She Used to Be on a Milk Carton

My favorite poem was 'How Often We Confuse Ovens for Rabbit Holes' especially the closing line: 'All my life, I’ve been chasing the vermin home, only to wake up exactly where I started.'

This was a poignant and striking collection that went far than my expectations initially gathered. The range of emotion expressed through simple drawn design and a playful attitude with style really allowed for a full engagement with complicated issues that aren't easy to talk about at all. From the struggle of great pain caused by those that we love the most, to the conflict between ourselves, our gender, our faith and how the world views us, everything was linked in a way that is resemblant of the everyday. That title of 'she used to be on a milk carton' is also particularly significant because it suggests that, whilst that is the most painful place to be - lost and missing, it is also a place that can be transcended. We are not reduced to only our worst nightmares and the places where we feel the most pain, nor do those states have to be ugly and garish; that's why poetry has been born out of them. Here, pain is simultaneously beautiful and unbearable and I consider myself at a great privilege to have been able to share in the thoughts of this supernova of a writer.

She Used to Be on a Milk Carton
by Kailey Tedesco (Author) Whitney Proper (Illustrator)

April Gloaming Publishing


Arts & Photography , Poetry
Pub Date 30 Mar 2018


I am reviewing a copy of She Used to Be On A Milk Carton through April Gloaming Publishing and Netgalley:

In this powerful debut collection of poetry Kailey Tedesco shares the place between body and spirit, soul, love trauma and even logic. This collection treads the line between human spirit and our physical and spiritual selves.


The poems in this collection are told through images of Catholicism, heavenly bodies, dark magic, serpents and God. Tedesco in this book challenges what it means to be a woman in an often contradictory world.


I give She Used to be On a Milk Carton four out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

She Used to Be on a Milk Carton is a collection of poetry that focuses a lot on darker, gothic imagery and death, but it isn't to the point of depressing. It has a lot of juxtaposition with its images, but it all seems to come together at the end of each poem/section.

What I found interesting in this collection is that the poems are at a much higher level of maturity than the cover or the illustrations that accompany the pieces. While I found the poetry intellectual and thoughtful, the drawings looked like they belonged to a collection that's more along the lines of the recent rise in Instagram poets. It was jarring, but not to the point where you still couldn't absorb the words.

I have seen mixed reviews for She used to be on a Milk Carton on Goodreads, and the reason for that I think is because it’s a bit, well, strange. I read the book for the first time, and thought what on earth.

It was on my third read that I began to recognise the themes, (mood rings, femininity, rosaries, etc.) and the messages in the poems. Of course, if you don’t enjoy a book don’t torture yourself, but I believe She used to be on a Milk Carton will take a few reads if it is not your usual brew. But don’t dismiss it straight away, because by my fifth read I was in love with this wonderful book. The illustrations by Whitney Proper accompany the poems well.

‘shove the moon up your

crotch, let it light the way,’


it’s quite intriguing reading the poems, you do feel part of another world. There are poems with characters, others are set in places, and are the clearest of the poems, although they still seem otherworldly; such as in the haunting Asbury Park in the Off – Season, pieces of prose, and there are references to literature (Flowers in the Attic, The Shining) and even films.

Certainly one of the most unique reads I will read this year.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The collection is full of vivid imagery. It was a little too religious for my tastes, but then again I probably should have read the description a little closer. I'm not a fan of the first 30 or so pages but the poems get a lot better as you get further into the book. I think this book could have been better, but I would love to read more from this author in the future.

I love a good poetry. I love poetry. I can read poetry in any day and any time but I find it difficult to review.

This book was good on its own though I find the first few poems lacking depth compared to the last poem at the end. If you're not a fan of gothic things I don't think you'll enjoy this one,

I find this one raw, daring, and complex.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I picked up this book, I did not know what I was expecting. Was surprised in a good way. The poems told were all fresh and interesting. Bravo

This is a delightful collection of poetry - especially if you're a pop culture obsessive. There are poems here that reference Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a poem for Elisa Lam, and one of the greatest concepts I've heard in a while, "The Planets Star in a Burlesque." "Mood Ring," which provides instructions for the color-changing gem in such a ring, is by far my favorite piece, though it's difficult to choose just one. Some people are wary of pop culture references in writing, but the allusions here are not just gimmicks; they're deliberately crafted to serve the function of each poem.
Whitney Proper's illustrations are lovely, but not necessary - the writing could have stood just as well on its own.

*Received an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.*
There were a few poems in this book that didn't speak to me. That being said, this is my first time reading anything by Tedesco, and I love her honest, raw imagery. From Babe, to girl, to woman, to babe again, she was speaking to that connected female in me who is born of the moon and baptized in blood.

These pieces are deeply feminine, dark, a little mystery, a little magic, and a firm grasp of nuance.
If you are looking for simple, then this isn't the book for you.

Honestly, this book is pretty wonderful. Once I read the very first page I could see so many good things about this book. Yet, unfortunately I couldn't get into the book that much, I don't really know what's wrong though. I just don't get the story so much.

Mesmerizing imagery. Decadent & lyrical poetry infused with Gothic themes. It touches on desire, magic, needs so dark yet vulnerable. I truly enjoyed reading this collection of poems.