[Review] Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim - Patricia Park

Summary: Alejandra Kim feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere.

Not at home, where Ale faces tense silence from Ma since Papi’s passing. Not in Jackson Heights, where she isn’t considered Latinx enough and is seen as too PC for her own good. Certainly not at her Manhattan prep school, where her predominantly white classmates pride themselves on being “woke”. She only has to survive her senior year before she can escape to the prestigious Whyder College, if she can get in. Maybe there, Ale will finally find a place to call her own.

The only problem with laying low— a microaggression thrusts Ale into the spotlight and into the middle of a discussion she didn’t ask for. But her usual keeping her head down tactic isn’t going to make this go away. With her signature wit and snark, Ale faces what she’s been hiding from. In the process, she might discover what it truly means to carve out a space for yourself to belong.

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim is an incisive, laugh-out-loud, provocative read about feeling like a misfit caught between very different worlds, what it means to be belong, and what it takes to build a future for yourself. (Pub Date: Feb 21 2023)

 

This book gives us another view on the American culture and how maybe it's not as evolved as it likes thinking to be. The best thing about it is that it comes from a writer who has lived what the character lives. It's given me a lot of food for thought, and I would love to see it discussed in schools, multicultural ones or not. 

3.5, rounded up.

Alejandra has lost her father, her relationship with her mother is unstable and she has trouble seeing her own identity, as she goes to a rich school of mostly white people. How does a minority feel about those "woke" people? Do they even consider the individual as they disseminate the political correctness like they're performing the entire time? So how real can relating with them be? All those situations are presented with care, as this could too easily become an argument against the social progress we've struggled to reach. 

In the end, despite all I just wrote, this is a book about grief and growing up led by a funny main character who is not living the best of her years. I can't recommend it enough to teenagers and adults alike.

It's a quick read, I was very engrossed in it, but while it was beautiful to see Ale grow, she does come on too strong, so I can see some readers having trouble identifying with her from the beginning. The story itself, while it gives us a pretty message isn't so interesting, and it is heavy for a lot of it, despite the narrator doing their best to carry a lighter tone. It's a lot. I like that, but I wish we had some fun moments too. 

In all, not the perfect story, but a thought-provoking read I do recommend.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.