3.5⭐ Part memoir (despite saying it's not), part commentary on the formative culture and socializing experienced by many (white, middle class, American) millennial women, full of pop culture and nostalgia. As a younger millennial, a lot of these experiences were spot on, with a couple being a few years ahead of me, but overall a real trip down memory lane framed in the larger social context we were experiencing these things in. The content is interesting but as a whole the book is very long winded and took a long time to get through. The author is clearly a good writer, but the point often gets lost in pun-filled rambling.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advance review copy of this book.

Kennedy’s One in a Millennial is a nostalgic joyride through the 1990’s and 2000’s that turns surprisingly raw when discussing present day. She has a knack for intertwining humor and tough topics to paint the full picture of context needed to understand modern millennial stereotypes. Though at times verbose, this is a fun read for millennials and should be required reading for Gen Z.

This non-fiction book was super nostalgic as a millennial 31 year old woman. I never listened to the authors podcast, but had heard great things from others who received an advanced copy. Would definitely recommend for ladies in my age group who want a break from reading fiction.

I loved this book so much!! I read it with friends, fellow millennials, and we had so much fun comparing notes and sharing stories of our experiences. I have been a long time listener of Kate and am so happy she’s putting her thoughts and reflections into the world. She has a beautiful way with words and the most amazing ability to seamlessly integrate Taylor Swift lyrics into just about any sentence.

As a millennial, I was thrilled when I found this book! It was so funny and spot on. I loved all the nostalgic memories it brought back to me. What a time to be alive during the MySpace Era!

One in a Millennial
by Kate Kennedy

With the notable caveat that I haven’t listened to Kate Kennedy’s podcast, this book was very hit-or-miss for me. Despite being a millennial, a few chapters didn't connect with me (e.g. I was never into American Girl Dolls) so I ended up skipping around a little. I initially enjoyed Kennedy's style of relentless pop culture references, but at times it felt too forced.

My biggest gripe is that the book was not marketed as a memoir (and in fact Kennedy claims multiple times that it is NOT a memoir) but it certainly read like one. Surprisingly I actually found myself enjoying the third part of the book more, which was less zeitgeist-y and more memoir-y.

Overall I think I was not quite the right audience for this book, and I am confident that those who are familiar with and enjoy Kennedy's podcast will appreciate it more than I did.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own

Reading Kate Kennedy's ode to the North American Millenial's childhood was like reading my old diaries.

My memories of that time came rushing back, including my anger about getting a futon instead of a daybed. I really wanted a daybed...

Must read for all Millenials that remember, dial up, the greatness of the shopping mall and of course CD burning

Absolutely excellent. Nailed my millennial upbringing on the head. I am both delighted and disappointed to know that no one lives a unique life!!

The thoughts on purity culture were so funny and prosaic and then SPOT ON. Her reflection totally made me re examine some of the more difficult concepts I have grappled with as exvangelical millennial.

Will absolutely need to own a physical copy of this book as well as burn it into a disc that I can decorate exactly like the cover and keep in the overstuffed with burnt cds cd holder in my car.

As someone who loves Millennial culture this was a perfect time capsule for me. I enjoyed the discussions about not only pop culture, but the world, politics, and society at learge. This defeintely felt more like a memoir about Kate's life and experiences - and I could see so much of my upbringing as a 90s baby in this.

Definitely a fun read for all millennials, older and younger. I’ve also seen the inside jacket of the hardcover and it is CUTE. This book made me want to dig out my Walkman and blast B*Witched while I write in my password journal.

This is much ore a personal memoir than I was expecting, seeing how it was billed as an examination of how millennials are viewed. Not necessarily a bad thing to have personal connections, but it leaned too much in the personal anecdote direction for my tastes.

3.5/5 stars

"By detailing some of my millennial memories, I hope you'll honor yours all the same."

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If Lorelai Gilmore ever wrote a book filled with her ultra-connected and highly stylized thoughts and experiences, it would look a lot like One in a Millennial.

Pretty much any and every website and census-style review will vault back and forth on the argument of whether or not the years of 1997-1999 can be crowned the end of the Millennial epoch, or doomed to the beginning of Gen Z. Personally, as a '98 baby, I think we should be our own little group, and like others, I propose the name of Zillennials. Is it cringe? Sure. But isn't that a little part of being a Millennial and Gen-Z? I think so.

There was a lot in this novel that I could personally relate to—whether it was similarity to the actual events the author lived through or the knowledge and insight she has looking back on them now. I found myself laughing at some of these shared experiences, and getting teary-eyed at others. There's something really profound in relaying emotions and experiences in a way that a large group of people can immediately relate to, and find solace in the knowledge that they aren't alone and someone gets them.

While I don't have any knowledge of MySpace or LimeWire, I remember the awe and draw of the American Girl Doll and their constantly expanding catalog of accessories, and have personally experienced added to the phenomenon of 'Popular-Girl Handwriting' and wondered if maybe God Must've Spent a Little Less Time on Me, too.

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One in a Millennial was published in January of 2024. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kate Kennedy spoke SO much to my little millennial heart. I appreciated her thorough exploration of topics such as Limited Too, purity culture, boy bands, and AIM. She writes with humor but also self-reflection on how the culture we consumed as tweens keeps affecting us later in life.
The chapter on American Girl dolls was perfect.
loved her reading the audiobook!

I LOVED this book! I have been a long-time listener and follower of Kate but this book absolutely blew me away. Kate is an incredible writer and *perfectly* captured the Millennial coming of age. I laughed, I cried, I was in awe that she had so many of the same feelings and experiences that I had, which seemed so singular at the time.

I am buying this for all of my girlfriends and recommending it to everyone!

This spoke to me on so many different levels. I understood the way Kate felt in so many of this essays and didn't know that anyone else felt the same way. I loved Kate's voice, how honest and earnest she was throughout every essay.

I have listened to Kate’s podcast for years and was delighted to learn she’d be releasing a book. For faithful podcast listeners, this book will feel like a retread of topics many of us are used to hearing her thoughts on, but she is able to expand, provide new insight, and hopefully reach a new audience who wasn’t previously familiar with her. She is sharp, insightful, funny, and thoughtful. Sometimes the puns/wordplay were a bit much and I can see where people who aren’t used to her may not love it but I’m excited to see what she writes next!

I am the exact demographic for this book. as a millennial as a former party girl lol as a woman in her 30s trying to conceive and as a girly who just loves some pop culture. This book made me laugh. It made me smile and it made me feel very very very seen for my Alpha choices in the early 2000s. Made me all my ups and downs, including my wardrobe choices and former hookups. I really needed this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Even though I didn’t relate to some of the author’s perspectives, I felt like she did a nice job unpacking so much about millennial stereotypes, as well as the many ways millennial culture impacted the world and how previous generations impacted what would become millennial culture.

She touched on purity culture, how women are/were portrayed in media, capitalism, the importance of friendship, and finding/being proud of one’s identity.

There were a few bits that felt repetitive, and I honestly didn’t like all the puns. A few would have been fine, but it got to the point that they were taking me out of the headspace of the book. The book also felt like a memoir even though the author stated several times that it wasn’t.

Otherwise, though, I felt like this was an excellent dive into millennialism in the US, and I’m curious to find out more about how some of these aspects of life impacted millennials in other countries.

Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I finished this book a month ago and forgot to give feedback before the archive date. I requested this cause the summary stated a "commentary on pop culture" but really, it was mostly about her. Which was fine but if I knew it was a memoir, I probably wouldn't have requested it. The writing was well done. It felt like a friend was talking to me which I enjoyed!

So thoroughly enjoyed this book and laughed out and found myself choking up each time I heard Kate’s voice waver on the audiobook. Millennials will love the nostalgia, remembering perhaps suppressed memories (yikes cringe) and seeing how our generation has actually weathered this storm of life pretty impressively. It was well really well researched considering the topic and I appreciated seeing how the culture affected young millennial girls.