review: my name is memory by ann brashares

I can’t even begin to explain how much I loved My Name Is Memory, but I suppose I’ll have to try since I’m writing a review!

The story is told in a non-linear fashion that reveals bits and pieces of Daniel’s history with Lucy, who he calls Sophia. In the present day, Lucy is inexplicably drawn to Daniel during high school, but loses contact with him after a shared moment in a dark chemistry lab during the Senior Ball. Though she continues to think about him, Lucy doesn’t know how to contact Daniel, who is watching her and comes close to contacting her a few times only to stop himself.

Back when Lucy was Sophia, Daniel revealed to her all of their shared previous lives and Sophia swore she would find a way to make herself remember Daniel the next time. (You see, some rare people like Daniel are able to remember who they were in the past, but most are like Lucy with only vague remnants such as a birthmark in the place where they were previously injured.) Sophia left clues, but Lucy only starts to uncover them after she and her friends visit a psychic on a lark. Adding to the urgency of finding a way to get Lucy to remember is that Daniel’s evil brother is also in pursuit of Sophia; luckily, the brother can’t recognize souls, but that hasn’t prevented him from finding Sophia/Lucy in the past.

It’s a truly amazing story that seemed completely believable even though the plot is far-fetched. One part that's really well done is in regards to Daniel’s brother. Just when I was thinking, "For as much as this character has been mentioned..." the character appeared! My only slight negative about the book was that there was another character I wish had been developed or tied into the plot a little more.
5/5
ARC Review
Review copy provided by the publisher, Riverhead Books.