Structure

“The Fabulous Button Sisters” by Sarah Salway is structured around the evolution of the friendship between two teenage girls. The author has organised it following the traditional plot elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Title

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Beginning

The exposition of the short story is brief and to the point, introducing readers to the characters, the setting and suggesting the intrigue might...

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Middle

The middle of the short story comprises the rising action and the climax. In the rising action, the author mixes present tension moments with a backstory on the relationship between the two girls: “Michelle wasn’t supposed to be my best friend even. She was the new girl at school the term my proper best friend Connie was off with glandular fever, but from the minute she walked into the classroom, I was in love.” (ll. 11-13)

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Ending

The ending of the short story presents the falling action: the girls go to the party, Michelle gets all the attention, and Karen feels invisible: “I spent the party huddled in the kitchen, invisible in Mum’s brown clothes, while Michelle dazzled, and shone, and lit up the room, forcing the rest of us backstage.” (ll. 123-124)

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