Have you ever read a book and thought, “This was written for me”? One in a Millennial is that book for me. It dredged up Lisa Frank coloured memories from the river than is my childhood, and left me simultaneously wrung out emotionally and cackling with glee.
While there were things I couldn’t fully relate to (American Girl dolls, Greek life, fertility issues) the feelings expressed regarding those topics still resonated with me. And while I have never started my own welcome mat empire, I am definitely on the “bed soup” level and an avid participant in “Amelia Bedelia-Core”. For every moment that alluded me (probably because I am Canadian) there were plenty of ones that had me slack jawed thinking, “Oh my God; she’s right!” Kennedy exposes so many millennial truths, ones I hadn’t had the words or background knowledge to fully comprehend. There were so many things I had been feeling growing up but didn’t have the language to label them. There are so many things I can look back on now and recognize the damage done.
I think many millennials have a complicated relationship with the moniker, but this book helped me come to terms with it. It was nice to have Kate Kennedy narrating her own words, leading me to my revelation. It was like having a conversation with a much cooler, funnier friend.
I leave this book a proud millennial and a honoured member of the “Up All Night” Club.

Relive your life as a millennial via an audiobook? Yes, please! When I read the premise for this book, I was in! I enjoy memoirs and one that reminisced the 90s sounded delightful. I enjoyed the nostalgic notes but this book falls a little flat. It feels a little chaotic in the way it’s put together and some parts are so slow! It feels like you’re slugging through. I think the audiobook is well produced and the narrarator works. Overall, super promising but doesn’t quite deliver.

Truly an ode to the millennial, this book had me smiling, nodding in agreement, and the occasional sigh in a heartfelt moment. The author reads the audiobook herself which was fantastic, especially for fans of her Be There in Five podcast. It really felt like a deep dive longer podcast episode. I would hand this book to any woman born from the mid 80s to mid 90s and guarantee they will be able to relate to so many of Kate's experiences.

This book was really difficult to get into. A book that reflects on our past as a millennial. Definitely nostalgic but not sure if a whole book was needed to reflect on it? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Book Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kate Kennedy’s autobiography, One in a Millennial: on Friendships, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting in, somehow managed to turn her very personal life experience into a story that perfectly encapsulates an entire generation!

Uniquely formatted, Kennedy employs stream of consciousness writing amongst essays and poetry. Her raw, honest, and vulnerable outlook is not only refreshing, but comforting. Not only did I feel seen, but I was also reminded of so many things I had long since forgotten.

While this is a fantastic read, I believe it is a true disservice if you do not listen to it on audio. Kate does a phenomenal job narrating the book. Getting to hear her story in her own words, made the entire 10 plus hours feel like I was catching up with a dear friend at a coffee shop.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Macmillian Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and Kate Kennedy for allowing me to read/ listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun book!! I have been saying it for a while now that Millennials are bringing so many things that we loved growing up back into the spotlight. We are a generation that is full of nostalgia and I am all about it. What Kate Kennedy did in this book was incredible. She was able to highlight sooo many of the staples we grew up with through writing that was, at times, lyrical and poetic, and other times simple, yet moving. I had so many moments going through the book where I couldn't help but exclaim out loud "yes!" or, "OMG I completely forgot about that!" Reading this book was like going into a time machine.

Not only was the book and the experience it created marvelous, I learned that we have the same alma mater - VT!! This only added to the nostalgia since my time at Tech was incredibly special to me.

This is one of those books that I think is going to blow up, and I'm so glad I had a chance to read it early. Thank you #NetGalley for the early access to this great and nostalgic read!

I’m not a Millennial but I really enjoyed this book. I’m familiar with the author from her podcast and social media presence. The book spanned the emotional spectrum for me- I found it laugh out loud funny and touching in many parts. The nostalgic look back at the 90’s and 2000’s was a fun ride. Thank you for the chance to read in advance.

What a great trip down memory lane! I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, thanks to St Martins Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley.

Kate pulls in so many of the 90's and 00's pop culture references that are viewed with a different lens now - Jessie Spano, popular girl handwriting, American Girl dolls, AOL instant messenger, boy bands and going "out" out. This book explores how pop culture has shaped millennial girls into the women they are today, what hurdles we have overcome and what we still struggle with today. This book encourages us to embrace what we love as it has shaped us into who we have become.

I can't wait to share this with all of my millennial friends - it would make a great book club discussion - listen to Kate's podcast "Be There in Five" and see her live on her book promotion tour.

Pub date 1/23/24

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free ARC. One in a Millenial is a memoir by Kate Kennedy, who is the host of the Be There in Five podcast. As a loyal Beth, I have followed the podcast for years, have attended one of her live shows, and am obsessed with a good Venn diagram. I loved listening to the audiobook - it was essentially a longer version of her (long form) podcast. While there want a lot of information in the book that I didn’t already know from being an active listener to the podcast, I still enjoyed listening to it. Her ability to use play on words so effortlessly will always entertain me. Her experiences growing up mirrored a lot of my own, which made it even more fun to listen to. I definitely recommend it.

My nostalgic elder millennial heart DEVOURED this audiobook!! So many fun little pop culture nuggets and memories. The author not only beautifully captured the experience of many millennial girls growing up in America, but also included some spoken-word poetry surrounding the experiences and stories that was stunning.

From AIM away messages to Limited Too (or should I say, "Limited To"?) the author examines the millennial culture and both the harm and the good that has come from our "golden years" in the 90s and early 2000s.

I wasn't aware of this author before listening to the audiobook, but after listening I will be following her content online. Can't get enough!

I got 28% in and the chapter where she opposes Evangelical culture was a bit too much for this Evangelical to handle. I had to DNF.

Read this if:
•you are a millennial
•you wore gauchos
•you watched Holiday in the Sun with Mary Kate & Ashley
•you watched the Lizzie McGuire movie a million times and first saw it in theaters
•you liked the scholastic book fair
•own or owned Vera Bradley bags
•for navigating the “ifs” even when they seem so far away 💔

This book is a whole ode to being a millennial and I’ve never related to something more. Whether it was reminiscing over things of my childhood or the existential crisis over a corporate America job that pays the bills or a job you’re actually passionate about (if anyone figures that out lmk 🫠).

“No one can prepare you for that period of time in your mid to late 20s when your social life is literally only other people’s milestones.” “You feel like you’re defending your lack of personal life news when you’re celebrating someone else’s.”

This was the book I didn’t know I needed to read. It came into my life at the exact right time. I laughed. I cried. I feel so heard. Xoxo a fellow millennial.

Thank you Macmillan for the alc in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet touching memoir that was both specific and deeply relatable look at growing up and learning to understand your place in the world

I loved how nostalgic this book made me feel. We really did have it made in the 90s/00s and this was the perfect way to relive it.

As a self-proclaimed 'Millennial Girl' I was THRILLED to come across this book! ONE IN A MILLENNIAL by Kate Kennedy is a pseudo-memoir exploring millennial culture (or zeitgeist, which is now my new favorite $5 word), celebrating and critiquing elements that defined it. She uses the well-known radio slogan to anchor this book's framework into three time eras of millennial culture - The 90's, the 2000's, and Now!. The elements in this book range wide - sleepovers, AIM screen names, youth group camp, the Going Out shirt, American Girls dolls, Saved By the Bell, popular girl handwriting, pumpkin spice lattes, Spice Girls, and The Parent Trap movie (1998 Lindsay Lohan version, of course), just to name a few. In each chapters she waxes nostalgic, while making deeper commentary about each element's representation and connection to larger societal topics such as misogyny, patriarchy, feminism, media, purity culture, self-esteem, identity, parenting, and consumerism, as well as a variety of other topics.

I listened to the audiobook version and enjoyed how personal this book felt to hear her words in her own voice. I also LOVED how her poetry was interwoven, and can't even begin to enumerate the many references to millennial culture this book is chalked FULL of, and how cleverly she uses them. She definitely is a wordsmith and I found myself smiling to myself at multiple points with all the wordplay! I really feel like there was a good balance of celebration and critiquing, but did find that some of the commentary was reused in later chapters. It seemed to be hitting points already made, which felt circular, so I did start to lose some steam in my interest throughout. And despite her insistence that this isn't a memoir, her personal stories and experiences giving structure and stock to each topic definitely read waaaaay more memoir-y than she probably was wanting, especially in the Now! section.

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

I was so happy to get this audiobook! It’s perfect for listening ( and laughing) while running errands and cleaning (at least for me).

I found it highly relatable and almost depressingly so (LOL) being that I am a millennial and have always felt that I am not meeting expectations set by other generations.

Definitely a great book!

1.5 stars - This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be and perhaps was marketed incorrectly. I thought it would be a fun trip down nostalgia lane, but was more of a memoir (Even though she says it's not a memoir). The last 25% of the book was all about her experience trying to be a mother, it had nothing to do with growing up in the early 2000s. It goes into her reproductive system, procedures, and legislation.

I did enjoy some of the essays, but made it made us relook our childhood favorites and feel bad about liking them. Rather than thinking of the time frame and culture of the early 2000s and how they shaped us, she brought trends from that time period into 2024 and showed why they should basically be cancelled.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for an advanced copy of this title. It’s been a while since I truly enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed One in a Millennial. I felt like I was basically reliving my entire childhood through college years as the content and cultural references were so relatable. I’ve drawn the conclusion that if you grew up in the 90s we’ve basically all lived the same lives. This book does lean heavily towards a memoir towards the end, but the first half of this book is so so good, like a revisit to our younger selves navigating all the pop culture things that made up the 90s.

While I’m a couple years too old to be a millennial, I thought One in a Millennial sounded like a fun read and that it would be fun to reminisce about 90s and 00s pop culture. Instead, I just felt like I was reading a list of references coming at me fast and furious. I decided to DNF. Maybe this would work better for younger readers or fans of the author’s podcast but this was a miss for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free book and audiobook to review.

For all millenial ladies! I enjoyed this audio book very much. Breezed through it like I was in a Time Machine. A blast from the past is to be had with this one. So many relatable moments. Thank you KK and NetGalley for the advanced copy. Will check out KKs podcast!