I'm not familiar with Kate Kennedy, as I'm not active on major social media and don't listen to podcasts. I wanted to read One in a Millennial because of my generational pride and desperate need for us to be taken seriously--so this did not disappoint.

These essays were incredibly fun, poignant and relatable (to me--I know not everyone will vibe with all of these very specific slice-of-life adventures.) Kennedy reminds us that our past experiences matter, even when people were telling us, as they were happening, that they don't. Coming of age in the 90s and early 2000s was special and complicated and she does an excellent job of illustrating why. I also automatically love any poem that references lyrics to the Hey Dude and Salute Your Shorts theme songs, as they are tattooed on my brain for all of eternity.

The overlong rambling and cutesy word play were a bit much for my personal taste, but she calls herself out on it and I can appreciate that that is her style and she owns it. Do your thing, girl.

Thanks to the publisher and NG!

This book was filled with nostalgia. I am a little older than the author but I did still find some similarities in what she wrote about and it was a fun read. I did not relate to all references as a black woman, however, it was still fun and enjoyable. I would recommend it.

Pros: I assumed I would love this book because of how much I enjoy the author on Instagram and on her podcast Be There In Five, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Kate Kennedy’s voice is genuine, thoughtful, vulnerable, smart, and funny. My favorite thing about her is how relatable she is, which I know has a lot to do with us being the same age and having the same pop culture references (American Girl Dolls! Gilmore Girls! Boy Bands!). My favorite section was about the 1990s, especially the essay about faith/evangelicalism/purity culture.

I plan to read this again on audiobook because the author reads it, and I would love to hear the book in her voice as I’m so used to hearing it on her podcast.

Cons: Although I gave this book 5 stars (which I almost never do), I don’t think this will be the perfect book for every reader because it is an examination of a specific generation. I think readers who are not as close in age to the author will enjoy the book but not deeply connect with it like millennials will.

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

My sister in law molly introduced me to Kate Kennedy a few years ago. She’s become a bonding touchstone for us with her relatable millennial ways. So naturally we both freaked when she announced her book. And then I freaked again when I got an eARC of said book.

As someone who lets annual rewatches of gilmore girls and the church of Taylor swift rule their life as well, I knew this would be the book for me. This book was a miserable and magical look back (in the daybed if you will) it dug deep into the darkest corners of my lil brain and remembered all the best and worst parts of the 90s/00s experience. It isn’t a book everyone is going to love and understand and I think Kate does a great job of being transparent about that in her writing. She has pigeonholed the pop culture girly of the early aughts who has some serious religious trauma she is still unpacking into adulthood. Kate has a very special way of making niche people and occasions feel seen I love the heart and soul she puts into her writing. I think this book, much like the Barbie movie, was made for women to take up space and shout their interests loud and proud leaning into their girlhood parts they never fully outgrew. A lot of the now chapter does seem like a long form pod ep with the ranting and the rambling, but isn’t that why we love her? I thank her for sharing what she does with us, we aren’t owed any of it but I’m happy she exists to share.

Thank you St. Martin’s press, netgalley and of course Kate Kennedy for allowing me to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-galley of ONE IN A MILLENNIAL to read in advance! This book will be published in January 2024!

Kate Kennedy takes a look at what it means to be a millennial. From beginning with dial-up internet to holding it in the palm of your hand, purity culture, and financial crisis, millennials have seen a lot. Pop podcaster Kate Kennedy tells hilarious anecdotes with a little levity in what it means to be part of Generation Y, born between 1981 and 1996.

This was the nonfiction book I didn't know I needed. I connected with so many stories from Kate's own life, and cackled at some of the references. Other portions brought tears to my eyes as different emotions were stirred up. I also was left wondering and reflecting if some of the things she mentioned affected me in the same way. My only "issue" with the book (and I use that word lightly) is how often she uses the word, "zeitgeist." Which was probably on purpose. Kate Kennedy wrote a book I think most millennials will connect with and enjoy. Even if you don't like non-fiction, give the audiobook a try! As a professional podcast creator, Kate narrates her own words, which is sure to bring them to life.

ARC releasing 1/24/24. A series of essays on Millennial pop culture. The author has a popular podcast but I’ve never heard of it; I simply picked up this book because I’m a sucker for nostalgia. I enjoyed this but felt it was more memoir and personal compared to just a dive on pop culture. Although I enjoyed those moments as I too have personal stories around AIM, fandoms, and being deeply insecure throughout in my younger years, it’s not what I wanted to read about. Enjoyable overall, but not necessarily what I wanted from this book.

One in a Millenial is a series of essays that made me feel seen and heard! The trip down memory lane and all of the pop culture references had me feeling all of the nostalgia! Funny, engaging, and relatable!

I've been following Kate (hi Beths!) for years and was so excited to have the opportunity to read her highly anticipated book! It was chock full of nostalgia - give me plenty of moments of reminiscing about AIM away messages and burned CDs! Fair warning, I do think I enjoyed the content quite a bit more as someone who has an almost identical demographic of KK.
A must read for millennials looking for a trip down memory lane that doesn't require dusting off your old yearbook or flipping through yellowed photo albums!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Kate Kennedy for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book spoke to me on so many levels and it's not just because I can relate to every pop culture idiom that the author discussed. Honestly, I believe that each poem that the parts of this book began with was a fever dream of mine, because I can relate to every single word. From childhood, through college, and into adulthood, the stories within precisely identified the thoughts and feelings of being a female millennial. Thank you for giving a voice to the generation that cared too much about fitting in but couldn't be closer to a band of misfits. For all the millennial zeitgeist that this book stands for, this book should forever be part of this zeitgeist. The truth is that I loved this book and I dare you to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

This was a really fun read! I'm not a millennial (born in 1972), but I still appreciated and was familiar with so many of the pop culture references, and it was a fun journey down memory lane.

I've never listened to Kate's podcast, but have heard of her show before, and may take a listen now that I've read her book. She is definitely passionate about this topic, and her love for it really comes through in her writing.

A few little things that annoyed me about the book:
--chapters are too long (could really be condensed, as there is a bit of repetition and just general wordiness).
--too many references to "the zeitgeist"
--also, she used the "Limited To" joke way too many times
--I thought her word-play was really clever and funny and super-creative. That being said, while I enjoyed it immensely in the first half of the book, by the second half I found it tiresome and overdone.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4⭐️ First off, reading this title has me immediately singing “You’re One in a Million” from “Miss Congeniality,” which is exactly the vibe of this book. It’s like @katekennedy from @bethereinfive is inside my head and wrote a book describing my same childhood angst and love for nostalgia as a true millennial.

I enjoyed this so much. Kate is so clever with her plays on words. All her 90s-2000s references, even ones I thought were obscure memories unique to my childhood, showed that there really is something special about the millennial girl experience — and that we should own it in all its American Girl / Spice Girl / Andie “How To” Anderson glory.

This book is light yet also covers deeper, serious topics like feminism (my jam) and mental health. I also learned a vital lesson on how judgy of a person I am over people who are into “basic” things — why *not* just let people like what they like and enjoy that pumpkin spice latte and T-Swift fandom with no abandon? So I’m committed to ceasing my Judge Judy ways (because honestly, I can be basic myself and who cares).

Anyway, I loved this book and I just adore Kate (I say this like I know her). It felt like I was a reading a long note passed to me in middle school from a friend. With M.A.S.H. in it.

All the nostalgia and all the millennial vibes! This book took me back to my childhood and reminded of all the good days. It was an easy read and made me feel SEEN! It was super funny and I enjoyed it!

Thank you for the free eCopy!

Thank you, NetGalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Any book with the Spice Girls in it is an automatic read for me. Being a quintessential millennial, I figured the nostalgia in this book would grip me. The trip down memory lane, recalling my AIM days (@abbidoyo @smoothchick714 @baberoo90 - seriously, what's a baberoo?), and that cringe-worthy dial-up tone brought joy.

Even though Kate Kennedy acknowledges her left-leaning stance, I was taken aback by her adeptness in linking her challenges – both political and personal – to millennial themes. Either way, I relished this book and am fully prepared to embrace Girl Power, even if it means flaunting my love for basic pumpkin spice lattes.

And if you're not convinced to read this yet, i'll let the book speak for itself:

"I was, and always have been, with the bandwagon."

"I loved a freezer filled with loose old Thin Mints and tongue-dying desserts and highly processed foods like Kid Cuisines, though I shudder thinking about how it really f'ed with my vibe watching TGIF when the hot pudding would cross-contaminate the corn. Like a yellow marker you accidently drag over black ink; once they mix, it's never the same."

"For millenials, the Spice Girls are kind of like the Magnificent Seven from the 1996 U.S. women's gymnastics team. We didn't choose them, they chose us."

"Graphic lyrics aside, I loved this game because the yolk running down or the fake blood running down your back would be demonstrated by a sort of back-scratching soothing gesture, and I'm nothing if not a slute for a back scratch."

"The nursery rhymes and fairy tales and general fanfare surrounding your wedding and babies start so early, it's less of an option you learn about than it is the framing for what you build your life around."

If you're still caught up in the euphoria of the Barbie movie, this book is an absolute must-read.

I am Gen X. My sister is a millennial and frankly I've never entirely understood her LOL so I've been picking up books about the millennial mindset every now and then to see if I could get a peek inside her brain and figure out what exactly is going on in there. Unfortunately, I continue to be stymied...

Kennedy has done a fine job here and if I was her demographic I would probably have thoroughly enjoyed this one. She has taken an authorial approach that dances the line between informative and entertaining, and if these were my references and my experiences, I would probably have really enjoyed reading it. Instead I found myself struggling to connect with what she was trying to explain, much in the way I've struggled to connect with my sister when she tries to explain herself similarly.

I was not the target audience here, and that was blatantly apparent from the beginning. As a result I can only give it three stars - but can certainly see where others who do fall within the relevant demographic might find it a much more connective and engaging experience.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It is not a memoir per se, but more of a long form commentary on social world. Some of the chapters felt a bit rambling and as an avid listener of the podcast, some of the stories and references were repetitive. Overall it was an extremely enjoyable book and I am so happy for Kate! The authors outlook on the world is fresh yet nostalgic, bringing new perspectives to girlhood memories.

Thanks netgalley and St.Martin’s Press for a copy of this novel. I was sooo excited for this book because I love all things millennial. But I was disappointed. The first two chapters were good and nostalgic. Reminded me of a lot of things I forgot about in my childhood. But then I feel like the book just became about the authors life and her writing about herself. A whole chapter on how boys didn’t like her in college. A chapter about her depression she didn’t realize she had (even tho she stayed in bed all day with spilled food on her sheets). A chapter about her fertility issues. Now I’m all for writing about that and supporting women. It just wasn’t what I thought the book would be about. She would occasionally throw in an early aughts reference during all of this. But I didn’t think it had much to do with growing up as a millennial. I would say it was more of a self help and how to live your life book.

I did like how she talked about how women liking stuff would be shamed. If you were passionate about something and boys said it was uncool then you were made to feel terrible about it. Like why can they go to sporting events all over the country and dress up and that’s normal. But if a female loves Taylor Swift and dresses up for her concerts, then it’s mocked? Spice Girls will always be cool. Eight year old boys didn’t know shit.

I loved this book. As a fan of Kates podcast I feel like I could hear her voice in my head as I was reading and it made me homesick and nostalgic. I was transported back into the mall that smelled like cinnamon pretzels or sitting on my cousins floor playing mall madness using a t-shirt to muffle the sound of the speaker since we were meant to be asleep. This book was fun and I’m excited to see others talking about their experiences as preteens/teens. Would be fun with a digital download for a Spotify playlist.

If you were born in the 1980s and are feeling nostalgic (or are a big fan of 1990s/2000s pop culture), you will probably enjoy this memoir.

I loved the concept and definitely smiled in recognition at times when a certain song or cultural moment was referenced. Overall, while fun, I found it a bit too disjointed and the chapters too long. Recommended to readers in the particular mood to reminisce about their childhoods/adolescences.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I was very excited to read and it did bring back a lot of childhood memories but I couldn't fully get into it. It was a stream of consciousness more than anything. Just not for me.

It’s about darn time someone speaks for women everywhere and legitimizes our interests, despite society ragging on us for ages. I’m a long time fan of Kate and it’s fun to see her thoughts translate to such fascinating pieces of work (be it in podcast form or a book). She is brilliant and that is reflected on these pages. The biggest qualm I had with the book is the length of the chapters. I think breaking up the chapters into sections would’ve been more digestible and added a bit more structure to the flow. Overall, I loved this and even as a younger millenial (I couldn’t relate to everything), I’d recommend for her witty and profound commentary alone. 4.25/5 stars.