Scan barcode
A review by abookishmagpie
One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In by Kate Kennedy
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
From the moment I saw the young girl handwriting on a burnt CD I knew I was going to have to pick up this book to see if the contents resonated as much with me as the cover. I was not aware of the 'Be There in Five' podcast or Kate before I picked up this novel so I don't have anything to compare her story telling ability from, but from what I experienced in this collection of essays I definitely understand why she has a following and will have to make an effort to check out the podcast now. As a slightly younger millennial than Kate herself my time frame of experiencing the oddly specific events of the 90s and 2000s is a little off her own, but I still found myself sucked deep into the web of nostalgia she talked about boy bands, pop culture TV and movie moments, discovering (and definitely abusing) the internet, going out-out and the drive to perfect epic handwriting. As well as the more deeper and intense moments she described as she (we really) grew up in a time that really warped our understanding of who we are versus what society wants us to be and trying to find that balance.
I'd agree with some comments saying that at times the chapters got too long and Kennedy had a tendency to wander a bit off topic, but I can't say those things ruined my experience at all. I didn't connect as much with the end chapters about parenthood, but I could empathize with why they were important for Kennedy to share and I thought she did a good job of bringing in the things growing up as a millennial taught her about how to approach the concept of becoming a parent. Overall I am really happy I picked this up and I could see myself getting a copy of my own so I could go back and highlight the lines that really struck a chord with me. I'd definitely recommend this to fellow millennial's, especially those who have a fondness and love of pop culture.
I'd agree with some comments saying that at times the chapters got too long and Kennedy had a tendency to wander a bit off topic, but I can't say those things ruined my experience at all. I didn't connect as much with the end chapters about parenthood, but I could empathize with why they were important for Kennedy to share and I thought she did a good job of bringing in the things growing up as a millennial taught her about how to approach the concept of becoming a parent. Overall I am really happy I picked this up and I could see myself getting a copy of my own so I could go back and highlight the lines that really struck a chord with me. I'd definitely recommend this to fellow millennial's, especially those who have a fondness and love of pop culture.