In Buddhism, the whole life cycle the OP speaks of is called the Wheel of Life.
Here is a pretty bad ass psychedelic representation of it. Tell me that's not psychedelic, especially the psycho looking God head figure holding that thing. That bad ass dude is Yama, btw, lord of death. It symbolizes the impermanence of all things.
Anyway, the point I want to make is that yes, there is a cycle to life, as well as death, and I believe that the Buddhist wheel is a fairly accurate representation of the stages we all find ourselves in. The death phase, too, has its place..... however, also ends apparently, as we spontaneously find ourselves embodied. I once read of a spiritual person (sorry, forget who), describe existence as "there is silence, and then there is a wave, and then there is silence, and so on". Or something to that extent. Silence referring to non existence, and waves referring to perception.
As others have said, there is no actual 'you' that gets reincarnated. What are you anyway? When all is said and done, you are no more than thought. The only thing that makes you real is your experience of each moment. Once each moment has past, that you no longer exists except as a memory. Once you are dead, you no longer exist, except perhaps as residual psychic waves. But you will no longer exist anymore than you exist YESTERDAY, or an unborn child exists next year. You can only exist now, and once you no longer have any experience of now, you no longer exist. However, I do believe the world is composed of spiritual energy.... but I'm not sure if that spiritual energy is conscious of itself, or if it is only our awareness that gives the universe some form of consciousness. But that energy is one being, so our consciousness is all others, and all objects as well.
Anyway, about reincarnation, it is likely that whatever psychic energy one accumulates in this world impacts their experience of death, and the afterlife, if there is one, and the next life. I would guess that ones next life has an imprint of the energy of this life, but lacking specific memory. Kind of the same way that a person may make designs in wet cement and whatever designs are made, the water will fill to form the shape of that imprint. Water being a metaphor for new life, and the imprint being the karma that one leaves behind. This is all metaphysical speculation, but it seems to make cosmic sense to me, lol.
Here is a more detailed explanation of the Wheel of Life, if anyone is interested