First, I felt hooked by this book from the beginning of the prologue. It was nostalgic, funny, and felt incredibly relatable. This book touches on a ton of important issues, and I believe that it would probably be excellent as an audiobook.. That said, reading it started feeling tedious and I ended up DNF'ing partway through the Popular-Girl Handwriting chapter. It was just too repetitive and started feeling overly cliché rather than nostalgic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

I really enjoyed this book even thought I have never heard Kate's podcast! So I will include that i do not feel like the podcast is at all a requirement to enjoy this book. I will say this book is definitely better enjoyed if you are a millennial or care about this culture otherwise you will probably hate it. but AS A MILLENIAL, it was such a fun road trip down memory lane revisiting growing up as a millennial. it was a lot of fun to revisit the things that have shaped us as adults in the times of the early internet, pop cultures influences and it feel VERY relevant to know as so much of this trends are being revisited by a new generation. I hope they read this book and can see a bit of what life was like for us with what our day to day culture was like. I really enjoyed her thoughts on purity culture. I know "going out tops" are virally made fun of tiktok so i hope there's a book-tok and crossover for the release of this book it definitely spoke to some inalienable truths of being a millennial so I hope she considers it a job well accomplished. My personal favorite insights came from her thoughts of motherhood which is something i think about and live daily and i loved hearing another from my generations perspective.

I didn’t know about the author’s podcast, but consider me a new listener! This was nostalgic and fun and I resonated with it entirely too much! As a younger millennial, I didn’t get all the references, but those I did were spot on. This was heartfelt and funny and I’m def a fan!

I HAVE NEVER FELT SO SEEN AND UNDERSTOOD. I've been a long time fan of Kate Kennedy's podcast, and the community of women she's gathered from it. Kate's storytelling is entertaining, so smart, and the joy and agony of the nostalgia of it about knocked me over. It's unapologetic + insightful cultural commentary that I can't wait to recommend to everyone. Thank you so much for the ARC, Netgalley!

Millennial nostalgia at its finest!! I love Kate’s way with words and this book is no exception! It had me feeling all the feels. I can relate to so much of what Kate talks about and it’s honestly a little healing to know I am not alone with some of my experiences! Thank you Kate for writing this book!

Parts of this book really resonated with me since I am a millennial. Other parts were just long-winded, I was very annoyed when I read the word “zeitgeist” at least six times in the introduction (please fix that). I did laugh several times.

I did enjoy this book overall!

This was the perfect mix of own up to it and let me tell you about it. I sympathized, I felt understood, I embraced it all. The personal essays were the perfect length for a deep dive while not leaving you dragging. The millennial experience is summed up nicely while also showing space for it to be only one perspective. I learned a lot, I laughed a lot, I embraced what I like, which is this book!

One in a Millennial is exactly the relatable memoir you think it's going to be. Full of oh-so 90's and 2000's nostalgia and pop culture references this is a good read. As you read the book you get to remember your own life as you grew and can find comparisons to the references made. This is especially relatable as another grown up millennial.

"One in a Millennial" by Kate Kennedy is a delightful and insightful exploration of the millennial experience, perfectly capturing the essence of a generation that straddles the line between pop culture fascination and heartfelt introspection. Kennedy skillfully dissects topics ranging from the iconic AOL Instant Messenger days to the complexities of millennial motherhood. Seamlessly blending humor and poignancy, she highlights the profound impact that seemingly superficial interests can have on personal growth and identity. Her relatable anecdotes and astute observations make "One in a Millennial" a must-read for anyone seeking a nostalgic yet deeply resonant exploration of the millennial zeitgeist.

As a librarian, I often reference Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop seminal essay that books can be "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors." As someone in her early 30s, this book was a mirror I didn't know I was missing. It is so powerful to read a book that takes experiences you also experiences as serious moments, rather than minimizing them like so many other voices in society have. One in a Millennial explores fun cultural moments like American Girl Dolls and also the deep shame and insecurity that came from growing up steeped in messages about sexual purity and thinness being a girl's most prize attributes. Kate is a wonderful writer, making me laugh and cry in the most unexpected places. I don't think you have to be a millennial woman to enjoy this book if you want a look into a wild time to be growing up! I also recommend Kate Kennedy's podcast, Be There in Five.

#NetGalley #OneinaMillennial

I absolutely loved this book. Kate Kennedy you are a delight and I’ll read any book you write.

One in a Millennial is a book for all millennials who grew up spending Friday nights in malls and movie theaters and the remainder of their nights trying to impress their crushes on AIM. Kate analyzes millennial pop culture with a critical lens — not only reminiscing about the Spice Girls but deconstructing the ways they relate to many women who are also reduced to their most baseline traits, not only reminding you of “popular girl handwriting” but discussing the ways in which that played into forging a sense of identity and individuality as a kid.

To quote something Kate wrote in her acknowledgements: “I’m so grateful the Venn Diagram of our pop culture references is a circle.” When you can reference my ultimate childhood crush Mimi Siku from Jungle 2 Jungle in a chapter about the cultural significance of a trundle bed, you have me sold.

This book is an intellectual deep dive on millennial nostalgia, a defense of women’s interests that are often reduced to being called “basic,” and a funny, punny and relatable trip to the past to relive many bits of history that many of us may have never realized were so universal.

While reading this book I couldn’t help but wonder… am I JUST like Kate or are we JUST like all other millennial girls?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I agree with others that this seemed long-winded and hard to follow at times, but overall it was a fun read that brought back memories of my childhood.

Nostalgic and funny, but sooooo long-winded! The paragraphs seemed never ending at times and it read as more of a ramble because of that. I think it could have been condensed/shortened - some of the points were repeated so many times in a chapter. It was still entertaining & I found some of the references so funny to think back on.

Ahhhh, I love non-fiction books like these! Especially given that I would fall under the "Millennial" classification as well (I was born in '93), this book was both such a joy to flip through given all the different topics it covers AND very enlightening. Perhaps I love it so much because of the deep feelings of nostalgia it evokes from me, but honestly I don't even care. I'd definitely recommend this book out to others if they like non-fiction reads that are equal parts hilarious, fun, and inf0rmative!

I tried to like this book, I really did. The premise was great. A look back at millennial pop culture? Hello, nostalgia! And there was some of the book that I enjoyed - being reminded of my childhood/teen/college years was a fun trip down memory lane. Unfortunately, there was just too much analysis and navel-gazing (I hate this phrase but feel like it applies here) for me to really enjoy the book. Additionally, the word-play used by the author was just a bit too much for me (once in a while it's okay but something on every page? It felt like overkill). I am not one to DNF so it says a lot for me that I could not bring myself to read this whole book.

I think other people will really enjoy this one (and already seem to based on the positive reviews I've seen on Goodreads). This one just wasn't for me.

This book was much anticipated from me as I’ve been a long time listener of Kate’s podcast. I really really wanted to like it. Unfortunately I think her ideas and puns are much easier to digest via audio, so I would suggest buying the audio book rather than trying to get through the long run on sentences. I didn’t like the “so random” sections as I don’t think they were “that random”, they would have just fit into the chapters without being in the own section. Around 80% of the way through the book, I had gotten the point and was more than ready to be done. I will continue to be an avid podcast listener but may just skip the next book.

One in a Millennial is a perfect summary of what it means to be a millennial. Kate Kennedy does a fantastic job of describing the unique position of millennials and how society molded (and continues to mold) our adult experiences. Kennedy and I had so many similar experiences growing up and her insight to how those experiences shaped us as adults were like giant lightbulbs for me. I've never felt more seen reading this book and have been recommending this books to my peers nonstop. Kennedy blends humor with intellect and has created an insightful look into what it means to be a millennial.

I did like this book, very much a summary of her best podcast episodes that are about her life experience. So a great way to highlight and bookmark topics and quotes.
Makes a lot of great points and able to lead us as millennial women to how we got to were we are today.
It took a lot to get through reading this. Might translate better to audio. The chapters were long, too long and not streamlined enough at times. Would have liked shorter chapters with fewer tangents.
The topics were not new if you listen to her podcast. This made reading not very exciting at times because I knew exactly where she was going and what she was going to say during most of the book.

4.5 stars, rounded down. This book made me feel SEEN in the best way - an onslaught of forgotten nuance by Kate Kennedy, one of the leading pop-culture enthusiasts of our time.

I really enjoyed the first & second sections of this book, going through childhood, the teenaged years, and the young adult years. It felt like shared commiseration, remembering the parts of your life that were so crucial but now seem distant and maybe trivial. These sections feel like a true celebration of pop culture, embracing the elements of ourselves that actually made us.

The third section is where this plot-less collection of essays actually loses the plot: there is some interesting commentary on life in your early 20s but Kate largely skips over this time frame and goes straight to the now. Not only is this section disjointed by trying to cover a larger span of time, it also gets very heavy and less celebratory. It’s not bad necessarily, but it is a direct contrast to the other 2/3rds of this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the trip down memory lane. I too mention Clueless 4 times in two chapters, or lowkey get my fashion tips from Chessy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Kennedy, and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

To be fair, this is a completely biased review because I love Kate. I am an avid BTI5 listener and I pre-ordered the book the day she announced it. I had a full on “mario star” moment when I was approved on NetGalley.

This collection of essays is everything I love about the podcast in a delightfully highlight-ready form.

I immensely enjoy Kate’s ability to take something superficial, and wholly relatable and tie it back to a deeper systemic issue.

Thank you to the author, my parasocial BFF- Kate Kennedy, and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC.