Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2023
304 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
The award-winning author of Re Jane makes her young adult debut in a funny, poignant, and powerful novel about a multicultural teen struggling to fit into her whitewashed school, her diverse Queens neighborhood, and even her own home as her family reels from the loss of her father.
Alejandra Kim doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. At her wealthy Manhattan high school, her súper Spanish name and súper Korean face do not compute to her mostly white "woke" classmates and teachers. In her Jackson Heights neighborhood, she's not Latinx enough. Even at home, Ale feels unwelcome. And things at home have only gotten worse since Papi's body was discovered on the subway tracks.
Ale wants nothing more than to escape the city for the wide-open spaces of the prestigious Wyder University. But when a microaggression at school thrusts Ale into the spotlight—and into a discussion she didn't ask for—Ale must discover what is means to carve out a space for yourself to belong.
Patricia Park's coming-of-age novel about a multicultural teen caught between worlds, and the future she is building for herself, is an incisive, laugh-out-loud, provocative read.
"Weighty topics such as appropriation, passing, privilege, and inclusivity are seamlessly addressed in this entertaining, well-paced story. The characterization...is well-rounded and spot-on, and Ale is a thoroughly appealing protagonist, managing to be wry and vulnerable at once. This skillful depiction of a common sort of subtle, pervasive, and multilayered racism and classism rings true. A satisfyingly accurate account of zealotry and personal growth." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Park's work paints an educational but entertaining portrait of what it is like to be a person of color in today's world.... [A] fantastic read." - School Library Journal (starred review)
"[A]n immersive novel about a teenager grappling with academics, family, grief, identity, and racism...Told across three parts in a distinctive narrative voice and boasting memorable characterization, this humor-infused tale poignantly captures one teenager's experience learning to stand up for what she believes in." - Publishers Weekly
"A dazzling YA debut...that is deep, real and scathingly funny." - Gayle Forman, New York Times best-selling author of If I Stay
"[B]rimming with insights while being un-put-downable and just plain fun. Simply brilliant!" - David Yoon, New York Times best-selling author of Frankly in Love
This information about Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Patricia Park is an assistant professor of creative writing at American University, a Fulbright Scholar in Creative Arts, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, and the author of the acclaimed adult novel Re Jane. The Korean American reimagining of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was named an Editors' Choice by the New York Times Book Review; a Best Book of 2015 by the American Library Association; an O, The Oprah Magazine pick; and an NPR "Fresh Air" pick, among other honors. Her writing has also appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Guardian, Salon, and others. Patricia lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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