In her newest novel, “My Name is Memory,” Ann Brashares asks readers to stretch their imaginations and accept the concept of past lives, reincarnation and soul mates. Brashares is the author of the best-selling young-adult “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series, and “My Name is Memory,” the first in a planned trilogy, is Brashares’ second attempt at writing for audiences outside the young-adult demographic.

“My Name is Memory” chronicles the many lives of Daniel Grey, a character that can best be described as an old soul. Daniel’s soul has survived for more than a thousand years, continually being reincarnated into a new body each time the old one dies. But what makes him remarkable is that he has “the Memory,” and can remember everything that has happened to him and recognize the souls of people he has already met in each of his many lives.

During Daniel’s third life, he falls in love with Sophia, the battered wife of his dangerous, immoral brother. Bound by tradition and guilt, Daniel and Sophia are never able to act on their love during their lifetimes, but Daniel never stops searching for Sophia’s soul. He eventually recognizes her soul in Lucy, a 15-year-old high school student, and spends the rest of the novel struggling to reunite himself with his one true love.

Brashares alternates between Daniel and Lucy as narrators, giving readers a fuller perspective of the story than a single narrator could. The sections of the story told through Lucy’s point of view are far more enjoyable to readers than the sections told from Daniel’s perspective because he tends to go off on tangents, telling stories about past lives that have nothing to do with the novel’s plot.

Although the idea of reincarnation is an intriguing concept, Brashares’ tone throughout the novel is wildly romantic and often too melodramatic, reminiscent of a Nicholas Sparks novel or a daytime soap opera. Much of the dialogue would likely resonate well with teens.

The novel’s plot does pick up in the last hundred pages, potentially leaving readers curious enough about the fate of Daniel and Lucy to continue to follow the series. But Brashares would have been better off publishing this novel under the young-adult category because, although the concept is thoughtful and interesting, the tone and language of the novel is much better suited for a younger audience.