I wanted to love this book. I enjoy listening to Be There in Five (usually). I will say, this book felt like we were listening to a podcast episode. I didn’t mind that, at least not at first. But I think the more the book went along, the more it felt like it truly was a memoir. I think I’m about 2 years younger than Kate and I grew up within 30 minutes of her, so our childhood was quite similar in many ways. But what was pitched as a millennial-stroll-down-memory-lane turned into her very specific life experiences. Which is fine! Just not what I expected

My little Millennial heart would normally rather read fantasy, romance, or thrillers to help escape from the day-to-day existential crisis that is having lived through American Girl Dolls, Neopets, Limited Too, Xanga, blow-up furniture, Delia*s, BSB/NSYNC/98deg, 9/11, Facebook, side parts, and skinny jeans. However, I am also super into identifying and commiserating with my fellow 90's(ish) babies about how things were like "back in the day" and how the way and time that we grew up in has impacted us now in our 30s(ish).

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The minute I heard of this book, I was *desperate* to read it. And when I got the wonderful opportunity to read an ARC, I had an almost...spiritual time with it. Which sounds silly, but it's true.

It's truly been a revelatory experience for me, a 90s baby and healing millennial. This is intensely a me-centered review, but the things I learned and felt while reading this book coincided with some themes that have been part of my life this year, and touched significantly on some of the ways I've worked to grow and heal and re-learn lately. I appreciate Kate and this book so much.

I feel so incredibly *seen* by these essays, as I'm sure many millennials will. In simple, inadequate words, ONE IN A MILLENNIAL takes a look at the way millennials have been ridiculed for the cliches and tropes of our generation, while being unfairly conditioned for what we would face as we aged. It looks at the ways we are torn between value systems and the ways our age and life phase are held against us, instead of us being viewed a product of our time.

Kate's musings on boy bands, AIM, sleepover dynamics, female communities, college experiences and pregames, and ALL the relatable elements of the millennial zeitgeist consider what we lost and gained along the way of the 90s to now in a deeply thoughtful and engaging way.

"I reminisce about orchestrating digital seductions via AIM, growing up, and trivializing the contents of my own brain," Kate says, "because somewhere along the way, I learned that loving top-forty music or the Mary-Kate and Ashley multiverse wasn't refined."

I've spent most of my late-teenage to adult experiences feeling embarrassed by the cringe of my life, the feelings I had, the things I liked and valued, and how pop culture influenced me. I was embarrassed by it, wanted to distance myself from the way I sought social capital instead of my own happiness.

But this year, my therapy sessions, and Kate's work has helped me in honoring my millennial experiences, reflecting on and analyzing them critically, while not shaming myself for them. Of embracing myself and my multitudes, accepting myself fully for the authentic version that cherishes what my millennial experience gave me while seeking betterment in the world. The things that mattered to me shaped me, and they still do.

Kate aims "to resurrect experiences that previously felt labeled or misrepresented by gender or generation, if only to make a case while I have the headspace that there's so much to our existence worth remembering." I want to remember, I want to embrace, and I want to prioritize my joy.

Funny, witty, and well-written, ONE IN A MILLENNIAL is a stunning book. Kate is a talented wordsmith and pop culture commentator I will always want to hear from. This book on friendship, feelings, fandoms, fitting in, and feminism is exactly what I needed and what I want more of. And like, LONG LIVE THE FANGIRLS.

And it's incredibly thoughtful -- Kate is quick to point out where her blind spots might be, and what her limitations are in covering the millennial experience. I appreciate that very much.

Well, I could write my own novel about how much this book impacted me, but I'll stop here. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy to mark up, treasure, and share with my fellow millennials.

A massive thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. ONE IN A MILLENNIAL is out 1/23/24.

**Also, for us Swifties, I love that Kate addresses the REAL question: "How come there's one 'old Taylor' we've never seen sawing off a plane wing in the 'Look What You Made Me Do' video?" TAYLOR EXPLAIN YOURSELF

I have been looking forward to this book since Kate first announced it and it did not disappoint! I love the long-form narrative style of Be There in Five and One in a Millenial is just as relatable and insightful. I love her nuanced perspective on topics such as Spice Girls, the impact of gender on the type of entertainment society values, AIM, and Limited Too. While this book provided plenty of opportunities to reminisce about growing up in the 90s, it was also full of thoughtful commentary on the impact of those experiences today. I cant wait to purchase this book when it is released and will absolutely recommend it to friends.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

"Why was I worried my hobbies weren't good enough, why did I accept that they would be weaponized against me? Why would I ever lt someone who drafts make believe football teams make me believe I should be embarassed by my interests?"

Girl.
Phew.

As an elder millenial, I wondered if I would connect with this book when I received the arc from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press (Thank youuuu). This book could have just been a dump of name dropping millenial buzz words, making it nostalgic with no real substance. It was so much more than that. Part memoir, part nostalgia blast, this book made me want to shout from the rooftops at times, and cry from feeling SO seen at others. Kennedy weaves in themes of feminism and female friendships and articulates exactly how it feels to experience things like growing apart from your childhood friends and making the decision on whether you're meant to a be a mother. From the first line about backpack bead lizards, I was in. In addition to the things that triggered something in my brain ("hit the cell", online relationships, sweet pea hand sanitzer, Mall Madness, Dream Phone, milky pens, going out tops), there were incredibly insightful and poignant discussions of opression, feminism, misogny, beauty and body standards, mental health, fertility, school shootings- this book touched on it all. At times, I thought to myself, "I could have written this". A Little Princess is one of my favorite movies. I drew a sun on the top of all my notes, and told everyone it would be my first tattoo (thankfully it wasn't). "Celebrate we will because life is short but sweet for certain" was literally my yearbook quote. I wanted to be a marine biologist before I realized I suffer from intense sea sickness. MSN away messages were my passion. Either Kate Kennedy and I are kindred spirits, or I've just never had an original experience in my life. Regardless, I felt more seen than I ever have in a piece of literature. I can't wait to recommend this to all of my pop culture loving millenial pals. If you're not lucky enough to be a millenial (lol) then I think there still will be things you'll love about this book. Highly recommend!

My only pre-publisher feedback is that the poems were incredibly hard to read digitally. The light gray on white made my brain hurt so I just stopped (which made me sad).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Super fun read and ride down nostalgia lane!

I’m not a podcast person so didn’t come into this familiar with the author at all, but I do like her voice. However the writing style was a bit odd to me as a more traditional reader I felt it sometimes hard to follow as one intact book. Great for little bits here and there though.

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'.