Book Review: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

What I’m Reading Wednesday

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares was really an absolutely wonderful book. I have not read a book that delightful in quite a long time. I knew less than a chapter in that I was going to love the book fiercely, and I was right. I was so excited every time I read this book. Every time I picked it up I just could not wait to dive right in to the story.
This book is a love story, of course, but its a timeless one. It is very very similar to the Time Travelers Wife, in that the story takes place in many different times of the world, as well as different places. The difference is that the story is told by a soul, Daniel, that travels on, sort of like reincarnation through different people.
Daniel believes that the soul of Sophia is his soulmate, and he lives many different lives searching for her. The difference in the two of them is that Daniel remembers almost everything. He remembers from a very early life when he first met Sophia (which is like 700 AD in Africa or something of the sort) all the way though to present day. He finds Sophia as 'Lucy' at a high school. Lucy doesn't have the long memory that Daniel has, so she does not remember her past lives as Sophia and the other girls she has been. This poses a problem for them as Lucy thinks Daniel is crazy when he calls her Sophia, and tells her he has known her for a long time. Daniel knows that Lucy does not remember, but he is so frustrated and wanting her to remember him that he freaks her out a little bit and she runs away from Daniel.
Lucy goes with her best friend Marnie to a psychic some time later who ends up being some what legitimate, and the psychic talks about Daniel, asking Lucy why didn't she believe him, and that he truly loves her. Lucy gets overwhelmed, but eventually decides to look a bit further into this situation, and she goes to a hypnotist. This experience prompts her to travel to England and visit a house her soul once lived in as 'Constance' during a war time. Lucy finds a letter from Constance to herself "whoever she is now".
Because of the details of the letter, Lucy, at this point, learns a bit more of the truth, and accepts it. She becomes depressed, feeling miserable with out Daniel, as she has not seen him since high school. Enter Daniel's evil brother, who wants Sophia for himself (as she was once his wife in an earlier life) which brings in some action and mystery. Evil brother tells Lucy that he is Daniel, and takes her away.

I know I'm not too good at book summaries and reviews, so I'm going to stop there. I do want to say that this book is definitely now one of my top favorite books. The only reason it isn't scoring 5 stars is because of the reading level. It was a bit young, not quite a teenage book, but it was still YA. Anyway. I loved the book and the passion and romance that flowed all through it.

Recommend it: YES! For sure- to any one who loves romance books.

Rating: ★★★★☆