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
Shaky Ground
After an earthquake, Shorty is trapped underneath debris and can't get out. What better time to tell us a story? He's not going anywhere, after all. We're calling the earthquake our exposition because it gets the ball rolling (or should we say the earth quaking?) with the novel. It also gives Shorty a chance to reexamine his life. It's not until he gets trapped from the earthquake that he thinks about his supernatural beliefs and where he wants to go from here (you know, aside from out from the rubble).
Rising Action
Daddy Dearest
Shorty is happily performing with his twin sister and getting an education… until his dad learns the truth about what his kids are doing. Suddenly, Shorty's dad is killed by a gang and his sister goes missing. For Shorty, this is his big conflict. It makes him take stock and realize that he has to do something meaningful with his life; for him, that's finding his sister. Back in the 18th century, Toussaint has a similar complication when he joins an army of rebel slaves on a fight for freedom.
Climax
Stuck In a Gang With You
Toussaint has won one war—against the French—but then the English launch another war against him. It turns out freeing slaves isn't as easy as they all thought it would be. The second war marks the turning point for Toussaint, who eventually gets captured because of his honor and trust in his son. Fast-forward a few hundred years and Shorty is in a similar situation. His gang is shot at, and he desperately tries to get back with his twin. When he thinks he's finally found Marguerite, though, she doesn't recognize him (kind of like how Toussaint misinterprets his son). Ouch.
Falling Action
The Lies We Tell
Shorty learns that Biggie, his trusted mentor and leader, is actually the one who killed his father. It hits him like a ton of bricks. The lies keep on coming, too, when his mom shares the truth about what happened to Marguerite: It turns out that she died the night Shorty's dad did, and his mom lied about it. This is our falling action because it starts to wrap up the story. Just when we think that Shorty will die in the earthquake wreckage, we're asked to think again.
Resolution
Free at Last! (Sort Of)
The ending is bittersweet. For Toussaint, it's more bitter than anything else. He's captured and locked up, and the guard has thrown away the key. While he's treated fairly at first, the French lose patience with Toussaint and things get worse for the guy. On a more positive note, the Haitian slaves are freed, and Toussaint knows he helped do that. Then there's Shorty. This guy has more luck—thanks to the pwen—than anyone else we know. He gets miraculously rescued, and runs toward his mom and the light. Finally, he's free.