RACINE
by
Alison Clarke
Racine, by Alison Clarke, is book two in
Clarke’s young adult series, The Sisterhood Stories. Racine is a young woman of
color who has always felt different, out of place. One place where she does not
feel this way is in libraries, and as she tries to find her way, she spends a
great deal of time in the Library of Congress. One day, while working in the
library, Racine begins her journey, a journey through which she is to learn her
story. Once she learns and understands her story, her history, she will be able
to embrace her destiny.
The book is
divided into unnumbered chapters. Each of these chapters is a sort of vignette
or story. And, each of these is well written. Clarke’s writing sort of feels
like a drug – reading one of her chapters felt surreal, soothing, almost
lyrical.
The difficulty that I encountered
while reading Racine, however, is
that I became lost. Although I enjoyed what I read within the chapter, there
was no “road map.” I lost track of where the story had come from, why we were
there, and where it was going. There are so many chapters, and I was not sure
why I was reading each or how they fit together. Many dealt with different
characters, and I could not keep track of who each was and how he/she fit within
the “big picture”. I presume that the book tells Racine’s journey as she
discovers all the different histories that make up her story, but I had lost
this thread while reading.
Clarke
writes well, and I like the concept behind Racine.
But, I feel like I missed the point – and, I acknowledge that this might be my
shortcoming, not Clarke’s. Without the transitions, I lost the trail. Although Racine may tell the tale of Racine finding
herself, during my reading of her journey, I lost Racine.
