When I discover authors like this one, it reminds me why I seek out new authors. His voice is so fresh, so uniquely beautiful that he makes reviewing a pleasurable joy.

In Lucky Man, Tanzer gave us a coming of age book about four adolescent boys. It was one of the most real stories I read in 2008. Now Tanzer has returned with his second novel, Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine. This time, we meet two couples in their mid-twenties, struggling through a budding romance. Each comes with their own personal baggage that follows them through the relationship.

Some readers have a thing for covers. I have a thing for titles. The whole way through a book, a title will bother me if I can’t figure it out its significance. For those trivia buffs and title crazies like me, it comes from a Bob Dylan song - something I didn’t know, but fit well with the story.

One of Tanzer’s strongest attributes in his first novel was his ability to tell a realistic story through the dialogue of his characters. In his second book, there was the same strong trait for the most part, but the two female characters, Jen and Rhonda, blended too close together in their speech. It was hard for me to distinguish them at times. Even with this minute issue, the story was well worth the price of admission. I look forward to more of Ben Tanzer.

A copy is being given away at http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/. Details in the right sidebar. ( )