I love Kate’s podcast so it’s not surprising that I love her book! This was such a fun read! It was like talking with my childhood best friend. Kate has so much humor and personality.

I have decided to DNF this book as I am a Canadian millenial so I feel like there are a lot of things that don't really vibe for me, and it's also an extremely wordy history lesson on events that I lived through being spun to be a lot more psychologically dramatic than it really needs to be. Yes, we were boxed in as young girls, but we were also given a LOT of great role models.

I am going to be honest, I had no idea who Kate Kennedy was nor had I heard of her podcast, Be There in Five, prior to reading this book. I was intrigued by the fun cover, witty title, and the promise of tales that would that would resonate with my millennial self.

After reading, One in a Millennial, I can say that I enjoyed nearly every aspect of this book. I am a few years younger than Kennedy so we did not have all the same "millennial" experience (I was unfortunately not quite old enough for a real stake in the NSYNC vs Backstreet Boys divide, but I did love the Spice Girls and was always Baby in our basement performances), however, the underlying tales of girlhood, forging an identity in the face of peer pressure and what it means to be "popular", and finding ourselves in an ever-evolving world, is something I can relate to.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As a longtime listener of the Be There In Five podcast, I was super excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley for this one. I have a similar background to the author and identify so much with her story and commentary on millennial nostalgia and perceptions of millennial women. I enjoy her writing style, which goes back and forth between a sort of stream of consciousness and a spoken word style with lots of clever wordplay. While I enjoyed reading the digital book, I do think that the audiobook will be the best experience for this one when it’s available.

As a millennial who has spent most of her life being a fangirl, Kate has such a way of making me feel seen. This book gave me the biggest nostalgic hug at times and had me yelling “yes!” (à la Meryl Streep’s reaction to Patricia Arquette’s Oscar speech) at other times.

The sentences and paragraphs felt a little long winded at times and as a fan of short chapters, I struggled with the length of the essays but I also have been a listener of Kate’s podcast for some time so I know that’s just her and it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Kennedy, and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I want to preface this by saying that I was born in 1998, so I am technically Gen Z, but in reality, a "Zillennial" is a real thing, and I am one. Most people don't realize that those born before 2000 are much closer to a shared experience of later millennials than of younger Gen Z. My dream was to be decked out in Limited Too head to toe, I poured over American Girl catalogs to find the latest mini accessories for my Kit doll, my Disney VHS collection was miles long, and I didn't get a cell phone (that had a sliding keyboard) until I was in junior high. Whereas millenials might have been in high school/college in the mid-00s, I was in elementary school, and they were the cool, older girls I was dying to be, hence many shared experiences with fashion and pop culture that we as preteens tried our hardest to emulate. With this disclaimer, I was drawn to Kennedy's essay collection/memoir because she seems like she was my spirit sister. Another disclaimer that I am a cis, white woman, and so is Kennedy, and we were both Girly Girls. So this will not resonate with everyone. But it did with me. One in a Millennial is filled to the brim with clever, sometimes too on the nose, puns and pop culture references in an essay collection that starts off funny and turns more serious and into a memoir as it proceeds. The nostalgia of being a girl at a sleepover pouring over MASH games and trying my hardest to have the "popular girl handwriting" was almost too much to handle at times. Even though there is a bit of an age-gap between us, it was refreshing to read how girlhood stays the same in so many ways throughout the years. Moving into the later chapters, I was surprised to see Kennedy opening up so much more about very real topics, such as mental health and infertility. I wasn't expecting this book to be more of a memoir, and for me, it was a pleasant surprise to be let in to Kennedy's experiences on these deeper topics. The book didn't always work for me and was a bit over the top, and I can see how some might not relate with the book, whether they want more objective essays or can't relate to the author's experience. However, I think if you have any sort of nostalgia for "girlhood" in the 90s/early 00's and go into this prepared to read it as a memoir, it can be a surprisingly good time.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for a copy of One in a Millenial in exchange for an honest review!

One in a Millenial says many times “this is not a memoir!” But it is most definitely a memoir. Told through the lens of a white, firmly middle-class millenial, we learn about how growing up in the “90s, 2000s, and Today” affected Kate throughout her life. Topics explored includes Limited Too, AIM, boy bands, slumber parties (light as a feather, stiff as a board anyone?), going out tops, unrealistic dating expectations set by rom-come, toxic diet culture, the “lazy millenial” label.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. Kate very relatably writes about the experiences of coming to age in the 90s/early 2000s and how it formed her worldview. The last few chapters where she wrote about career changes and fertility struggles - while interesting and common concerns of millennials - felt a little too long to me.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

I was so back and forth on how I felt while reading this book. I loved the content and the message with all the notalgia and feminism and "girl power". Based on what I recall in the book, I'm the same age as Kate and found so much of the content so incredibly relatable. However, the writing style was a little tough for me. The writing (to me) felt a little all over the place. And the constant abbreviations made me feel really disconnected. Especially the made up ones that you were supposed to remember, that were from 100 pages ago. I often was left confused on what we were actually talking about in the moment.

That being said, I plan on checking out Kate's podcast. I can tell Kate is very entertaining and incredibly relatable. I'm excited to get to know her and her life through the podcast.

As a long time listener of Kate's podcast and proud Beth, thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC of One in a Millennial. From popular girl handwriting, bubble chairs and door beads ... Kate remembers my girlhood better than I do. So honest and fresh, this book was a bright commentary on feminism, privilege, reproductive rights, and acknowledging the murky misogynistic culture we grew up in and how it shaped our self-worth to this day. Did you used to pop in the 2nd VHS tape for the back half of Titanic? No, me neither.

Kate wrote this book to be a celebration of identity with an urge to "remember the things that happened to us in life when we were on our own" and it was a delightful stroll down memory lane.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. The topic and description of the book was so promising and felt right up my alley. However, I expected an essay collection about millennial culture and this book was more memoir than that. The writing felt incredibly clunky and too try-hard with too long sentences that were hard to understand where the point was going. I hope this book’s works out better for other readers. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

My feelings after reading "One in a Millennial" are a little mixed but overall, I enjoyed it. Despite claiming not to be a memoir, it definitely felt like one. Some parts of the audiobook weren't as interesting, and the author's millennial experiences are quite specific. However, the book has great insights on intersectionality, feminism, privilege, reproductive rights, and the challenges millennial women face due to a misogynistic culture.

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book!

This book will be published on January 23rd.

“Its hard for me to relate when people say things like “I know nothing about pop culture,” “I’m not on social media,” or perhaps the only friendship potential litmus test more effective than someone asking me to run a 5K during the early 2010s themed-race boom: “I don’t own a TV.”

As soon as I saw this cover and title, I knew this book was going to be made for me. I have never heard of Kate Kennedy prior to this but from here or out, I will be a follower! This read more as a memoir about growing up during the millennium. And anyone who knows me personally knows I thrive off nostalgia and being in a tween in the early aughts made me have such an appreciate for the era. And makes me so glad that I kept a journal during that whole time.

As I mentioned above Kate Kennedy is new to me so I was okay learning about her and her background. I thought she was honest in her growing up in the church and how that shaped her and continues to shape her.

The chapter that I was not expecting, and it was much needed was The Parent Trap. This had me crying and sharing snippets with my friend because being a female with fertility issue still feels like a taboo topic. I appreciated her raw honesty as she talks about her miscarriage and then deciding how to proceed. The parts that really got me were "It's not that I'm not happy for people; it's just a feeling you get in your stomach I can only describe as an emotional response with a direct line to my soul that my body reacts to before my mind is patched through." and then again when she talks about "how beautiful your life can be regardless of how whens turn into ifs." It just made my heart hurt but in a familiar way and brought me back to that time when my body was not kind to me.

I highlighted so many parts in this book because it all felt so real. And as a fellow Swiftie, I love picking up on the random Swift lyrics at the end of paragraphs that unless you are a Swiftie you wouldn’t know it. I also never thought I would see a reference to Jungle 2 Jungle but if I am going to read it any book, this would be the one. It just blows my mind at how all teenagers during this time shared such similar experiences (of course AIM and Limewire was mentioned). There was even discussion about popular girl handwriting (which this is 100% true) and milky gel pens (the black paper was just so cool)!

IF you are going into this book as strictly looking for nostalgia & millennial discord, you will get that but also be ready to learn more about Kennedy’s life then and present day.

One in a Millennial was an entertaining trip down memory lane. The book starts off strong, it was fun, relatable, and nostalgic.

Kate touches on American Girl dolls and all their glory. Her recap of 90s mall culture is spot on, including perusing the scents at Bath & Body Works. Her description of pregaming, complete with “going out tops”, felt very familiar to my own college experience. Other essays like the one about pretty girl handwriting and religion felt too rambling and meandering for me to say I enjoyed them.

I think the earlier chapters were stronger, or at least resonated with me more, however, I did enjoy the “Be There in Five” chapter where Kate explores her non-linear career path. From Spice Girls to AOL/AIM and plenty in between, this is an entertaining read that will resonate with many millennial women — 3.5 stars

I’m struggling to find the words to share just how much I loved this book.
“I felt so seen and understood” seems narcissistic, as if I expect all my memoirs to be relatable to me. “I highlighted 24 different passages” doesn’t give the adequate context that usually I’ll highlight maybe 4-5 times max. And “you have to read this” just doesn’t convey the enthusiasm with which I will recommend this book to strangers on the internet.

The way Kate’s written voice is so conversational and how she muses deeply about topics from fashion trends of the 90s to women’s reproductive rights makes this book a genuine treasure. I was drawn in by a stellar cover and publisher blurb, but now I want to check out Kate’s podcast and I’ll definitely be buying any other book she plans to write.

Thanks so much to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me an advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

** I’ve posted this review to Goodreads and I plan to also feature a review on Instagram (where my main following is) a little bit closer to release date. I will post this review to Amazon when it is released and Amazon reviews become possible - thanks again for this opportunity!

While I didn't finish this read, I believe I gave it enough of a shot. I thought this was going to be more of a general review of millennial pop culture etc that would make it super interesting and relatable. Instead, it really was a memoir, which isn't what I was looking for, and I don't believe it was marketed that way. Would suggest updating the description to reduce confusion!

I loved this book so much that I also requested and got approved for the audiobook version so I could listen to it again. I was born in 1980, so while I'm not actually a millennial, I relate to that generation without being blamed for everything they supposedly did wrong. This book gave me so many flashbacks of my own childhood, in both delightful and terrifying ways. Kate Kennedy is a fantastic writer.

Ahh so many nostalgia feels! This is such an enjoyable book! I would recommend it to any millennial and will be purchasing a copy for the library.

I like the friendly tone and honesty that the author presents, but I just couldn't really get into it. I liked her voice and her references to the 90s hit home, but this book didn't make me feel like I would devour it in one day.

Very nostalgic if you're a 90s kid! A little preachy at times (i.e. railing against the patriarchy - I thought I was just here to be entertained but you do you) but overall I was entertained by Kate's story & enjoyed it! The audio was excellent & I'd definitely go that route.

This blew me away! Every millennial woman should read this. So many of these niche experiences described by Kennedy were so reminiscent of my childhood and it was such a joy to read these memories back through her lens. So fun and immersive, I truly had a blast reading every chapter, and felt so validated in my experiences as a woman and a millennial. Laugh out loud funny, poignant, but not without acknowledging certain privileges that make up Kennedy’s points of view, which I appreciated. This very much reminded me of Amanda Montell’s musings and analysis in both Cultish and Age of Magical Thinking, and I could not get enough! I will be enthusiastically recommending this to everyone I know!