I really enjoyed reading about Ms. Gutierrez's unique life. Anyone who likes to talk to funny people will love this book.

The book really gets into gear once Ms. Gutierrez is able to move past the 90s culture references and into her story. The publisher may have demanded that the intro be a 'hook' to the readers. Thus, it felt at times like that chapter was 90's madlibs. But I was really engrossed as Ms. Gutierrez moved into the stories about her life. She didn't have a lot of great role models, but was able to come out the other side not too much worse for the wear. That's not to say the 90s references were unwelcome. I found myself saying 'OH YEAH!' at various points. The later chapters mixed in the references to the era much more artfully. I feel like her voice became stronger as the book went on, and that's a good thing. It's almost like I, as a reader, was watching her grow as an essay writer.

I highly recommend this book to all.

Jess Gutierrez’s collection of essays is a laugh-out-loud journey through the quirks and chaos of modern adulthood. With unapologetic wit and raw honesty, Gutierrez captures the hilarity of millennial missteps, from roller-derby mishaps to epic parenting fails. Her voice is magnetic, blending outrageous humor with a touch of heartfelt introspection that makes each story feel like an inside joke with an old friend. For anyone who has ever felt like they’re making it up as they go, this book is a refreshing reminder that life’s imperfections are what make it truly memorable. A must-read for any millennial looking for a good laugh and a reminder that they’re not alone.

I loved this book, while my life circumstances are differing from the author, she is incredibly relatable and I sometimes found myself laughing not just due to the hilarious nature of her life, but because I understood too well. This book was incredibly deep for a humorous book and I found myself feeling like I was talking to a good friend. There were so many good quotes from this book, my favorite being "I don't think anyone else has ever said this, but getting older is weird as shit." That made me laugh out loud and notice my backache a bit more all at the same time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The essays are frank, well written, varied and reflect real life. Although I am quite a bit older than the author, so many of these essays resonated with me and made me chuckle. This shows that our foibles, struggles, and craziness are what make us interesting people. Despite what it seems sometimes, no one really has life figured out, and we are all just trying to find our way to happiness. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This was just okay for me. I didn't expect it to be quite a personalized account of all of these 90s trends and memories, and I just wasn't super interested in listening to her story.

This was a funny book she Spone on a lot of different ideas. I like how she writes each. Chapter had a different theme about her life. I thought it was only funny when she got to the drug part of it in the drinking. She was just trying to find her way out in the world because she came out of the lesbian twenties. Talk about differ relationships. One time she thought she could be a real girl that was funny. She had a lot of different experiences.And this kind of made her way to a person she finally married and loved. I'm like how she talked about her 20s and how crazy it was.And as we get older we seem to look back. You can talk about the different generations and how they're all seem to be together. It's very interesting to Book.

A Product of Genetics (and Day Drinking) is a humorous, refreshing collection of essays about adulting and parenting and more. The author has a truly original voice. This is a great, short beach or vacation read. I can't wait to read more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, this was a funny millennial experience. I think I would have prefer listening to this on audio though.

Jess Gutierrez’s memoir takes readers on a multifaceted journey. She explores fervent religious devotion, having prostitutes as childhood babysitters, recounts meeting her roller-derbying, paramedic firefighter wife, navigates parenting while embracing her queer identity, and indulges in 1990s nostalgia with her love for both Titanic and Ace of Base. The book takes readers on an entertaining and genuine journey through unconventional work experiences, queer romances, and the delightful challenges of parenting. Overall, an easy and enjoyable read!

This book was fun to read! I related to a lot of it and laughed several times. I thought it was a refreshing change in the memoir category. Some of the quotes I loved were
"Being a nineties kid was an experience in and of itself"
"Nothing, and I mean nothing, tastes better than a Christmas Tree Cake..."
"we reveled in using Napster and LimeWire to download and infect family computers with both terrible music and debilitating viruses."
"Not even a third grader is impressed to hear that you lived in eastern Oregon or that you've done a stint in Ogden, Utah" (I'm from Utah and that's so true.)
"I thought I'd be awesome at getting pregnant. Since just before my eleventh birthday, I'd had my period regularly. Blood came out, chocolate went into (my mouth, not my vagina), and so on and so forth." Ugh that's so true. Not actually an easy situation.
"This body of mine is a road map of memories."
"Things will be bad and hard and ugly sometimes. Some days it will seem easier to grind yourself up in the garbage disposal than to finish work, put the kids to bed, or make dinner. But in cases when you can, let the bad stuff be blip, not a blight, on your path forward. Keep going, things get better."
Thank you NetGalley and Jess H. Gutierrez for the opportunity to read this book!!

Sometimes you just need to read a memoir that's a little too close to your own life. As a millennial, we are messy and unsure about nearly, this book really captures a portion of that. This definitely isn't for everyone, this isn't a memoir of inspiration but of comfort. Y0u aren't alone, most of us don't know what we are doing.

In my opinion this collection really suffered from millenial pandering without being funny enough to forgive its cringey sins. The whole first essay is a sorr of just barrage of millenial references that became so hard to read I forgot the whole point of the opening essay. I wanted to love it but unfortunately it was a flop for me.

I tried this though I'm of another generation completely. I guess I wanted to see how a child of my own kids' ages would view their generation. Many of the stories were hilarious, especially in the first half, but I found the middle hard to take, with all the drinking and drug-taking, It ought to appeal to the audience it was written for, I suspect!

The subtitle.....a never coming of age story......covers the dreams of many adults who found out that adulting is really not much fun. All those things you said you'd do when you came of age......yea, no. A memoir of the missteps she made along the way, Jess Gutierrez shares some eye opening stories. But she survived to reach her "adult" stage and will make you happy that you missed a few of the experiences that she suffered through.

This book is great and I am all for day drinking!

Is the writing a masterpiece? Nooooo, but I loved it anyway - kind of a great beach read.

First things first, this book is FUNNY. Jess’s ability to turn her sometimes-embarrassing, sometimes-heartwarming stories into pure hilarity is an art! I absolutely loved this book. From the cringe-inducing millennial nostalgia to the painfully frank and honest way Jess talks about dealing with her journey of infertility and having kids, this book is so fantastic. I lost count of the references that brought fond memories to my mind as I was reading this book. I loved this book so much!

Whether she is telling you about how one time she was sure she was going to get eaten by a big cat, her first job, her first (terrible) girlfriend, or how she used some very limited Spanish speaking skills to support a woman in labor, Jess unapologetically tells the story of her life in her own way.

With everything that is going on in the world at the moment, queer voices are SO important, and are frequently so underrepresented. A Product of Genetics (and Day Drinking) is a beautiful queer coming-of-age (or not) story, and it feels only fitting that it was published during Pride month! I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to Jess for sharing her story with us, all of the vulnerable and hopeful moments of it. I will 100% be recommending this book to everyone I know, and I’m already planning on buying a copy for one of my family members!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC to read and review.


As a child of the 80s, I was excited by this book and felt like it would speak to me. Unfortunately, it just did not work for me. While I empathized a lot, the tone and dismissiveness was hard to get over. and find the stories enjoyable

I love a book of essay’s and when they are about someone’s life and growing up, I’m in, even if I’ve never heard of them. That’s the case with this book. I’ve never heard of Jess Gutierrez but I was interested when I read the synopsis.
You might want to skip this if you are offended by crass language because this is filled with that. She’s a good writer and I enjoyed reading about her childhood in Arkansas. The cover is great also.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early release in exchange for a honest opinion. 4⭐️

I was immediately drawn to the title and cover of this book, butI hadn't read anything from Jess Gutierrez previously. I found some of her stories funny and others fell flat for me. As an elder millennial her cultural references from the 90s and early aughts were vivid and transported me back in time.

3.5 stars but rounding down.

Thank you Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Tiny Reparations Books for the advanced reader copy.

I started out enjoying this memoir as the author is the same age as I am and reminiscing about the crazy stuff we did in the 90s was fun. Unfortunately, the story evolved into a lot of drinking, using drugs and overall bad choices. I am not without reproach with some of those things but I don't crow about it as I don't see these things as something you should be proud of and brag about to the masses. It got very old very quickly and I struggled to finish the book.