My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Saturday I read My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares. First and foremost I'd like to point out that I read this book in one day. Do you know how long it has been since I was able to read an entire book in one glorious day!! Well, my son is almost three so it's been, at a minimum, three years! This involved a lot of strategy and luck. When my son would eat a snack, eat lunch, or get enthralled in a puzzle I'd sneak in a chapter. Thankfully the chapters are pretty short, so that was helpful, I hate stopping mid-chapter. Then, my son fell asleep and had the longest, most peaceful nap on record. He awoke with 10 pages left to read and mid-chapter! We headed over to my parents house to watch football and while the grandparents doted over their only grandchild, I inhaled the last ten pages of the book.

This is the first novel by Ann Brashares I have read. I have not read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, nor have I seen the movie, while I have heard that it is very good, I simply was not attracted to the storyline. Here is the synopsis for My Name is Memory:

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.

The story started off a bit slow to me, but the concept is so intriguing that I pushed through. It really didn't take long for it to start rolling and I found myself being pulled forward. It's funny now that I've started writing again how I think of the different paths I would have taken had I written the book. The middle of the novel is fascinating, I really am enthralled with her concept of reincarnation, time, and Daniel's undying (pardon the pun) love for his Sophia.

I felt that three quarters of the way through writing Ms. Brashares storyline veered from her original plan. I think it veered into a much more in-depth story and philosophy than she thought it would, which is good, but the end came abruptly and did not give her enough time to develop some ideas and characters or the reader enough time to soak it in. It's one of those endings that makes you grunt, "NO!!" This "give me more" reaction is great and what every writer wants from their reader, but damn!

I have seen rumors on the web that this is going to be a trilogy, but I have not found confirmation on Ann Brashares' website. I certainly hope it is, I hope there is at least one sequel to play out what is happening. Perhaps I'll dabble in a little fan-fiction and write my own sequel. Nah, I'll just try to concentrate on finishing mine - it's all written in my head, it's the getting it on paper that's the tough part. Well, finding the time to get it on paper. Yes, I could have done that instead of reading, but I find reading inspirational to my own writing and when I get in a rut it reignites my enthusiasm and I am off again...