Flipping Fantastic: synopsis

This story is set out in the form of diary entries by twin brothers and their mother. The story starts with
the last day of primary school at Peter Hill where the twin brothers both acted parts in a school play.
Tristan gets to play the leading character as Tom Sawyer, whereas James only got tiny role, and still he
cannot do it. Throughout the diary pages, the thoughts of both the twin brothers, Tristan and James about
their new schools that they will be attending shortly are reflected. In this story, there are also diary pages
of their mother and it does reflect her thoughts on the behavioural aspects of her twin sons.

Tristan is not an ordinary boy. He is physically disable and is wheel-chair bound. He has always been
pushed around by James or his mother. Both Tristan and James have opposite characters. Although
Tristan is disable, he is very determine and confident, but James seems to be very shy and timid.

James feels that having Tristan go to a special school called Chesterlea Grange, where Tristan will be
home only during weekends, is somewhat disadvantageous to him as he needs Tristan's help in
Highfields, the new school he will be attending which is a day school for ordinary students. Moreover,
he is shy and believes there is no one there whom he will be able to depend upon.

Tristan confused whether to attend Chesterlea Grange or not. Once, he visited the school, and he seems
to like it, as the school provided swimming pool, and Tristan loves to swim. Every summer, they hold
event such as the Paralympics. But, he doubtful about his decision to leave James. When his mother
asked him whether he really want to go to Chesterlea Grange, he answered no. Later, he got confused
and started to regret.

James feels concern about Tristan changing his mind. So, he has a talk with Tristan and reminded
Tristan about things that they saw when they visited the school and how friendly the staffs were. So,
Tristan finally changes his mind again and tells her mother that he wants to go to Chesterlea Grange. So,
when the semester starts, James goes to Highfields and Tristan goes to Chesterlea Grange. Both of them
are happy with their new schools

SYNOPSIS - FLIPPING FANTASTIC (FORM ONE)

‘Flipping Fantastic’ by Jane Langford is a story about twin brothers and their mother. Tristan is an
outstanding, brilliant and a capable boy but James is shy, nervous and lacks confidence. Both of them
are about to finish their primary education at Peter Hill Primary soon and plan to begin their new school
term in two different schools.
Their mother decides to enrol James in Highfields and Tristan who is physically challenged and
wheelchair bound, in a special school (Chesterlea Grange). Both brothers are confused over the thought
of being separated as they have never been apart from each other. Since they rely on each other, the
twins are concerned about how they are going to cope in their new school environment.

The mother wants the twins to be independent. She is confident that Tristan would be able to cope well
at Chesterlea Grange. However, she worries about James and wonders how he is going to manage all
alone at Highfields. Tristan changes his mind about Chesterlea Grange, in order to be with James.
Besides that, the school is far away from home and he would only be able to see James once a week. On
the other hand, James manages to persuade him by reminding him of all the facilities and activities in his
new school that Tristan dreamt of.

Knowing James cannot cope himself alone, Tristan calls on their friend Kiara Jones to help James in
Highfields. The twins at last realise that they have made the right decision and their new school
environment is flipping fantastic.

ELEMENTS IN FLIPPING FANTASTIC (FORM ONE)

SETTING

1.Peter Hill Primary: Tristan and James are finishing their final year in this primary school. They
perform in a play entitled “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” which is the last activity in the school.

2.Chesterlea Grange: This is a residential school for students of special needs situated far away from
Tristan’s home. Tristan looks forward to be enrolled in this special school which has all the facilities that
he has dreamt of such as a drama studio, games room, swimming pool and a paddock. The school also
has sports activities such as basketball tournament, archery contest, wheelchair games and so on.

3.Highfields: This is the school that James is going to be enrolled in when the new school term begins.
At the end of the story, James feels excited about his new school as most of his schoolmates are there
including Kiara Jones.

CHARACTER
Tristan and James : They are the main characters in the story. They are twin brothers who are dependent
on each other. Tristan is more confident and outstanding than James. James is shy, nervous and has a
low self-esteem.
Mum: She is the mother of Tristan and James. She is determined to send her sons to different schools so
that they would be independent and confident about their own abilities

THEMES
Fear of the unknown: James dreads being alone in Highfields without the help of Tristan. Although
Tristan feels excited about his new school, at times he feels confused at being alone and far away from
home and his brother in the new school.
Motherly pride: Mum takes pride in her boys’ ability. She admires James’s courage to perform on stage
despite being an introvert and appreciates Tristan’s great performance. as ‘Tom Sawyer’ in the school
play.
Other themes/ sub-themes: a caring society, being independent, brotherly love.

VALUES
Independence, concern, gratefulness, appreciation, consideration, helpfulness

LITERARY DEVICES

1.Point of View
This story is written from the first person point of view. The pronoun “I” is used. We see the events
from three perspectives; namely that of Tristan, James and Mum. We can experience their thoughts and
feelings.

2.Tone
The tone is generally sincere, serious and reflective. At times it is emotional.
Diction (the choice of words used in the story)
• serious - …James, on the other hand, has always been so nervous. I’ve been really worried about
him…
• reflective – Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean we have to be good at the same things. I accept that.
• emotional - Talk about pride! Tonight I thought I was going to burst with it!
• simple vocabulary; short sentences; lots of exclamation marks (!) to express emotions
• use of contractions (e.g. he’s; it’s, etc) to show a conversational style

3. Simile
The story has several similes e.g. I feel like a tyre that has burst; as freely as a freshly oiled cog, etc.

4. Journal entries/reflections• 3 different styles to express the thoughts and feelings of the 3 characters.

5.Contrast• Contrast of writing styles. E.g. Tristan’s thoughts are in a box; James’s thoughts appear to
be on lined paper while mum’s thoughts are in italics.
• Contrast of opinions and characters Tristan loves drama while James loathes it.

6.Slang /colloquial expressions

e.g. .. the new school is really cool; collywobbles; mate; flipping; I’ve really blown it! (to give it a fresh
modern feel)

7.Rhetorical questions
Questions that require no answer. e.g. How can I tell Mum?

Synopsis
Flipping Fantastic is set out in the form of diary entries by twin brothers, Tristan, James and their
mother. The twins have completed primary education in Peter Hill Primary and will be going to different
secondary schools. Tristan who is wheelchair-bound will be attending Chesterlea Grange, a special
residential school for the disabled. James will be attending High fields, normal secondary day school.
Tristan is more confident than James who tend to be shy. Both boys have high opinions of the others
abilities but realise that they rely a lot on each other.

While Tristan is excited about his new school, James is not too keen as he will not be with Tristan any more.
Tristan knows that James is depressed so he tries to help by changing his mind about going to Chesterlea
Grange. James is happy about this but later realizes that Tristan is doing it for his sake. He convinces Tristan to go to
Chesterlea Grange and Tristan arranges for a friend to lookout for James in the new school. Both are happy with
their new schools.

Setting
a)The children’s house -A secure and familiar place

b)Peter Hill Primary -the boys old school which they love

c)Highfields -a brilliant normal secondary school

d)Chesterlea Grange – a residential school for the disabled