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The latest from Ann Brashares, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a magical story of reincarnation and a love that lasts more than a lifetime
Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. For all the times that he and Sophia have been connected throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart.
But just when Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally awakens to the secret of their shared past, the mysterious force that has always separated them reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.
Her latest novel, "My Name Is Memory," is about a young man who is probably the most constant lover in all of literature.
Ann Brashares is the author of the phenomenal five-million-copies-selling series of young adult novels, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls In Pants, and Forever in Blue, and the New York Times bestselling adult novel The Last Summer (of You and Me).
My Name is Memory is a powerful love story. Daniel is described as an old soul -- his soul has lived through countless reincarnations and he remembers each of his past lives. In the world that Ann Brashares creates, there are a handful of old souls who retain memories of their past lives. Everyone else lives their lives with their slates clean, with no clear memories of past experiences. Though Brashares suggests that the occasional sense of affinity that we have with people may have come from a friendship or a tie in a previous life. The few that retain memories of past lives can usually trace this ability or "long memory" to a deep trauma or a strong affinity of sorts. Of the old souls, Daniel stands out since his memory reaches back over 1,500 years to the time that he first met and fell in love with Sophia.
Daniel's memory comes from his love of Sophia, as if he wills himself to remember everything about her. His love and fate lead Daniel to retain these memories each time he is reborn. Somehow Daniel and Sophia are reborn within similar times. They encounter each other in different cultures and continents over 1,500 years. Daniel remembers his past lives starting from when he first met Sophie in 520 A.D. to each of his reincarnations. In all the different reincarnations, Daniel knows Sophia. But equal to his joy in finding her is his disappointment that Sophia never recognizes Daniel.
Daniel learns how to carry over skills and wealth from one life to another. He's skilled in medicine, in business, and in most trades. In each rebirth, Daniel prepares to meet Sophia and with each new encounter he is equally surprised and moved. He tries not to overwhelm her -- his love/obsession can surely frighten her away especially since she never seems to remember him. Daniel begins from scratch each time.
Sophia's latest reincarnation is Lucy, a high school senior with a powerful crush on her mysterious young classmate named Daniel. Daniel moved to Lucy's high school at the start of their junior year and though he caused a stir because of his good looks and athleticism, he stood apart. He seemed more mature, a little lost and deeply sad -- all of which drew Lucy's attention. When Daniel acted differently too and ignored invitations from the most popular girls and spent time with the social outcasts, Lucy imagined herself helping him navigate through high school. Though they've barely spoken over the two years, Lucy daydreams about Daniel and feels drawn to him. Lucy's voice and character come across clearly: a young girl, enthusiastic, engaging with the usual romantic hopes.
While Lucy is likable and draws you in to the story, it is Daniel that makes the book. Daniel is Memory -- and the plot revolves around his struggle to win Sophia.
Daniel and Sophia face another obstacle -- there lives another old soul who remembers both Daniel and Sophia clearly. He had been Sophia's husband in a previous life and is determined to punish Sophia and Daniel for what he interprets as their betrayal of him.
My Name Is Memory is a powerful love story and an engrossing read. Lucy and her high school reminded me a little of the Twilight series with Bella Swan and her obsession with Edward, but Lucy/Sophia is much more fun and likable than Bella. I recommend My Name Is Memory to someone looking for an unusual romance.
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.6261710
Posted January 16, 2011
This book is 100% identical to Lauren Kate's Fallen. The only difference is that it is really bad!
6 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I really enjoyed the book up until the last 2 pages. I can not figure out why the author ended the book the way she did. I am almost mad I read it because I needed to hear what was to happen with Lucy and Daniel since they he chased her for so long. I really did enjoy the unique ideas the book suggested and heck I wish it were true- we could remember- but why couldnt she just either ended it very happily or very tradically??? Is there going to be a sequel? Can't see how that would work- so what the heck happened? For the rest of my life I will wonder. If you like a book that leaves the end to your imagination- go for it- it is good but I didn't like the last 2 pages
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 15, 2010
I'm pretty picky when it comes to stories. I hate being let down, I require a satisfying ending. This story was enjoyable! It does seem to be leading to a sequel. I was satisfied. I will say though, and this is my only complaint. It was so much like "Fallen" by Lauren Kate. We're talking almost identical story give or take some major details. Right down to the main characters names.
Fallen characters names were Luce and Daniel and My Name is Memory is Lucy and Daniel, both stories deal with falling in love with the same girl throughout many different life times. The story was scary close to Fallen. Good, maybe better, but still a little too much the same. I really do think someone copied someone. Should it stop you from reading this book? No. :) Just throwing it out there though that it is almost exactly like Fallen. I still do recommend this book, it was an enjoyable read. I finished it in two days.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.HEDI09
Posted June 14, 2010
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The book is haunting and exciting as the reader peeks into Daniel's lives and how they interweave with Lucy's past lives. Lucy is a girl with a crush on a boy who is a little different. She is drawn to him and cannot explain why. Daniel sees Lucy,but also knows her as Sophia, as he calls her,and sees into her soul and knows exactly where she has been because he has been there with her. Love it!!
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Rachel2011
Posted March 29, 2012
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This book sounds identical to Lauren Kate's Fallen series. But the Fallen series is outstanding and came out several years before this one. This book seems like it was written to copy fallen-same names of characters and even the same plot, wow! I recommend that you skip this one and go read the REAL novel: Fallen by Lauren Kate.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Laura144
Posted November 12, 2012
I absolutely LOVE this amazing book. BEST BOOK I EVER READ! The drama of love throughout time creates an endless fantansy as Daniel searches to find his truel sole mate. The end of the book is a huge cliff hanger and there has yet to be a sequel. You fall for the characters almost as much as Daniel falls for Sophia. The simple idea that soles stay the same and get passed on to another body is incrediable. With Daniel's gift to remember his past lives, he takes the reader along the journey of his past lives and his search to be with Sophia. Through tragic losses and seperations their paths never seem to meet untill Daniel and Sophia are in the same school and grade. My favorite lives of Daniel with Sophia were the journey through the desert to save Sophias life, and when Daniel was in WWI and was brought to Sophia's aid in a hospital. In both situations they fall in love but the love to Sophia dies with her. Each death opens a new door to a new life and a new life of loving eachother only if Daniel can find Sophia.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I read this book in a matter of 2 days, while I was on vacation, because I NEEDED to finish it. I am not a fan of Ann Brashare's work, but I picked up this book because I have hearty love of the idea of reincarnation and soulmates. The ability of remember the details of past lives was never something I thought could be a burden until I read this book. The story is sad, and creates a level of anxiety for you while you read it. How can one man try for 1,500 years to finally be able to love his soulmate?
I think she does a great job dealing with the emotions and the practicality of such a bizarre concept. I was hooked, but the ending was pretty terrible. Upon reading some of these reviews and discovering it's supposed to be a trilogy, I will tone down my rage at the ending.
After I finished this book, I'm pretty sure I was in a depression for a good 2 days.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 11, 2010
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"My Name is Memory" is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Brashares is a master at creating meaningful characters, deliberate and beautiful language, and a page-turning plot. Amazing book, a must read.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 19, 2010
This is the best romantic book ive read in years. If youre a helpless romantic, then this book is for you. I love daniel, his character is pure and his love, enduring. It makes you believe in true love all over again. I fell in love over and over again. Cant wait wait for the next book. So hurry up ann brashares
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 2, 2012
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Extraordinary in its creativity, My Name is Memory, is a unique love story. Daniel and Lucy / Constance / Sophia, (different names in one soul) are the main characters. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn apart, painfully and fatally. He is so haunted by his actions his first time around that he desperately seeks her forgiveness throughout the centuries. Sophia, however, has no memory of her past lives and it seems that Daniel’s hope of Sophia’s love will always be beyond his reach. The author managed to make the corresponding back story work well with the current time frame so the reader can make sense of what is happening and what has happened. It is great character building and an unusual, albeit intriguing plot. I found Daniel to be an extremely engaging but sadly tragic character. This is a very interesting and well written book, nothing life changing, but certainly one that will raise many questions in your mind.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 20, 2010
I've been staying away from romantic stories for years, and picked this one up nonetheless. I am SO glad that I did. I found the story to be very original, and in fact was the perfect escapist read. It takes you all over the world, back in time, and into the current day. I feel that the author has a true flair for language, and as I read, enjoying the story, I also found myself really appreciating the beauty of the emotions and backdrops she was describing. In a word: captivating. Read it; it's worth it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.If you liked The Time Traveler's Wife, read this book. Although more reincarnation than time travel, the story is written with the same transitions between past and present. A little confusing at the get go, the story unfolds in a beautiful way that makes you want more of the past and more the present at the same time. I love how the author switches between first person and third person when changing times. This is a love story between Daniel who has ability to remember past lives and his soul mate who does not. The ending felt a bit unfinished, but I wouldn't want to ruin it for you. Overall, My Name is Memory was an enjoyable read with an original story that left me wishing for more chapters.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 1, 2010
Great story! Original, Interesting, Unusual - Class A story
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 26, 2010
I've seen a few reviews saying they didn't like this books ending because it left you to imagine what happens... Well just so you all know this is the first book in a trilogy. So the ended is set up to leave you wanted more and waiting for the next book. So this isn't the end of the road for Daniel and Lucy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 19, 2010
I rated this story 4-stars, but I'm still a little ambivilent about it. At first, it seemed like a very similar storyline to the recent novel "Fallen" by Lauren Kate. In fact, the two primary characters have the same names (Daniel & Lucy/Luce). Both deal with memories, long loves, an evil nemesis, etc. But this book quickly changed from the YA-genre to a more adult theme as the characters aged. I loved when Ms. Brashares took us through centuries, countries, cities and families through Daniel's eyes. I felt as though I'd traveled those places with him - and each new "life" helped make the Daniel of today more real. Lucy/Sophia was a mix - from unsure, insecure teen to courageous, trusting adult. And their love story through the years was wonderful. I do agree with other reviews that the storyline took a sharp turn about 3/4 of the way through and seemed very rushed at the end. I also agree that the ending was weaker than it could/should have been. But I'm sure that if this is merely the first in a series, that I'll read the sequels.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I couldn't wait to read Ann Brashares new novel, My Name is Memory. I checked it out from the local library. It took me three days to read it. I just couldn't get into the book. I hated it. It's long, and drawn out and completely wasteful of the hours you spend reading it. I usually love this author's books, but this book was a serious let down.
1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 15, 2010
originally posted at: www.longandshortreviews.blogspot.com ***** The purity of a love that spans the ages make My Name is Memory awe-inspiring. This fantastic, spellbinding tale enlivens the imagination and takes the reader on a hopscotch journey through time.
The possibilities of past lives and immortal memory joined with a love that transcends time lures the reader into Daniel and Lucy's 2009 story of love-a love that has been thwarted through the centuries and a multitude of lives for them both, but only Daniel remembers these lives.
Daniel gives the reader a glimpse of sixth-century Africa as he lived his first life and made a mistake that he has tried to atone for ever since. In another of his lives that he lived during World War I, when he lay dying in an England manor/ hospital, he shares a beautiful story of his short time with his soul mate. This time becomes extra special when Daniel and Lucy touch each other's lives in twenty-first century America. His first person accounts of these stories and others give an authenticity to the events-making them so believable.
As the story builds, Lucy and Daniel's points-of-view alternate with the chapters, keeping the reader involved with both characters and the overwhelming inner conflicts they each have to work through as they mature from their senior year in high school and through college.
As the plot gains momentum, danger increases and events race along at a fever pace. Daniel's connections from centuries past, some helpful and some deadly, come to influence their 2009 lives. Lucy does not have a memory like Daniel's but her youthful determination and commitment to her newly-discovered soul mate give the feeling that her need to be with Daniel is just as strong as his need has been to be with her since the sixth-century.
Ann Brashares' insight into the emotions of young adults as they come to know themselves and mature beyond being shelf-absorbed brings depth to the story and makes the characters come alive. Her engaging writing style smoothes the way for the reader to be transported to far-away places with strange-sounding names, to feel the horrors of wars and the cruelty the disenfranchised suffer at the hands of the rich and powerful regardless of the time in history. It also reveals and celebrates the wonder of love that endures.
My Name is Memory is a captivating, open-ended story that begs for a sequel. I'll be watching for it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 11, 2010
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While My Name is Memory starts off slow, I found myself anxious to learn more about the characters and feeling a connection to them. As the story unfolds the complexity of the characters and plot becomes a beautiful mix of history, romance, and mystery. The books ends with quite the cliffhanger and makes the reader more than ready for the second book in the upcoming series.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 19, 2010
I think this book is fantastic! I loved all of the intricacies throughout the book. It was very interesting to read about Lucy and Daniel's connected lives in Africa, Constantinople, Pergamum, England and other places. Lucy's struggle to remember and to find Daniel in the present is quite an adventure. The book is a bit slowed paced. I usually finish bigger books in a day or two, but it took me a week to read "My Name is Memory". Overall, I loved the book, and I look forward to reading the next one!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
The latest from Ann Brashares, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a magical story of reincarnation and a love that lasts more than a lifetime
Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. For all the times that he and ...