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readingunderadesk's review against another edition
2.5
Usually I pop onto NetGalley to do my reviews more or less as soon as I finish a book, but I marinated on this one a few days. I think, in the end... it wasn't for me?
Going back and reviewing the info, it's marketed as a 'commentary on millennial pop culture' but it was... a memoir of a person who was really into pop culture...? And not at all what that pop culture meant to... culture, and how it really affected those that grew up within its grasp.
Kate Kennedy (who I was wholly unfamiliar with prior to reading this book) is only about four-ish years younger than I am, but we experienced a lot of the same things -- in completely different ways. Reading Once in a Millennial was like listening to the little sister of a classmate talk a lot about pop culture of the time, thirty years later. And while that pop culture was really important and formative to all of us who grew up through it (especially us who were raised as girls as media "for girls" is continually undervalued) it really just didn't affect me the same way as it did her. I have fond memories of TGIF nights but the whole boy crazy phase skipped me (and then I turned out to be not straight and very strongly demiromantic/sexual bordering on the "a" part of the spectrum, so, the gap is real) and living my school age life around what boys may think of me just... completely passed me by. So I'm glad she called it "One in a Millennial" and explains it's her very personal experience living through the 90s (00s, and now) and it's fascinating how very different we who grew up in the same era are.
Also, unfortunately, I found the very "I got really into Hamilton during That Period and it obviously affects my writing" rhymes that happen SO OFTEN really distracting and it took away a lot of this reading experience for me. Same goes with the constant trying to see how she could work in every possible pun/play on words/reference as much as possible. I didn't like that! A play on words and a reference is so fun but when it happens SO MUCH it's just distracting and not as clever as it probably felt at the time.
So, not for me, but I can see how a lot of people roughly my age would probably like this a lot.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for review!
Going back and reviewing the info, it's marketed as a 'commentary on millennial pop culture' but it was... a memoir of a person who was really into pop culture...? And not at all what that pop culture meant to... culture, and how it really affected those that grew up within its grasp.
Kate Kennedy (who I was wholly unfamiliar with prior to reading this book) is only about four-ish years younger than I am, but we experienced a lot of the same things -- in completely different ways. Reading Once in a Millennial was like listening to the little sister of a classmate talk a lot about pop culture of the time, thirty years later. And while that pop culture was really important and formative to all of us who grew up through it (especially us who were raised as girls as media "for girls" is continually undervalued) it really just didn't affect me the same way as it did her. I have fond memories of TGIF nights but the whole boy crazy phase skipped me (and then I turned out to be not straight and very strongly demiromantic/sexual bordering on the "a" part of the spectrum, so, the gap is real) and living my school age life around what boys may think of me just... completely passed me by. So I'm glad she called it "One in a Millennial" and explains it's her very personal experience living through the 90s (00s, and now) and it's fascinating how very different we who grew up in the same era are.
Also, unfortunately, I found the very "I got really into Hamilton during That Period and it obviously affects my writing" rhymes that happen SO OFTEN really distracting and it took away a lot of this reading experience for me. Same goes with the constant trying to see how she could work in every possible pun/play on words/reference as much as possible. I didn't like that! A play on words and a reference is so fun but when it happens SO MUCH it's just distracting and not as clever as it probably felt at the time.
So, not for me, but I can see how a lot of people roughly my age would probably like this a lot.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for review!
lindsayvale's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
alli_elise's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.75
lauryl's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
The marketing on this book is way off. This is not a fun story about millennials and a deep dive into our childhood as I was led to believe by the title, cover and millennial pink branding. Instead, this is a memoir about one woman’s (not that interesting) life despite her proclamations many times that it’s “not a memoir!” The author tells her story as a woman struggling in many phases of her life and the her memory/experiences that are depressing and semi-problematic through a 2020’s lens. If the book was positioned as this one woman’s life story, I would probably have been way more into it, but I semi dreaded finishing this book because it was just such a bummer on behalf of all millennials. On a picky/tactical note, the spoken word poems throughout the book started kind of fun but grated on me big time by the end. This book was just not for me.
meganexclamationpoint's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.25
herri1je's review against another edition
4.0
This book unlocked some core memories for me! I really enjoyed reading the breakout sections that were in-depth about cultural icons. The part about American Girl Dolls was my favorite! Reading this felt like a big sip of a Capri Sun! So nostalgic and fresh. I also enjoyed her tone and the levity that she brought to struggles.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.