A Product of Genetics

by Jess H. Gutierrez

A frank, raucous, and bawdy collection of essays about coming of age through the oddest jobs, misadventures in queer love, and endearing parenting fails

This is a perfect book for a very imperfect generation. Millennials were the kids who wore slap bracelets and jeans so low rise they could see one another's colons, and they are now adults wondering, Is everyone else as messed up as I am?
 
In her book, Jess shares relatable tales of a woman who feels like a dumpster fire even with a seemingly ideal set up with a fire-captain wife, three kids, and a mortgage. Highlights include roller-derby catastrophes, a disastrous first night on the job at a lesbian bar, narrow escapes from wild animals, and fond memories of sending printed thirst-trap photos via mail to the lover in Australia she met on the early Internet. Readers will soon cheerfully discover that Jess’s voice is infectious, her stories are off-the-wall, and her references are deeply and delightfully millennial.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Memoir, Essays, Biography, LGBT, Biography Memoir

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 18, 2024

Reviews

[Shannon Patrizi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never connected more with a book in my LIFE. So many laugh out loud moments. While we did not have exactly the same experiences, I am also a Mom/former shit show who grew up in the 90’s. I am also shocked to have not gotten a modeling contract after my biker chick Glamour Shots adventure, or had my sanity questioned for going to see Titanic NINE times in theaters. I have yet to stab my Mom with an epipen, likely because neither of us have access to one.

This was such a fun read. Millennials/Elder Millenials who are still shit shows but in an adultish, less deadly way, this one is definitely for you.

[Sheila · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, A Product of Genetics (and Day Drinking), by Jess H. Gutierrez, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not care for the language in this book at all. I did not enjoy or get into this book at all.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, raunchy, queer essay collection.

[Hannah | Reading Under Covers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Tiny Reparations for an early copy for review!

The cover on this book is so fun and I really enjoyed the first few stories in this collection because of how reminiscent and millennial-focused they were!

However, I found the rest of it a bit rough to get through, especially without having any previous encounters with Jess’ work.

This one is out June 18!

[fer pacheco]

el peor DNF de mi vida. too. millenial to function (y para que yo lo lea)

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t generally write positive reviews, but this deserves ALL of the positivity! I’ve never related more to a book than I have this one. Listening to it on audio made it 100% better! If you’re looking for an amazingly funny, real, story … this is for you! Just get it, I promise if you have a sense of humor you’ll love it!

[Shari Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Product of Genetics and Day Drinking
By Jess H Gutierrez
Published by Tiny Reparations Books an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
Publishes June 18,2024

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ebook ARC to read and review.

This book actually made me CACKLE. I think the people who would most appreciate this book are my fellow Millennials. From the first chapter she sets the tone -“Babies of the eighties turned kids in the nineties are the true survivors.” That’s not to say other generations won’t get something from her story - her chapters where she describes motherhood are hilarious and relatable (I imagine as I don’t have children). But what I loved most were the nostalgic bits about basement choreography to Ace of Base and making nunchucks to look as much like the TMNT as possible and our love of the set of two VHS tapes of “Titanic” :) Jess’s writing is so enjoyable, at times risqué, but I enjoyed it so much

[Keeton Crowe · Rating 1 out of 5]

should be titled “30 something discovers curse words for the first time and jams as many of them into a 300 page book as possible”. i listened to this one and even though im no stranger to f-bombs, this was overkill. i also just didn’t resonate

[Justine Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was SO FREAKING FUNNY!!! I loved it from start to finish and was laughing out loud the whole way through. I wasn't even through the prologue before I sent it to my friend like "you need to read this book immediately. What a fun ride, highly recommend!

[nineinchnovels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Started fun and then became a why do I care question to myself.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up after reading half this book. What started out as a humorous introduction quickly turned into essays about poor choices and life events into something people would want to read. No thanks, the stories became less amusing the more alike they were. I won this book in a giveaway and received an "uncorrected proofs" version and have no fear, I won't be quoting anything from this book.

[nsb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof. This one took me months to finish.. thought there were parts of the essay I liked (made me laugh), this book won't be memorable. Even though it's not one of MY favorites, I think it would be a fun reads for others!

Many thanks to NetGalley for sending me an Advance Reader's Copy.

[Joelle Lesser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thankfully this was a quick read because to my surprise I had 4 days left on my ARC as I set out for my very turbulent cross country flight. I appreciated the chapter about shit jobs - as I was literally sitting in my seat in what felt like an unrelenting 5.0 earthquake in the sky, I couldn’t help but lookup at the flight attendant (who was blocking the door for our pilot) thinking now that’s a shit job that you have to stand while the whole plane is shaking violently (maybe slightly exaggerated-did I mention I’m a terrible flyer).

I’m about 8 years the author’s senior so the generational gap wasn’t too drastic that I was able to feel so much of what she lived. The GenX and older Millennials def lived more independently than we afford our own GenZ children (thanks to our parents giving us way more freedom than they should have).

Loved the slapstick humor throughout…her roller derby escapade, being a “barista” in a strip club and oh boy the gadgets to lose weight - I was a professed beachbody p90x addict myself - heck I even met (and worked out with Mr. Horton himself). Omg the Spanish birthing translations - I Lol’d so loud on the plane that I think they heard me in the back row. I had to remind myself this was her story (not mine) when she got to parenthood! I had a “rats nest on wheels”too!

I’m still intrigued on why and how her dental procedure went so wrong. Would have loved a bit more backstory there!

Best part of this whole book was the letter to GenZ. Coming from a “millennial” this was pretty great. Although being born in 1982 you are still an 80s kid (not a 90s) I’m afraid…

While some chapters were harder for me to personally relate to being that the author is a lesbian, they sure were funny. Overall this was a very relatable and raw book that I’m grateful I had for a very unpleasant flight. Thank you so much NetGalley for the advanced copy!!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildly entertaining memoir, the stories are told with such vivid description and specificity that I felt like I was watching the scenes play out. Jess is clearly a gifted communicator.

I related to so many of the generational experiences and pop culture references made in this book, but to an extent felt excluded from being fully embraced as a 90s kid since that seemed to be used interchangeably with elder millennial throughout the book. I do consider myself a 90s kid, but not an elder millennial. I was born in that weird window of time so I never thought of myself as Gen X, but by the time the term millennial was coined it didn’t seem like me either. If you go strictly by the years that are generally accepted as generational markings, I would be called X, but growing up that always seemed like the people older than me and when I never related much to descriptions or pop culture references made around Gen X. Then came the idea of microgenerations, specifically Xennial, and finally I had somewhere to belong. Although this book does not reference the idea of a microgeneration, it does focus on “elder millennials” and 90s kids which really overlaps with the idea of a microgeneration. So to Jess, please allow me to be considered one of “your people.”

I read this as an audiobook, and Jess’ narration was outstanding. It seems like a book that was meant to be listened to. As other reviews have mentioned, there is some explicit language and other content throughout the book. If that is something that interferes with your enjoyment of a book, then this one is probably not for you. The book description itself tries to warn you this is “frank, raucous, and bawdy.”

[Heather Nova is moving to Story Graph (strmn_nrmn) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a brand new release that caught my eye because millennials, non-fiction, and essays. My favorite.

As an elder millennial, born in the same year as the author, I enjoyed being transported back into the greatest decade: the 90s, where dreams are alive and well. Fashion, pirating music, entry into the digital age, the cusp of adulthood… it’s all in this book. But I lost interest about halfway through. Some of the stories and one-liner attempts at humor felt forced. I felt the same when I tried to read Furiously Funny by Jenny Lawson. I know, I know. It was like every event in the author’s life had potential to be turned into a funny/crazy paragraph or a chapter in the book. For me, it takes the authenticity out of the story. Be funny, hell yeah, but be for real.

Full disclosure: I curse. A lot. Cursing does not bother me. But the amount of cursing in this book was overboard and unnecessary. Like I can’t even believe I’m writing this because if you know me, you know I simply dgaf about this sort of thing. Whether writing about adolescence or about motherhood, it felt like she was trying too hard. Trying too hard to be a cool teenager, and now trying too hard to be a cool ass mom. I’m sure she’s chill and cool af in real life. She doesn’t need to try so hard to convince us of that. Your story is enough. We’re 42 year old millennials. We have so many stories!

Anyway, if she publishes another book, I’d still be down to give it a shot. There is potential here. There are good stories here. Unfortunately it was just a swing and a miss for me.

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This incredible memoir-in-essays is brimming with 90s nostalgia and relatable tales of a millennial. The author vividly describes her chaotic childhood, boomer mom, and coming-out journey, all while reminiscing about the 90s—from Wow Chips and Journey to glamour shots and candy cigarettes. Her essays also touch upon topics such as religious devotion, having prostitutes as babysitters, roller derby, and parenting, all while embracing her queer identity. It's a "never coming of age story" that humorously portrays the realization that adulting is not all it's cracked up to be.

One passage I loved was when the author wrote, "Let me clarify something. There was never a time when I wasn't queer. There was, however, a super long stretch in my life during which I had no idea that I was. My friends were gay. Most of the people I admired were gay. My family was pretty sure I was gay. I was super attracted to women and androgyny in general. Even with all that, I wasn't queer. It never occurred to me that I was queer."

I appreciated the bite-sized essays, allowing me to savor one at a time and truly absorb the experiences. I especially enjoyed the essay that discussed a "lust trap." Not only did we get to dive into 90s nostalgia, but we were also treated to insights into unconventional work experiences, queer romances, and the challenges of parenting. It was an enriching read.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbymedia.com/blogs/transcri...

[Kali Novak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! This book was fun to read! I related to a lot of it and laughed several times. I thought it was a refreshing change in the memoir category. Some of the quotes I loved were
"Being a nineties kid was an experience in and of itself"
"Nothing, and I mean nothing, tastes better than a Christmas Tree Cake..."
"we reveled in using Napster and LimeWire to download and infect family computers with both terrible music and debilitating viruses."
"Not even a third grader is impressed to hear that you lived in eastern Oregon or that you've done a stint in Ogden, Utah" (I'm from Utah and that's so true.)
"I thought I'd be awesome at getting pregnant. Since just before my eleventh birthday, I'd had my period regularly. Blood came out, chocolate went into (my mouth, not my vagina), and so on and so forth." Ugh that's so true. Not actually an easy situation.
"This body of mine is a road map of memories."
"Things will be bad and hard and ugly sometimes. Some days it will seem easier to grind yourself up in the garbage disposal than to finish work, put the kids to bed, or make dinner. But in cases when you can, let the bad stuff be blip, not a blight, on your path forward. Keep going, things get better."
Thank you NetGalley and Jess H. Gutierrez for the opportunity to read this book!!

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I was given an ebook advanced copy of this title through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review)

Recently, I had just been thinking about autobiographies and advice books and wondering: who had the right to write one and once they do, who and how do they decide they have the authority to do so? Jess Gutierrez says from the top that she has no authority to offer advice and is merely just sharing her story and tidbits along the way. She describes herself as an elder millennial, whereas I fall on the other end of the millennial spectrum as a 90s baby but there was plenty of relatable overlap and I loved her sense of humor, rawness, realness, snark and a bit of professional dumbassery. It was like reading my friend’s diary to really get to know the real them and how they got to be that way. Gutierrez doesn’t get bogged down in a coming out story or why she has the authority to be writing a book. She just happens to be gay. She just happens to be writing a book. This was a breath of fresh air and a great, easy and good for a laugh read!

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think a more accurate 3.5 star rating would be appropriate, but Goodreads doesn't allow that.

Overall, this book was entertaining and definitely will leave some feeling nostalgic for the 90's. I especially enjoyed learning how some of her main babysitters ended up being apart of a brothel, without her mother's knowledge. This memoir will be a collection of short essays giving tiny glimpses into the life of the author. Some of them will hit home with readers and others will make you say out loud, "What were they thinking?". I enjoyed this book but after while it felt a little repetive with the, "Can you believe this?". Still a worthwhile read I'd recommend to people for a good laugh, but not one I'm probably going to pick up again.

Warning: I do think the language the author uses will put some people off. It didn't bother me in the least, but you don't have the stomach for crass talk this will not be the book for you.

Thanks Netgalley for this free e-book to review

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fellow elder millennial, I was looking forward to Jess H. Gutierrez's memoir A Product of Genetics (And Day Drinking): A Never-Coming-of-Age Story. I admit to not being familiar with her before reading, but the description sounded interesting to me. Her stories about her childhood were very relatable to me, being of similar age. Being on the cusp of Generation X and Millennial leads to some interesting dynamics- growing up primarily in the pre-digital age, but transitioning to it still somewhat early on. She enlightens the reader with some hilarious and relatable tales of her childhood- being done up like a 12-year old hooker at Glamour Shots, chatting with random people online, and 90's diet culture (Olestra anal leakage). She also describes how everyone knew she was gay before she officially came out, her brief foray into roller derby, and working at a lesbian bar. She later pivots to her marriage to a fire-captain, and their three children, which did not grab me as much as the earlier chapters, but still provides some comical moments (practice epipen episode). This overall was an enjoyable read that I think other millennials will also enjoy.

Thank you to Tiny Reparations Books via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an elder millennial, I don't think I have ever related to an author more than I did with this book. The experience of a childhood lived in the 80s and 90s, a first computer with Internet access and questionable chat friends, terrible relationships and "maturing" into adulthood yet still not feeling your age are just a few of the hilarious stories the author shares. I read "Cooter Bone" to my husband out loud and we both howled with laughter, tears streaming down our faces. I honestly don't think we will ever forget it and it will likely become a long running joke. Without a doubt, "A Product of Genetics" is at the top of the list for the best humorous memoirs and I will absolutely be buying a physical copy on release day. I genuinely hope so see more of Jess Gutierrez's writing in the future.

**Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 for me! I thought parts of this book were hilarious - in some of the essays Gutierrez had me laughing out loud. While I’m not an elder millennial, I thought she had a great storytelling ability. The one essay about the EpiPen specifically I want to laugh just thinking about.

It did however take me a few to get into the swing of it. I wish there was a more clear theme combining all the essays - something to tie it together more would have made it even more of a favorite for me. And while I love a short chapter in fiction, some of these were so short that it ended right as I was getting into it. I wouldn’t have minded 25% fewer chapters with the remaining being bulked up.

Overall very enjoyable! I’d certainly read more from her in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Taylor Erxleben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Product of Genetics (and Day Drinking)" by Jess Gutierrez is a collection of essays that hilariously explores the experiences and struggles of being a millennial. As someone born in 1999, I found that I could relate to about half of the essays, but that didn't diminish the enjoyment I felt while reading this book. Gutierrez's writing style is refreshingly witty and engaging, and she manages to make some thought-provoking points about the unique challenges faced by our generation. Overall, it is a well-written and entertaining story that not only entertains but also sheds light on the millennial experience.

[Corrica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jess Gutierrez’s collection of essays is a laugh-out-loud journey through the quirks and chaos of modern adulthood. With unapologetic wit and raw honesty, Gutierrez captures the hilarity of millennial missteps, from roller-derby mishaps to epic parenting fails. Her voice is magnetic, blending outrageous humor with a touch of heartfelt introspection that makes each story feel like an inside joke with an old friend. For anyone who has ever felt like they’re making it up as they go, this book is a refreshing reminder that life’s imperfections are what make it truly memorable. A must-read for any millennial looking for a good laugh and a reminder that they’re not alone.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. Each chapter presents as a short essay pertaining to the authors experiences and life lessons. Now, with that, comes some essays that are far more interesting and relatable and some that drag slightly and are less capable of keeping your attention. That said, all of these were pretty close to perfect. Gutierrez is hilarious. I also absolutely loved that this was told from an LGBTQ+ perspective. Gutierrez is a slightly older millennial than me, but our experiences overlapped significantly enough. Very fun lighthearted read.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The essays are frank, well written, varied and reflect real life. Although I am quite a bit older than the author, so many of these essays resonated with me and made me chuckle. This shows that our foibles, struggles, and craziness are what make us interesting people. Despite what it seems sometimes, no one really has life figured out, and we are all just trying to find our way to happiness. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who was an early reader of this book I can attest to the fact that it is absolutely hilarious. This debut author is likely to have a long career writing funny memoirs and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us. If you are an elder millennial this book is for you. If you are the parent or child of one, it’s for you too. This book made me nostalgic in so many ways and I cant recommend it enough!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
I'm Gen X so I'm a little older than this author, but I can identify with a lot of what she talks about in our early '90s childhoods. This is a humorous book and it doesn't hold back talking about drugs, sex, school, etc so it's not the book for you if you are easily offended. I found it to be a lot of fun even if my teen years weren't as wild as Jess. There is also grown-up talk about infertility and the stress of parenting.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is for the (mostly) proud elder millennials. Reading Jess Gutierrez’ writing is like reminiscing with your best sarcastic girlfriends and trying to make sense of the craziest parts of your life. It’s hilarious and occasionally made me want to vomit. Some of the writing gets a little wordy with all her one liners. They’re funny, but I found myself struggling through parts of it. Loved it anyway and found the last few chapters quite heartwarming.

[Denice Langley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle.....a never coming of age story......covers the dreams of many adults who found out that adulting is really not much fun. All those things you said you'd do when you came of age......yea, no. A memoir of the missteps she made along the way, Jess Gutierrez shares some eye opening stories. But she survived to reach her "adult" stage and will make you happy that you missed a few of the experiences that she suffered through.