I was hoping for more cultural commentary, but this was mostly memoir. As a younger millennial (1995) I could relate to some things but not others. I think fans of Kennedy’s podcast would probably like this more!

ARC REVIEW

One in a Millenial
By Kate Kennedy

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Publishing date:1/23/2025

I was super excited to read this one! As a fellow millenial I love nostalgia and this book does give that throwback feeling,for sure!

Each chapter touches on various topics that were heavy hitters throughout millennial youths and early adulthood-music,clothing,"going out", doorframe beads, etc

However, it had a lot of extra dialogue. I found myself skimming because it felt like there was a lot to read but it wasn't NEEDED? Also, Some of it felt unrelatable. For example, the author lived on $40,000 for a year that she SAVED, while she started business.....yeah can't relate lol I mean, good for you but yeah...lol

Overall it was enjoyable. I think millennials will like it, but it may be hard to get into it if you are not a part of our generation.

Thanks to @stmartinspress for the opportunity to go back in time! Also, a thanks to @netgalley for the arc 😊

I really took my time with this book, savoring the chapters. As a podcast listener, I'll admit I was predisposed to love this book, but it truly exceeded my expectations. So much of Kate's personality shines through in the writing, with subtle rhymes and puns at every turn. While much of the content contained sentiments I've heard Kate express on her podcast over the years, there were plenty of new ideas and new framing that made me consider issues in a different light. As a millennial, I felt SO seen and validated while reading. Many of my own experiences and perceptions seemed to overlap with Kate's, and it felt good to have someone voice what I'd felt in such a clear way, and with much more depth. I found comfort in her connections between religious music and romantic expectations, not to mention her continued advocacy for a woman's right to delight in whatever the f*ck she pleases.

While some chapters resonated more deeply than others, I appreciated the wit, transparency and humor throughout. The constant injection of fun word play often surprised me and made me laugh out loud.

This book is an absolute gem, and while it wasn't one that I binge-read, not one that I "couldn't put down," that was only because I needed to let each long chapter/essay marinate. Millennial women NEED to read this book! Not just to feel seen but to revisit, reflect and perhaps reframe our childhood and teenage experiences.

This was a very relatable book. As a millennial myself I loved all of the references. Pick up this book.

Kate is a pop culture commentator and in this book, she takes a closer look at the high level culture moments that were happening that impacted her life as a millennial female. While she is very good an noting that her experiences are not representative of everyone, the topic she covered were relatable. It made me stop and reflect how I was taking in things like Purity Culture, American Girl dolls, and the 'going out' culture at the time and how they impacted me then and now as an almost 40-something.

Thank you netgalley.com for providing an advanced copy of this ebook.

I want to doodle a chain of hearts and write TLA all over this book like the 90s child I’ve embraced inside me! Thanks to NetGalley, I received an advanced digital copy of this book and I will be ordering these for my sister, friends and my own daughter to consume someday. Kate Kennedy took me on a RIDE through her/(our!) childhood and wove in nostalgia, observations and her own vulnerability to create such a beautiful story. The reader gets to know Kate really well and the order of the story reads very smoothly. There a few short poems included that I swooned over and longer essays that sat deep in my heart. She uses really fun wordplay and pop culture references that sparked a lot of joyful memories. She didn’t avoid some darkness, and took the chance to preach (which I applaud). I think a lot of women could relate to at least a little of what’s in these pages. I’m glad this book exists.

I love me some non-fiction and I am so thankful to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, Kate Kennedy, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this gem before it hits shelves on January 23, 2024.

I resonated with this book so much because I too was a teen of the 2000s and I lusted after things like Limited Too and American Girl Dolls, and even later in life I partook in the Sorority Life/Night Club hangs and I had several going out tops that were staples of my college experience, outside of all the learning and thousands of dollars being spent on a degree and whatnot.

As I listened, I laughed, I empathized, I revolted, and I cringed in response to the various essays and short stories that signified what growing up in the 2000s looked like for girls everywhere.

This was an interesting read for a millennial woman, but I’m not sure if it will appeal to audiences outside of that group. Going in, I thought the book was going to be about what it was like growing up as a millennial woman, but it was actually a memoir, a very specific experience of one millennial woman. There were several ideas and experiences that I identified with as a millennial woman, but also many things that I didn’t connect with at all. This book explored some really deep and meaningful reflections on feminism, sexism, and body image issues that were great. A fun read for a millennial woman if you go in knowing it is a memoir. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

Kate is great! I wasn’t sure how much this would resonate with me as I’m technically considered a Gen X (1979) but 90% of it did. Loved all the pop culture references and her dissection of how those have shaped us. How flawed so many of them are yet they are precious childhood memories for us. We loved Saved By the Bell but Slater treated Jessie like a dumb dumb. How feminism was tainted from an early age and thought of as some enraged woman.

I love that she gives us permission to love surface level things - makeup, celeb gossip, bravo etc while also still allowing for deep meaningful connections with others.

I really appreciated what she shared in regards to infertility. How ingrained it was growing up - playing Mash - how many kids we would have, only to later face that sometimes parenthood isn’t a choice.

I felt like a kid again reading about slumber parties, the mall, dream phone, Now and Then, CPK, gaucho pants lol. She doesn’t corrupt those memories but expands our understanding of them. Giving space for love and growth.

I’ll definitely be reading more from Kate.

I’ve been a long time listener to Kate Kennedy‘s podcast and a follower of hers on Instagram. I absolutely adore the way she dives deep into the randomness topics that millennial women are seriously invested in. I still remember listening to her three hour podcast about Mormon mommy bloggers and wish she had done multiple sequels. One in a Millennial a deep dive into the pop culture that made the millennial generation. She really understands how it is to live in the in-between everything. Kennedy does a an excellent job of bridging the gap of the modern millennial women.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There was not a doubt in my mind that I wouldn't love this book and it lived up to every expectation I had. Kate's writing style is just like her podcast style; it's long winded, in the best way possible, and is ridden with little jokes and pop culture anecdotes. It's very Lorelei Gilmore (without all the selfishness). If you've never listened to Be There in 5, it might take some getting used to but it's so fun and I know you'll eat it up in no time.

One in a Millennial covers everything from Britney Spears, Limited Too, Going Out Tops, the Internet and Pumpkin Spice fascination. It covers the 1990s-2020s and hits on every major milestone young millennial woman have gone through. It's a look behind the curtain of what it was like to grow up in a time where everything was promised to us, but nothing was delivered.

While the topics Kate discusses might seem surface level, she has a way of deep diving into them and finding the depth and seriousness. She can analyze a situation, a pop culture moment or phenomenon and discuss how that moment shaped us. She allows us to look at things a little differently than before.

This book, and everything Kate puts out, makes me feel so seen. I've always felt deeply connected to pop culture, to the nostalgia of my childhood, and the idea of the millennial generation. We're the last generation to know what it was like before the internet, before cellphones, before streaming services. We're very special in a lot of ways and it makes me sad that so many people dislike us for no reason.

I take being a millennial very seriously, it's half of my personality (half joking, half not) so this book was like coming home for me. It was so funny, so witty, so interesting, and just a good time. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me nod along and reflect on my own memories.

One in a Millennial is a quick, fun, witty, and beautiful read that feels perfect coming off of the year of Barbie, Beyonce and Taylor Swift. 2023 was truly the year of the girl, and One in a Millennial is the best way to kick off 2024.

This book was full of nostalgia for me. From the very first line I knew that I was going to relate hard to this one. I loved the book about as much as I loved Dreamphone as a child.

This was SUCH a fun read. I've listened to Kate's podcast for a while and love everything she does. She makes me feel like a true millenial and I was taken down memory lane more than a few times! She's so relateable.

I absolutely loved One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy! I am an avid listener of her podcast Be There in Five, so I knew that I would enjoy and relate to the content of the book. Kate puts into words so many experiences and feelings I thought were just individual to my life. She has an incredible knack for puns and I found myself laughing out loud while reading multiple times. I will absolutely be recommending this book to fellow Beths and my millennial friends!

Going into this book I didn’t know anything about the author Kate Kennedy. So it was cool to learn that she’s just a few years older than me, grew up like an hour away from where I lived, and went to college two hours away from my alma mater. It made a lot of the stuff she discussed feel very close to home. Even when the types of millennial activities or styles she was discussing weren’t things that directly applied to me, they were things I remember noticing with other girls I grew up around.

Memoirs or books of essays where people use the pop culture that was important to them to explore different facets of their lives really appeal to me. It’s definitely important to know going in that much of this book is about Kate’s life and experiences. It will probably be relatable for a lot of women close to her age, but it’s also a way to get a glimpse into what life was like for a specific subset of millennial women.

I absolutely loved the writing in the book. It’s very poetic without ever feeling too flowery or too self important. The book covers a wide range of topics from the appeal of day beds, American Girl dolls, polo shirts, purity culture, mental health, AOL instant messenger, slumber party games, popular girl handwriting, and so much more.

I definitely recommend checking out the book if you’re interested in a mix of 90s & early 2000s nostalgia, modern reflections and commentary, and personal anecdotes. I did a mix of both reading the eBook and listening to the audio. Kate narrates the audiobook herself, and there are parts where you can hear her start to get choked up at emotional moments, which made listening to the book a really immersive experience.

One in a Millennial is a nostalgic rollercoaster of the (not so) niche female millennial experience. It brought back forgotten memories, it created a lump in my throat, and it made me feel validated as it speaks to the many pop culture moments we’ve shared and how they shape us.

In true Kate Kennedy fashion, she articulates the thoughts that many of us feel but are unable to thoroughly express. She consistently and creatively name drops nuggets from the pop culture glory days of the 90s-2010s that will make you laugh out loud. And in true Kate Kennedy Be There in Five fashion, she can get long winded, go off on tangents, and ramble for a surprising amount of pages – and as with her podcast, I hung onto and cherished every word.

This book isn’t anything groundbreaking or earth shattering but it’s entertaining, heartwarming, made me think/laugh/cry, and overall felt like a warm hug of nostalgia. Some of the tangents will feel choppy or jarring for those unfamiliar with her long form podcast style and I think they’d translate better if verbally delivered by the author. It’s not for everyone but it was the right fit for me and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical and audio copy!

I love Kate’s podcast so I was so excited for this book. As a millennial I feel that Kate has a talent for putting the millennial experience into words - similar to how Taylor Swift can put it into lyrics. I enjoyed these essays which caused me to reflect on my own childhood, teenage years, and beyond. Thank you Kate for the walk down memory lane!

The way Kate described her childhood sparked so many of my own memories. I want to be her friend! This book felt like a warm hug. A few essays were a little wordy and could have been cut, but overall, I loved it. So many parts had me actually laughing out loud.

This book reads like a memoir and a comedy had a baby- the author Kate is now a podcast show host but was then a young girl who grew up in the 90's. She writes about how growing up in that generation shaped her into who she is today. Its full of a lot of fun references to things from the 90's that you would have had to experience to understand (being an elementary school aged girl and walking into Limited Too, quotes from a lot of 90's movies, and the celebrities/tv shows/movies that influenced us- hello britney spears ,saved by the bell, making an AIM screen name, and american girl dolls.) Even though this book was slow at times, I was grateful for Kate sharing her life with us. She writes about the hard times in life (experiencing a miscarriage and the grief that surrounds us) but as she is sharing that she throws in some funny quotes about being a millenial. This made it hard for me to take some of it seriously because the puns/references are just all throughout it. (ex: every time she says the phrases 'limited to' it is changed to "Limited Too." I thought it was just okay and enjoyed some of the throwbacks to her childhood that i also experienced.

Never before has a book made me feel more seen as a human being. I was expecting this book to be a fun and silly look at millennial life and trends and while it is that, it’s so much more. Kate really got into how much millennial culture shaped our formative years and how we’re still unpacking it as adults. From the toxic ways the media portrayed women to purity culture working its way into the mainstream media to all the ways certain products were marketed towards us and then the world shamed us for our interest in them, there were so many times I looked up from the book and thought “Huh, so THAT’S why I feel this way”. She definitely acknowledges that this is all her own views and ideas, but it all felt pretty universal to me. Also, her wordplay is next level. Contempo Casually cruel (in the name of being honest) killed me. It did feel a smidgen repetitive at times (my only complaint), but this book really spoke to me as a millennial woman. The chapters “God Must Have Spent A Little Less Time On Me”, “Kate Expectations” and “Pumpkin Spice Girl” were my favorites. I think there’s at least a chapter or two that will speak to everyone that reads it. I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on the physical copy so I can annotate the heck out of it. Highly recommend for millennials (obviously), but anyone who enjoys looking deeper into pop culture and how it molds us.
CW: mentions of infertility and miscarriage

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.