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.

I love Kate Kennedy, but this book really needed a lot better editing to keep readers engaged. I know she enjoys adding in pop culture references in her podcasts, but multiple references on each page meant the reader was taken out of her storytelling each time, often within a single minute.

**Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for this e-ARC**

I am a huge fan of Kate's podcast so while yes, I am the target demographic for this book I still think every millennial woman should read it! Written in Kate's signature style, she takes us on a journey from girlhood to adolescence complete with pop culture references, wordplay, and tons of puns. I got the chance to read this after seeing the Barbie movie and it was exactly the book to follow the moment. It's a celebration of girlhood, of being exactly like all the other girls and why there is nothing wrong with that!

What I love about Kate is her ability to bring humor into everything while also still delicate enough to handle tougher topics. Reading this unlocked so many memories from my own childhood. This was a true joy to read. I am begging all of my millennial women to read this so I can discuss it with everyone!

I think I missed more puns than I got - ha!
Definitely read it in Kate's voice. I could hear (or not hear as the case may be) her pauses, where she would either bring her voice high or low, and her "tangent" voice. I didn't know we could get more personal than the Be There podcast, but this book is all her personal stories plus a disturbingly accurate depiction of growing up as a millennial from computer usage to what accessories or stores would boost your cred at school. The heartbreaking reality of the college experience not living up to the hype. Kate did a spot on job detailing being an elder millennial in this time. Stuck between young and experienced but having not a lot to show for it because of how society has deemed millennials entitled and yet lazy. And how society gave us the fortitude to start declaring what we actually like and don't like.
Kate should write a fiction coming-of-age story in the 2000s.
Also, the afterward made me cry.

DNF at 20%
I was just bored. The author tried to throw too many 90s references at us for nostalgia, that's all.

An amazing read for any millennial woman! I felt like I could relate to so much of Kate's writing and her experiences growing up in the early aughts. One of those books that will make you laugh and make you cry. I highly recommend!

3.5/5

While I am only half of the target demographic of this book as a millennial male, I was immediately drawn to this book just based on the title and description. I was not aware of Kate’s online presence prior to reading, but am definitely planning on checking her out now!

Most of this book was extremely relatable and it was very interesting to see how growing up as a millennial has impacted our adult lives. Kate managed to hit on most of the major influences on my youth: religion, AIM, Hollister and pumpkin spice lattes.

The main reason this book was not a 5/5 for me was because at points, the book really dragged for me. If I wasn’t interested in or relating to a topic being discussed, it was hard to stay focused and not put the book down after a few pages. This could be because I don’t typically read memoir/researched based books like this, or simply because I didn’t connect to everything discussed in the book.

That being said though, if you are a millennial looking for a (sometimes cringy) trip down memory lane and thinking about how that now impacts your adult life, this book is definitely worth the read.