Full of whimsy and beautiful graceful language, this is one of those collections that mixes fantasy and fairy tale with concrete character and situation. While the tone of the collection is somewhat unchanging, and thus not as emotionally charged as I might expect in a really strong poetry collection, the images and thoughts are so enjoyable that that lack of seriousness and emotion isn't such a downfall as I might expect (though it is the one fault of the work, this lack of emotional change and charge).

Something like speculative fiction meeting graceful memoir and fairy tale, this collection is worth wandering through--and probably benefits from a reader who reads it in bits and pieces, coming back for more as the mood strikes rather than reading it through in longer sittings, as I did.

Overall, recommended for poetry readers. ( )

This is a poetry that straddles worlds, one foot in a keenly-observed reality, the other in a slideshow of technicolor fairy-talescapes. The speaker is an honest fabulist, an exhibitionist thumbing her nose at the notion of shame, proud but never prideful, lively, likable and a born poet. The language is lush, sexy and straightforward, never shy or stuttering, witty but without the show-off's tedious braggadocio. Journey is both a poet's poet and a 21st century bard: a rare feat indeed. ( )