Colleen's Review: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares, 336 pages. Available in hardcover from Riverhead Books.

This enchanting 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 story of love within a multitude of lives for them both, but those of which only Daniel has the ability to remember. 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. Daniel's connections from centuries past, some helpful and some deadly, come to influence their lives and their future.

It is without saying that this story’s plot line is extremely creative. The Time Traveler’s Wife meets Twilight.” Although this provides a near perfect description, do not be fooled, vampires are nowhere to be found! This book has the sporadic energy of The Time Traveler’s Wife and is reminiscent of the Bella/Edward relationship in Twilight. Once I understood the concept, I was awed by the geniusness of the notion. However, I was disappointed by the execution as the story unfolded. This book starts slow with little to drive the reader further along. The climax does not really begin to take shape and excite until ¾ of the way through the novel and turns out to be a bit predictable. And finally, the main character Daniel takes on an unbelievable devoutness to his love Lucy, which ultimately is a bit unnerving and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. However his first person accounts of his life through history give an authenticity to the events, making them worldly and interesting. Despite all this, there is a major point that pushed me to finish this story - how could it possibly end? Answer: a complete cliffhanger, suggesting a sequel will certainly follow. All in all, Melanie and I concluded that the concept deserves 4 stars but the actual writing is more like 2 stars, so it averages out to about 3 stars.

Thanks Colleen...I would like to add I may have incorrectly assumed this was a teen book, but after reading it the content seems more suited for ya. There is an interesting blog post here about this new "genre". - Melanie