Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim

Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Dedication Part 1 Chapter 1: Origin Story Chapter 2: Quaker Oats Chapter 3: Kraft on Wonder Chapter 4: Jackson Heights Chapter 5: Apartment 2b Chapter 6: Montoya Fountain Chapter 7: Notorious JBJ Chapter 8: Happy Day Chapter 9: “Real” Art Chapter 10: Chivi Chapter 11: Study Date Chapter 12: Fallen Heroes Chapter 13: Diversity Assembly Chapter 14: Queensboro Plaza Part 2 Chapter 15: Hipster Coffee Chapter 16: The Aftermath Chapter 17: Cultural Studies Chapter 18: Stereotype Threat Chapter 19: Weeks Go By Chapter 20: (E)D-day Chapter 21: Boston Market Chapter 22: Melty’s Chapter 23: Deathiversary Chapter 24: Korean Empanadas Chapter 25: First-Gen American Testimony Part 3 Chapter 26: The Nasties Chapter 27: Racial Melancholia Chapter 28: Coney Island Chapter 29: Expected Family Contribution Chapter 30: Happy Day, or Is It? Chapter 31: In Vino Veritas Chapter 32: Morning After Chapter 33: Spec Fest Chapter 34: Bathroom Confidential Chapter 35: Imposter Syndrome Chapter 36: Sobremesa Subway Music Acknowledgments About the Author Landmarks Cover Cover Title Page Contents Start Copyright Print Page List i iii iv v vii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 101 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 197 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 293 294 295 
 
 
 
 
 Praise for Imposter Syndrome
 
 “Brimming with insights while being unputdownable and just plain fun. Simply brilliant!”
 —David Yoon, New York Times bestselling author of Frankly in Love
 “Hilarious, whip-smart, and refreshingly honest—this novel is simply brilliant.”
 —Brendan Kiely, coauthor of the New York Times bestselling All American Boys
 “An authentically funny, honest, and real portrayal of the fight to be seen. Magnificent.”
 —Ellen Oh, award-winning author of Finding Junie Kim
 “A dazzling YA debut…that is deep, real, and scathingly funny.”
 —Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay
 “Will give readers the courage to truly define ‘imposter’ and to smash those definitions that no longer serve us.”
 —Jennifer de Leon, author of Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From
 “The joys and travails of Alejandra Kim at Quaker Oats Prep made me laugh one moment and cry the next…. I loved this novel!”
 —Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of Finding My Voice and Hurt You
 “Imposter Syndrome is funny and moving, wonderfully earnest and slyly satirical, and an absolute pleasure to read.”
 —Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer’s English
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 Text copyright © 2023 by Patricia Park
 Cover art copyright © 2023 by Jessica Cruickshank
 All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
 Crown and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
 Visit us on the Web! GetUnderlined.com
 Educators and librarians, for a variety of 
 Contents
 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Copyright
 Dedication
 
 
 Part 1
 
 Chapter 1: Origin Story
 
 
 Chapter 2: Quaker Oats
 
 
 Chapter 3: Kraft on Wonder
 
 
 Chapter 4: Jackson Heights
 
 
 Chapter 5: Apartment 2b
 
 
 Chapter 6: Montoya Fountain
 
 
 Chapter 7: Notorious JBJ
 
 
 Chapter 8: Happy Day
 
 
 Chapter 9: “Real” Art
 
 
 Chapter 10: Chivi
 
 
 Chapter 11: Study Date
 
 
 Chapter 12: Fallen Heroes
 
 
 Chapter 13: Diversity Assembly
 
 
 Chapter 14: Queensboro Plaza
 
 
 
 Part 2
 
 Chapter 15: Hipster Coffee
 
 
 Chapter 16: The