I was so happy to receive an arc of this book. I have been listening to Kate's podcast, be there in five for so long. I loved this book. I already felt like I knew her first hand from her instagram and podcast but this was even better. It helped me feel not alone in being in this position in life (especially with infertility journeys).

I think this may be more of an it’s me, not you thing, but ONE IN A MILLENNIAL was not quite what I expected and overall I didn’t enjoy it that much.

While I loved the nostalgia and stroll down memory lane having grown up in the 90’s/early 2000’s, that is where my likes ended. I think I was expecting more of a memoir and instead got very long chapters that were just spewing out fact after fact and A LOT of info that was sometimes overwhelming.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I think I may have to attempt this one on audio instead! It just wasn’t reading right for me on my kindle but I did enjoy all those millennial references of course!

I really really tried to love this book, but I think I prefer the author on her podcast. I found it hard to read in the same way as I could hear- she talks fast with an interesting manner of speaking, which I think adds to it.

Incredibly relatable, totally nostalgic in all the best ways, this is a winner!

I will say it’s a bit challenging to read straight through, so it’s a great nightstand book to read a little bit at a time.

This brought back so many crazy specific memories I’d forgotten about and that was awesome!

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #oneinamillennial

I’ve known for a whole that I need to start listening to Be There in Five and catch up on the back catalog, and this book just solidified that. I nodded along to almost every word, and really love Kate’s wordplay. All the gold star stickers!

Kate has an uncanny ability to remember sensory memories of my childhood and teen years, while also invoking thoughtful commentary on how our childhood has impacted us an our experiences as adults in today’s society. A great balance of light fun and insightful, I can’t wait to share this book with friends and book clubs to generate discussion with others.

Such a fun read- thank you so much for the arc! I loved all the cozy millennial memories that came from this book- from the spice girls, boy bands, real housewives to big issues of our time like feminism, our role in society etc. it was nostalgic in the best way while also seamlessly blending in current issues. Loved this book!

Loved, loved Kate Kennedy's retrospective on what it means to be a grown adult millennial with parents who grew up and lived so more traditionally than we did, with traditional expectations, in a very non-traditional world. As a note, I am right in Kate's demographic and related to all the tiny references to stores she shopped at, clothes she wore, shows she watched, etc. Each one of those things shaped me in who I am. And many of those little things she mentioned were memories I had forgotten. I just loved this one. Highly recommend for any millennial women struggling with identity!

I really enjoyed this book - Kate captures the millennial experience like no other. If you are middle age upper middle class white woman who went to high school and college in the US, she knows you. She knows all of us. She captures the mundane in a hysterical format. Some of the middle of the book lost me but she caught me back in during her exploration of the childbearing age for women. Much like her podcast, her discussions can be long but if you dig in, you will feel validated and understood.

Part memoir, part collection of musings on the collective experiences of growing up in the 90s and early 00s, this book of essays is a delightful and poignant trip down millennial memory lane.
Kate has a way of putting into words feelings and experiences that I did not have the words for myself and some of which I didn’t even know were universal. I loved her writing style; it felt like listening to her podcast a bit, which was so fun! The use of word play and pop culture references throughout was super well done. This book made me feel so nostalgic, and, most importantly, it made me feel seen. Yes, this was a funny and entertaining read, but it was also an important look at the experiences that shaped a generation of millennial women. I already have the hard copy on pre-order, and I recommend you do the same asap!

Read this if:
💿 you are a millennial (obvi)
💿 you like pop culture
💿 you’re a fan of Kate’s podcast, Be There in Five
💿 you enjoy essays or memoirs

SO MANY GOOD QUOTES, but I’ll leave you with this one “But that's the thing about girlhood. You and your friends have to take yourselves seriously, because no one else will.”

I truly wanted to enjoy this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I am only a year older than the author, and although I am not familiar with her podcast, I thought it would be a good read since I am also pop-culture-obsessed and the book blurb made it sound interesting.

As many times as the author liked to state that it "wasn't a memoir" - that's basically what it was. It was a lot less of a pop-culture exploration/celebration of the millennial zeitgeist (she also WAY overuses the term "zeitgeist") and more of a meandering look at her childhood, college years, and present-day happenings. Even though she acknowledges her privilege several times throughout, a lot of passages come across as incredibly insecure/unrelatable for what's supposed to be a trip down Millennial Memory Lane.

Some of the wordplay/turn of phrases were fun at first but eventually became tiresome and heavy-handed. Again, maybe you have to be a fan of the podcast to really connect with the work. Sadly, I wasn't one of those people.

There were moments of brilliance in the book, diving into feminist problems of Saved by the Bell, along with fear of being called "basic" for ordering Pumpkin Spice Lattes. It was also fun to read about familiar songs/movies/trends that I also grew up with. That is what I wanted/was led the book would be about. As a proud Millennial, I have to say I'm disappointed with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this novel.

One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy will strike a chord with every millennial in one way or another. From discussing American girl dolls to purity culture Kennedy dives deep into the millennial psyche. It did feel a little too long.

This book is a collection of essays about millennial culture, bordering on memoir. Some essays were more compelling for me than others, but as a millennial, they provided exactly the kind of nostalgia hit I was looking for. I wonder if this would have worked better for me on audio because there is A LOT of wordplay that the voice in my head was just not used to delivering. I especially liked her perspective on 90s purity culture and her candor about the reality of quitting your 9-5 for your 'dream job'.

This one wasn’t for me. The references were hilariously on point for millennials and there were a lot of them packed in to each sentence, but I found it tough to get through. I think if I listened to this on audio it would have been more enjoyable but in book format it didn’t work for me.

This book made me feel seen in the best way possible. Having grown up in Germany for most of my childhood, I feel like my teenage years in the states were compacted into a really saturated experience and I felt so aligned with the author on many of the topics she discussed. The first two sections were by far my favorite, and I loved the trip down memory lane. The musings were funny, honest and super nostalgic. If you like her podcast then you’ll love this, I sure did!

“ As I sipped my seasonal drink, it was a bit bleak trying to discern what interests were actually mine, fearing I’ve curated my existence based on how I want to be perceived, not who I am.”

There are SO many great passages in this book - incredible nostalgia, deep diving millennial culture, and more. But most of all this book made me feel SO SEEN. Throughout this book I just kept thinking “she is me and I am her.”

Admittedly, I did skim the passages more related to religion - but I devoured the rest of this!

As a millennial, I wanted to love this book but “I just can’t.” Full to the brim of millennial slang, heartbreak and fandom, I felt like this would make a better MySpace bulletin post than a book. Did I understand every reference? Sure. Do I worship the idols of the past? Negative. There are some great memories amongst the pages, but there are just as too many pages.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(5/5)

Ohmygoddddd I loved!!!!

Are you a millennial child (born 1981-1996)? Do the terms suede Uggs, lifeguard culture, Limited Too, inflatable furniture, funky hair accessories, Spice Girls, Auntie Anne’s mall pretzels, cucumber melon scented anything, Fierce cologne from Abercrombie, American Girl dolls, Hollister graphic shirts, Mary-Kate + Ashley’s Fun Club, Limewire and burned CDs, AIM, Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me,” puka-shell necklaces, lifeguard sweatshirts, and Backstreet Boys bring back some pretty strong core memories?!

If so, this book is for you, baby!

I literally died reading this. I’m always reading and like “oh that’s funny,” but Kate Kennedy had me acccccctually laughing out loud and reading back parts to my husband.

I mean, let’s be real. When I saw the cover of this book I was 100% sold. Beautiful blush pink? A burned CD written on with sharpie marker?The burned CD alone sent me straight back to 2001 in the best way possible 🤣

But in all seriousness, even though her humor was on point and I had a ton of laughs, Kate Kennedy made a ton of SPOT ON assessments that I was like…oh shit. Some the obvious, like how we millennials love the word “like.” But also that the news always portrays millennials as ruining or disrupting things, and we can’t defend ourselves otherwise we’re being whiny millennials. She also talks about how fucking crazy it is to be the generation born into the crazy groundbreaking technology of the internet where we were so young posting our hormonal teenage lives without really appreciating or understanding the perpetuity that is the internet.

She also talks about being in an age group of extreme vulnerability during a time where self-help gurus “who crossed over into boss-babe territory” (eeeek, I just finished Under the Influence by Noelle Crooks so this totally resonated), and mental health in an era when mental health is finally talked about. She talks about how in your twenties and thirties is when you witness through friends or even yourself that the marriage and babies plan doesn’t always go as smoothly as you’d hope…and damn if that ain’t the truth.

If you are a millennial, you need to get your hands on this beauty. Preorder, request at the lib, set your alarms for January 23, 2024, you don’t want to miss this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Kate Kennedy for an advanced copy of this book. Make sure to preorder - this baby hits shelves January 23, 2024!

Kate Kennedy is a well known podcaster, and this book is exactly what her listeners will expect. Perfect for those that love pop culture!