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
I See Dead People
Sabriel's a student at boarding school, but the magic she studies isn't taught in class. Her dad's a necromancer, and he's been teaching her necromancy most of her life. What does Sabriel want to be when she grows up? We don't really get to find out, because Sabriel doesn't have much choice—she's about to step up and use those necromancy skills for the first time.
Rising Action
O Dad, Where Art Thou?
Sabriel's dad goes missing, and sends her his most prized possessions via ghostly FedEx. A monster may be responsible, so Sabriel has to go to the Old Kingdom to find out what happened—and once she gets there, monsters pretty much chase Sabriel for most of her journey. Can Sabriel make it to safety before a flaming death spirit turns her into a zombie? Can she trust the talking cat that joins her for the journey? How about the two-hundred-year-old naked guy she rescues? Sabriel needs to keep it together while her life gets really dangerous and weird.
Climax
Run Away! Run Away!
Kerrigor, the Dead Guy Formerly Known As a Prince, is the power-mad monster behind all the evil stuff that's been happening. Sabriel nearly has a big showdown with Kerrigor in the capital city just as she finds her dad, but her dad tells her to run away. And you know what? She does. Her dad dies, but Kerrigor doesn't—and this means we get an extra bonus climax. Lucky us, though not so lucky for Sabriel.
Extra Bonus Climax
Monster Showdown
At long last, it's Kerrigor versus Sabriel, complete with extra zombie action in the background. And… Sabriel destroys Kerrigor's body. She's nearly got him, folks—she's trapping him with her magic ring. But wait—is that a sword? Kerrigor swings and hits, and… Sabriel's down. Wait… what? We thought this book was called Sabriel, not Kerrigor. How can Kerrigor win?
Resolution
I'm Not Dead, I'm Getting Better
Guess what happens when you're fated to be the world's most important necromancer? If you die, your dead relatives send you back to life to do your job. Sabriel is saved by the bell—okay, not really, because in this universe, bells do something else—and returns to the land of the living.