationship(s) that comes to a crossroads. Mr. and Mrs. Sweetwine split. Mrs. Sweetwine's having an affair with a local artist—a secret that Noah discovers. Noah drags Brian, a friend he's been fooling around with, out of the closet. Jude sleeps with some guy and regrets it instantly. Not enough craziness, you say? In the midst of all this, Mrs. Sweetwine accidently drives off a cliff…and dies.
Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)
Everyone Unravels
At age 16, the twins are still dealing with the fallout from their mother's death. Noah is closed off, depressed, and possibly suicidal (though he does throw the occasional party). Jude isn't doing much better. Flunking out of art school, she seeks mentorship from Guillermo Garcia, a famous sculptor. (He's the local artist who Dianna was having an affair with, but Jude doesn't know that.)
As she carves, she has an epiphany: She has to help Noah get into art school. Meanwhile, Noah, who incorrectly assumes that Jude found out that their mother was having an affair with Guillermo, almost kills himself (maybe on accident). Jude saves him, with a last-minute assist from her own love interest, Oscar.
Falling Action
All Is Revealed
Everyone's secrets come pouring on out. Jude finds out about her mother's affair with Guillermo. Guillermo finds out that Mrs. Sweetwine had intended to marry him. (He had thought that, at the time of her death, she was planning to reconcile with her husband.) Noah finds out that he didn't get into art school because Jude never mailed his application. Amazingly, everyone's okay with all of it. Let the healing begin.
Resolution (Denouement)
Happy Endings All Around
Would you believe everything's hunky dory now? Jude and Noah make up. Noah and Brian are back together. Jude and Oscar declare their undying love for one another. Mr. Sweetwine…randomly buys a houseboat? Whatever, good for him.