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stephsbooktalk 's review for:
Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for an advance copy of the audio!
This book will be published on January 23rd.
“Its hard for me to relate when people say things like “I know nothing about pop culture,” “I’m not on social media,” or perhaps the only friendship potential litmus test more effective than someone asking me to run a 5K during the early 2010s themed-race boom: “I don’t own a TV.”
As soon as I saw this cover and title, I knew this book was going to be made for me. I have never heard of Kate Kennedy prior to this but from here or out, I will be a follower! This read more as a memoir about growing up during the millennium. And anyone who knows me personally knows I thrive off nostalgia and being in a tween in the early aughts made me have such an appreciate for the era. And makes me so glad that I kept a journal during that whole time.
As I mentioned above Kate Kennedy is new to me so I was okay learning about her and her background. I thought she was honest in her growing up in the church and how that shaped her and continues to shape her.
The chapter that I was not expecting, and it was much needed was The Parent Trap. This had me crying and sharing snippets with my friend because being a female with fertility issue still feels like a taboo topic. I appreciated her raw honesty as she talks about her miscarriage and then deciding how to proceed. The parts that really got me were "It's not that I'm not happy for people; it's just a feeling you get in your stomach I can only describe as an emotional response with a direct line to my soul that my body reacts to before my mind is patched through." and then again when she talks about "how beautiful your life can be regardless of how whens turn into ifs." It just made my heart hurt but in a familiar way and brought me back to that time when my body was not kind to me.
I highlighted so many parts in this book because it all felt so real. And as a fellow Swiftie, I love picking up on the random Swift lyrics at the end of paragraphs that unless you are a Swiftie you wouldn’t know it. I also never thought I would see a reference to Jungle 2 Jungle but if I am going to read it any book, this would be the one. It just blows my mind at how all teenagers during this time shared such similar experiences (of course AIM and Limewire was mentioned). There was even discussion about popular girl handwriting (which this is 100% true) and milky gel pens (the black paper was just so cool)!
I paired my reading with the audio and the moments I felt where Kate shined is when you could tell she was getting emotional which in turned made me emotional. I felt that it's important to call that out as she was talking about sensitive topics and just made her more human. And you could tell that she talks for a living because her tone and flow of words made her a great narrator.
If you are going into this book as strictly looking for nostalgia & millennial discord, you will get that but also be ready to learn more about Kennedy’s life then and present day. I also think if you love the Barbie movie, you may enjoy it!
**I will not be rating Non Fiction books as it is based on real events and real experiences.**
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for an advance copy of the audio!
This book will be published on January 23rd.
“Its hard for me to relate when people say things like “I know nothing about pop culture,” “I’m not on social media,” or perhaps the only friendship potential litmus test more effective than someone asking me to run a 5K during the early 2010s themed-race boom: “I don’t own a TV.”
As soon as I saw this cover and title, I knew this book was going to be made for me. I have never heard of Kate Kennedy prior to this but from here or out, I will be a follower! This read more as a memoir about growing up during the millennium. And anyone who knows me personally knows I thrive off nostalgia and being in a tween in the early aughts made me have such an appreciate for the era. And makes me so glad that I kept a journal during that whole time.
As I mentioned above Kate Kennedy is new to me so I was okay learning about her and her background. I thought she was honest in her growing up in the church and how that shaped her and continues to shape her.
The chapter that I was not expecting, and it was much needed was The Parent Trap. This had me crying and sharing snippets with my friend because being a female with fertility issue still feels like a taboo topic. I appreciated her raw honesty as she talks about her miscarriage and then deciding how to proceed. The parts that really got me were "It's not that I'm not happy for people; it's just a feeling you get in your stomach I can only describe as an emotional response with a direct line to my soul that my body reacts to before my mind is patched through." and then again when she talks about "how beautiful your life can be regardless of how whens turn into ifs." It just made my heart hurt but in a familiar way and brought me back to that time when my body was not kind to me.
I highlighted so many parts in this book because it all felt so real. And as a fellow Swiftie, I love picking up on the random Swift lyrics at the end of paragraphs that unless you are a Swiftie you wouldn’t know it. I also never thought I would see a reference to Jungle 2 Jungle but if I am going to read it any book, this would be the one. It just blows my mind at how all teenagers during this time shared such similar experiences (of course AIM and Limewire was mentioned). There was even discussion about popular girl handwriting (which this is 100% true) and milky gel pens (the black paper was just so cool)!
I paired my reading with the audio and the moments I felt where Kate shined is when you could tell she was getting emotional which in turned made me emotional. I felt that it's important to call that out as she was talking about sensitive topics and just made her more human. And you could tell that she talks for a living because her tone and flow of words made her a great narrator.
If you are going into this book as strictly looking for nostalgia & millennial discord, you will get that but also be ready to learn more about Kennedy’s life then and present day. I also think if you love the Barbie movie, you may enjoy it!
**I will not be rating Non Fiction books as it is based on real events and real experiences.**