One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy is a playful and nostalgic exploration of millennial culture, blending humor, personal anecdotes, and cultural commentary. Kennedy’s voice is witty and relatable, making it easy to connect with her reflections on everything from pop culture to growing pains in adulthood.

While there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and sharp observations, the book occasionally feels uneven—some chapters hit perfectly, while others lose momentum or dive too deeply into niche references.

As someone who didn't finish "One in a Millennial," I found that while it offered a nostalgic trip back to youth, it didn't quite captivate me. The timing might have been off for me personally, as I didn't feel engaged enough to continue. The author, Kate Kennedy, paints a vivid picture of millennial experiences, which resonated with my memories but didn't hold my attention enough to finish the book. Overall, it's a matter of personal timing and connection rather than a reflection of the book's quality.

I enjoyed the author's writing style very much. It was a fun nostalgic look back at the author's formative years,. which happen to align with my formative years.I appreciated when she tackled serious topics with humor.

While I only gave this three stars and sometimes struggled with the author’s narration of the audiobook, I still enjoyed the content - enough that I already mentioned it to several friends. Drawn in by the cover, I had no familiarity with the author, her podcast, business, or her life so I didn’t really go in with many expectations. I’m glad I didn’t, since a quick peek at some reviews had me worried as I started…but then I quickly realized others also must have gone in without context but instead of being along for the ride were just upset it wasn’t a definitive compendium of all things millennial. If that’s what you’re hoping for, look elsewhere, but overall I found a lot of relatable stories, observations, and other bits of content that made me feel both nostalgic and led me to reflect more deeply on the millennial girl experience. Yes it’s about her specific experience and is not meant to be the only experience (something she explicitly names), but it was still interesting to me thinking about some of these still somewhat shared or at least observed experiences. I’ve never really labeled popular girl handwriting and it wasn’t a big thing in my life, and yet, as she described it, I suddenly knew exactly what she was talking about and could picture it. Either way, it was interesting to think about the overlaps and disconnects in the millennial girl experience and interrogate some of the toxic messaging looking back. The part I struggled with was her narration and some of the writing style. Some of the ways in which the book and content is laid out might be better in written form, but in listening to the audiobook version, some bits got a bit repetitive/felt kind of cheesy. Again, as I’ve never listened to her show, not sure if it feels/sounds the same or not. Either way, the awkwardness didn’t stop me from finishing it. Worth taking a listen or picking up if you’re a millennial who wants some nostalgia in your life, needs to get your pop culture fix, and is okay with laughing at yourself. Thanks for NetGalley for the audiobook.

I loved going down memory lane with Kate. However, there were moments of depth you don't really expect, and that was really lovely to experience. I've especially felt lost as an aging millenial, and felt Kate did a great job of connecting our childhoods to our childbearing years. I enjoyed it a lot.

I much preferred the audiobook version of this book to the print version. Kate Kennedy does a great job of narrating the book and adding in the inflections and rhymes that she’s is know for in her podcast.

A fun book to read for all the millennials out there!

This one is filled with clever turns of phrase, puns, and pop culture references that I wish I would’ve thought up first. It’s funny at times, while emotional and deep at others. Overall I found this one to be highly enjoyable!

Part memoir, part walk-down-memory-lane, part social critique, Kate's book made this millennial feel seen, understood, and appreciated in ways mainstream media never could/would. Her razor-sharp wit and niche pop culture references made me LOL, quite literally! The structure of the text mirrors her personal, and in turn, our collective growth and evolution as a generation. Queen of the disclaimer, Kate makes a point to clarify that her experiences are simply that, *her experiences*; however, her story resonated with my own in countless ways.

I tackled this book twice - once in text and once in audio format. I recommend both highly, but thanks to her career as a podcaster, Kate writes in a cadence that is often elevated through spoken word.

I'm not sure if/how this would read as a non-millennial, but as an often misunderstood and scapegoated generation, I would wager it a worthy read for all, regardless of age.

The advertising of this book is very misleading, in my opinion, and I just didn’t vibe with it. I thought it was going to be a series of essays about growing up millennial and how the era we aged in influenced us. But, alas, this was very much just the author writing essays about her own life that I did not care about. I love pop culture and I love reminiscing on the pop culture of my youth, but just mentioning things from my youth will not make me nostalgic enough to read a full book on this.

There are three sections - Nineties, 2000s, and today - and I don’t think the author committed enough to them. The essays could have swapped sections and it wouldn’t have really mattered.

The author was pretty clever with her wordplay, twisting common phrases with millennial references. This was fun, but it got overdone after reading more than one essay.

I had never listened to the author’s podcast, and I am unsure if that would have improved my liking of it. Regardless, I got sick of it.

I have been a longtime Kate Kennedy fan through her Podcast, Be There in Five, and found her deep dives (particularly the Mormon mom bloggers and the Call Her Daddy breakup) to be both extremely funny and extremely clever. So this, coupled with my elder millennial nostalgia, made this book a home run for me. I was a little too poor for an American Girl doll and trundle bed, but the nostalgia was there for me nonetheless. The author admits this in the beginning, but her prose is very sing-songy — which I loved at some points and at others found it distracting.

4 stars! Thank you NetGALLEY!

This title was humorous and some what cheeky in its comedy about being in a certain generation. If you fall within this generation you as the reader will definitely feel connected to the authors voice. Right from the beginning I felt connected to the authors voice and their experiences of growing up.

I will be withholding my review of this book in solidarity with the St. Martin's Press boycott.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

I went into this thinking it might be a nostalgic, funny read and I just didn’t expect the direction it was headed. While parts were relatable as a millennial, I didn’t love the overall tone of the book. While, I appreciated the authors opinions, I didn’t love the depressing feeling of the overall book.

I really wanted to like this one, but the writing was mediocre at best. The content is also not new, I've read it in other books.

*3.5 rounded up*

ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this AudioARC. When When I read that this book was an exploration of pop culture, nostalgia, the millennial experience I took it as a commentary on those topics.

What I found instead was a memoir of an author who I could relate to in many ways through my own millennial experienes. I had never heard about Kate Kennedy or her podcast prior to this book, and while I did not necessarily need to search out a memoir of her life, I still found myself enjoying much of this book.

There were so many moments in the book that triggered the whole "I've never had a unique experience" mentallity but not in a negative way, more the comradier of missign school yard games that were a lot darker than I realized until forced to think about them again. 3rd-5th grade, I can explicityly remember being back stage during the summer play rehearsals playing "Concentrate" and honestly, I'm surprised a teacher didnt intervene, but i'm sure they probably though our generation was going to turn into a bunch of axe weilding serial killers.

While there were so many moments that I related to and had my heart full, there were many moments that I think were more this authors millennial experience rather than the "universal" millennial experience and with that in mind, this memoir did drag on for me in many parts, and where my attention was grabbed at the beginning, it was slipping by the end.

As someone who had a completely different experience in Greek Life as a kid who went to a small private school and my sorority consisted of 30 girls max, hearing the whole "GDI" mentality preached at me for a chapter made me want to DNF the book to be honest. I think there is a way to connect to your readers, but there is also a way to isolate and turn readers away.

That in mind, there are so many amazing quotes I could pull from this book, and I think for those that love her podcast, they should absolutely take the time to read this book.

Kate Kennedy is such a fun voice in the podcast space and it naturally translated to this book.. Her takes on pop culture from the millennial perspective are engaging, interesting, and thoughtful. Love that the audiobook was read by her too, it really took it to the next level and made the personal perspective and stories land better.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

Step into the world of millennial culture with Kate Kennedy's delightful exploration in 'One in a Millennial'! As a pop culture commentator and host of the popular podcast Be There in Five, Kate brings her unique perspective to dissecting the experiences and influences that have shaped the millennial generation. Through witty anecdotes and insightful reflections, Kate delves into the nostalgic treasures of our past, from AOL Instant Messenger to American Girl Dolls, while also addressing the complexities of millennial life, including purity culture and the pressures of modern motherhood. Her ability to blend humor with heartfelt sincerity makes 'One in a Millennial' a joy to read.

Whether you're a proud millennial or simply curious about the cultural landscape of the generation, Kate's book offers a delightful journey through the highs and lows of millennial existence. Prepare to laugh, nod along, and perhaps even shed a tear as you immerse yourself in the witty and poignant pages of 'One in a Millennial'.

Admittedly, I know Kate Kennedy from her social media presence, but I have not listened to her podcast. That being said, I was excited to hear about her thoughts on Millennial culture, as I am a loud and proud member of the group. The book comprised of several essays that looked into how being a millennial affected the way in which Kennedy grew up, and I enjoyed it quite a lot! This read less like a memoir and more like an examination of a culture. Some of the parts of the book totally resonated with me (like the going OUT out parts) and there were several parts that were truly quite funny. It made me realize that I didn't have the most unique experience myself, as a lot of the topics she broached applied to me as well. The book did a get a bit wordy at times, which was my only critique. I did enjoy listening to the author read the book in her own voice as well, it certainly made it feel more personal and put the appropriate inflection when it was needed. Overall, it was good to see the humor in things that I used to take seriously, and I appreciated how much heart Kennedy put into this examination of being a Millennial. I'm still proud to be born when I was, and applaud Kennedy on how she celebrated this specific age group.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Every millennial should read this. I have felt so seen while reading this. I have laughed, nodded, cringed and feel like I could have written this myself (if I were as talented with words as Kate is, that is). So many relatable and what I thought were niche moments. I went to a private Christian school up until 7th grade, so sometimes I wonder if my experiences were different than some but other than the teeny-tiny class (12 of us?) almost all of it was a universal experience. Listen to the audio, you won't regret it.

This book wasn't really what i expected. It was an interesting read non the less. I wish I had more to say.