As an elder millennial, this book checked a lot of boxes for me. Kate Kennedy touched on so many relatable memories and deep cuts, that left me texting my bestie from the 8th grade “remember MSN names and away statuses?”

I too was committed to Spice Girls Chupa Chups, forced my dad to take me to buy platform running shoes, ended up with a daybed, had walls covered with boy band posters, prided myself of my handwriting, and had a tough conversation with my mom when I was 11 about why I maybe shouldn’t belt out the lyrics to “You Oughta Know”.

There was so much that resonated with me about the culture of the early-mid 00s as well, from blogging to going out tops. I appreciated how she talked about career pivots and finding passion in different places.

While she states this book isn’t a memoir, Kennedy brings her unique point of view and some deeply personal stories to this book about pop culture. I found some of the essays to go on a bit too long, but overall found the book to be very enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I reeeeeally wanted to love this book, having long been a fan of Kate's Instagram account and having seen her perform live, but this needed a good edit. I understand that Kate's brand is elevated babble, but the rhyme scheme of it all was a bit distracting and for every "That's so me!" there was another "You've totally lost me" reaction. Maybe I wasn't in the right headspace, and I'd still love to see another project from Kate in the future, but I was disappointed by this one.

I loved Kate from knowing her as host of Be There in Five and alot of this book aligns with her speaking style/humor. I found myself getting more interested at the end, when tackling deeper issues with humor and vulnerability and wish more of the book had followed that cadence.

Once in a Millennial has been one of my most anticipated books! I’m a big fan of the author, Kate Kennedy, and her podcast, so I was thrilled when I got an eARC!

Divided into three main sections cataloging her life as a millennial gal- childhood, the college years, and adulthood- Kate analyzes how culture has shaped her experiences and the person she became. A lot of this was similar to what she discusses on the podcast (of which I’m a dedicated listener), so I wasn’t super engaged for much of it since it wasn’t new information. It is shared in a different way and obviously she has more space to expand on topics, but this was still tough for me.

The first section was fun, but I found I already knew a lot of the stories and takes that she shares. The second and third sections went a bit deeper (as life gets more complex) and I had an easier time with those. In general, I’m not a fan of long chapters so struggled a bit overall with this book. I think it would make fantastic audio though, especially since Kate loves wordplay and sometimes that was hard for my brain to get from the page. I did preorder the audiobook and am still planning to listen to it.

Overall, this book is full of fun anecdotes combined with a critique of our patriarchal culture that will be incredibly validating for other millennialish women, though probably is most relatable to women from suburban middle class white America- a privilege and caveat that Kate does acknowledge multiple times. If you, too, grew up with a love for Mary Kate & Ashley, sleepovers, and hours on AIM, you will probably also love this book! And probably love it even more if you haven’t listened to every podcast episode ever put out by the author.

Love love love. I’ve been waiting to read this and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Love all the flashbacks and millennial references. As a millennial myself, this book was amazing. Can’t say enough good about it. Already sending recommendations for my friends to read it soon too!

one in a millennial- when I tell you I wanted to love this, I did, but I just did not. There were certainly funny, thought provoking, and irreverent moments and cultural touchstones that made it fun to reminisce. But mostly, this just felt like a personal treatise. There was so much that felt individual, not universal. It didn’t work for me but I think it might for others!

I loved being in the demographic that this book was intended for (I'm an older millennial born in 1983) and found almost all of the references extremely relatable and nostalgic. Many things I'd forgotten about from that time came right back to my memory, and I found myself laughing and smiling out loud throughout. I felt transported right back to my best friend's canopy bed with her JTT posters on the wall, and I could almost smell the Sun Ripened Raspberry lotion we would most certainly have been wearing. However, over all it felt very repetitive and the puns were over the top after a while. I think readers outside of this demographic would find this a difficult read, so it is definitely very niche. I appreciated the way the author related her early experiences to her beliefs and values as an adult. It had me thinking about how these same pop culture and general experiences have affected my adult existence as well in ways that I really haven't. For this alone I found it a worthwhile read, but it was just okay for me over all.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advanced copy to read and review.

Kate Kennedy's One in a Millennial brought back so many memories for this "elder millennial". I read many passages out loud to my husband and we reminisced over childhood experiences, friends, products, music, and trends. The author has a gift for personal essays!

I am a fan and regular listener of Kate Kennedy's podcast, Be There in Five, so I was excited to receive an advanced copy of this book. However, One in a Millennial fell flat for me.

I really enjoyed the pop culture throwbacks and 90s nostalgia; it transported me back to my childhood and reminded me of things I had forgotten about. I liked the author's use of puns, but they got old after awhile. I also felt like I got a completely different book than I was expecting and this read more like a memoir. The chapters were long and I felt the author kept rambling on, making it hard for me to stay engaged. I don't usually listen to audiobooks, but I think I would have preferred this book in that format.

Overall, I think there are readers that will enjoy this book, but it's a miss for me.

This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be and perhaps was marketed incorrectly. I thought it would be a fun trip down nostalgia lane, but was more of a memoir (Even though she says it's not a memoir). The last 25% of the book was all about her experience trying to be a mother, it had nothing to do with growing up in the early 2000s. It goes into her reproductive system, procedures, and legislation.

I did enjoy some of the essays, but made it made us relook our childhood favorites and feel bad about liking them. Rather than thinking of the time frame and culture of the early 2000s and how they shaped us, she brought trends from that time period into 2024 and showed why they should basically be cancelled.

This was a fun, nostalgic read, but I don't think it made an impactful statement. It really hit hard on the nostalgic memories of the 90's and 2000's that I'm sure the majority of millennials have, but that's about it. I'm not familiar at all with the author or her podcast, so her retellings of her experiences didn't matter at all to me. Kate's fans might enjoy these parts though. One in a Millennial is an easy read for anyone who is looking for something lighthearted.

Thank you to Kate Kennedy and St Martin's Press for this eARC.

You know those books that you know you're going to read by the cover alone? Yeah, ONE IN A MILLENNIAL: ON FRIENDSHIPS, FEELINGS, FANGIRLS, AND FITTING IN by Kate Kennedy was one of those books for me. It's primarily pink, with a CD-R that looks like every mix CD I've ever made: all the flowers, squiggles, and hearts around the books' subtitle (and the mix CD's "title"). The handwriting on the CD is even that trademark early 2000s girl handwriting that we all would've died to perfect ourselves.

Kate Kennedy is the host of the Be There In Five podcast, which came about hilariously after Kate's success making doormats of all things. (Kate is all of us with her hair straightener, and made herself a "did you turn off your hair straightener?" rug for her front door, went viral, and turned it into a thriving business.) In her latest book, ONE IN A MILLENNIAL: ON FRIENDSHIPS, FEELINGS, FANGIRLS, AND FITTING IN, Kate walks us through the 90s and early aughts through the lens of a millennial fangirl--so, of course, it's one of the most relatable experiences for all millennial fangirls. Alongside Kate, we walk through the eras of boy bands and the Spice Girls, the trauma of growing up in the age of purity culture, the pressure that came with AIM (you had to have the perfect away message to get that boy's attention, DUH!), American Girl dolls, how our ideas of, and about, feminism have changed as we've grown, and so much more. At one point, she talks about 90s girl sleepovers and the nostalgia and deep desire to get just one more of those hit me like a train.

I enjoyed this book overall. There were so many points that were so relatable that I felt like Kate had somehow found, and (*gasp*) unlocked my Password Journal (IYKYK) because the experiences that she shares are so universal for women who grew up in the 90s and early aughts. There were points that had me in tears over the way that millennials have also been failed by generations before us: how we were drilled nearly from birth that college was the only way to pave the way to a successful future, only to be left with tens (and sometimes hundreds) of thousands of dollars in debt to show for it.

Kate writes in a way that feels conversational: you feel like your high school best friend is just telling you a story. She talks fast, both in the physical and audio versions) and from a nearly life-long Gilmore Girls lover, I was totally here for it. For the audio version, it felt almost like listening to a podcast, which I'm sure was Kate's plan. Each chapter is broken down into what could be a scripted podcast episode, with fun asides and side notes that derail things in the most fun way.

The only downside was that sometimes, Kate's verbiage got a bit repetitive. I jokingly thought that if I heard her say "zeitgeist" one more time, I was going to start a drinking game...then before I could finish the thought, she'd say "zeitgeist" again. She also occasionally got a bit long-winded, at times making her essays feel more like essays and less like the fun trip down memory lane/evaluation of the average millennial woman's experience. I also read that Kate doesn't consider this a memoir, but I would absolutely classify it as a memoir--not that that genuinely matters.

Overall, I really enjoyed ONE IN A MILLENNIAL: ON FRIENDSHIPS, FEELINGS, FANGIRLS, AND FITTING IN and urge all millennial women to read it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to plan a sleepover with all your besties.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although it was a little lengthy; this was a super enjoyable laugh out loud walk down memory lane for all of us 90s girlies!

What a fun read! I am not quite a millennial (1980 - holla :)) but I am barely a Generation X-er. I feel so left out. Ha!

The beginning of the book was slow for me, and I did not love the lonnngggggg analysis on penmanship. But, once that segment was over, I really enjoyed the book.

There were so many relatable areas -- and I definitely felt seen. The segment on church, the analysis of Saved by The Bell (is there any wonder why boys of the 80s/90s may have looked down on girls?? They were told by TNBC that girls were dumb and shouldn't be taken seriously. Which by the way makes me super annoyed by those TV writers), the clothing choices, wanting to fit in, etc., etc., etc.

Many times, I felt myself reminiscing about my own childhood. I had a phone in my bedroom. With my own line!! But, sadly, we did not have cable or a pool. I drove a hunter green Grand Am and dresses in Abercrombie.

Man, this book was a trip down memory lane. And, it was definitely enjoyable. Also made me sort of wish this new generation, babies born in the late 2000s, tried a little harder to fit in and not stand out so much (as a mother of a 16-year-old, I wouldn't mind a little more JCrew and a little less angsty teen. :)

I really related to the author in many ways, and I had so much empathy for her.

I definitely enjoyed the audio version of the book more than the written version (the poems were a little long for me in the written version, easier to listen to on 1.25x speed).

I recommend this book if you'd like to take a walk down memory lane.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillian Audio, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of One in a Millennial in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

OMG I LOVED THIS BOOK!!

I’m a long time BETH, so I jumped at the chance to review this. This book was so wonderfully nostalgic. I loved revisiting my 90s childhood through Kate’s magical words.

This was such a fun trip down memory lane by an author who could literally be my personality clone. In One in a Millennial, Kate Kennedy, host of the podcast Be There In Five, takes us on a journey back to the early 90s in elementary school, all the way up to the struggles millennial women are facing today. So much in this book resonated so much for me, and had me belly laughing to boot. My favorite chapter was You’ve Got Male which delves into the world of AOL instant messenger and how huge an impact it had on our day to day lives. Being just one year younger than Kate and coming from a very similar background, this is one of those books I felt was written just for me.

In the back half of the book, it shifts a lot to memoir territory, which I like but was not what I was expecting. The pace slowed towards the end, but overall this was an outstanding look at what it meant to have grown up a millennial.

I did not finish this book. It read very much as a list of things teen girls did while growing up as a millennial, without offering much beyond a heavy dose of nostalgia. I wasn’t getting much out of it or looking forward to picking it up so I chose to put it down for good.

💿 One in a Millennial - Kate Kennedy

If you’re a Millennial, you NEED to read this. I laughed, I cried, I felt SO seen. I didn’t know what I was expecting when I read this, but I’m really glad I started the year off with this light, funny, easily connectable, memoir-ish book.

Every chapter had something I could identify with. I’m in the late end of the “millennials” as I was born in 1994 (yikes, 30 soon) but I still felt so seen by all of these memories. I loved Kate’s ability to laugh about how we grew up, reminisce about our favorites and least favorites in the 90s, 2000s, and today, and her ability to identify our “issues” and how that’s effected the way we are today. I connected with her stories and laughed with her, I was pissed at some of the bad things were blamed for, and I loved her story telling. I’ll say it one more time, if you’re a Millennial, this is a must!

Keep your eyes open for this one coming out 1/23! Thank you Netgalley, MacMillan Audio, and St. Martin Press for the early ARC copies!

This book was so much fun! I loved all of the millennial playbacks it was a blast from my past. I’m a sucker for these kind of books and this one did not disappoint!

Beloved podcaster Kate Kennedy explores pop culture, nostalgia, and life lessons of an often-besmirched generation.