Impostor Syndrome
- Downloads：6091
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-27 19:31:24
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kathy Wang
- ISBN：B08LMTX7L6
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kelly | xoxo， Kelly Nina
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3。5 stars
Caitlin Mccluskey
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This is a solid 3。5 for me。 Pretty easy-breezy and a fast but interesting read。
Lauren Magee
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Russian Spy meets Silicon Valley and throw in some Feminism。 Julia is the COO of a high powered tech company and also a Russian spy。 But as the stakes get higher she begins to resent being ordered to do and is starting to like her cover life more than her real mission。 All the while， hard working but morose Alice is about to stumble on a big secret。 This was fun， but the ending was a bit of a snooze for me。
Brianna Schubert
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This novel was my first pick from Book of the Month， and it did not disappoint！ The novel had an interesting plot and brilliant satire on the way women are treated in the workplace as well as on America。 However， it made me long for more from each of the characters and more action。 The characters were complex and real， allowing me to both sympathize with them and criticize them。 Overall， it was a good book and a quick read。
Rachel
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it was alright。 the ending was pretty good。
Gabrielle
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This book had so much potential 。。。 and then the author got 350 pgs in ， forgot a plot and said oh well and ended it
Kamila
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Read this book if you want to waste precious hours on an extremely bland spy novel， that incorporates some intense workplace self mysogyny。 The plot holes are plentiful。 Even for an "easy read"。 There are chapters upon chapters about charachters with little depth， who sometimes simply dissapear from the plot。 What this book does really well however， is trying to come off as feminist while at the same time spending pages on propagating negative stereotypes on women in leadership and tech position Read this book if you want to waste precious hours on an extremely bland spy novel， that incorporates some intense workplace self mysogyny。 The plot holes are plentiful。 Even for an "easy read"。 There are chapters upon chapters about charachters with little depth， who sometimes simply dissapear from the plot。 What this book does really well however， is trying to come off as feminist while at the same time spending pages on propagating negative stereotypes on women in leadership and tech positions。 Women here are catty， they especially are on the look out to take each other down。 From ratings to leadership， they don't miss chances。 They are either technical and entirely anti-social， or non-technical and get places due to "outside" help。 The men are even simpler， lacking any kind of charachter depth。 I wish I could have my time back。 。。。more
Jessica （BlogEared Books）
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4 starsI really enjoyed this book- I'm a sucker for a Russian spy novel。 And that is exactly what this started out as but soon metamorphized into more of a character study of the main characters Julia， Alice， and Leo。 I work in big tech and so I really enjoyed seeing bits of her life as a COO。 I appreciated the alternating chapters and voices and there was never any confusion。 But I think what I liked the most about this book are the strong female characters and the underlying message。 This book 4 starsI really enjoyed this book- I'm a sucker for a Russian spy novel。 And that is exactly what this started out as but soon metamorphized into more of a character study of the main characters Julia， Alice， and Leo。 I work in big tech and so I really enjoyed seeing bits of her life as a COO。 I appreciated the alternating chapters and voices and there was never any confusion。 But I think what I liked the most about this book are the strong female characters and the underlying message。 This book showed us insight into privilege and gave us a glimpse into two foreign characters and their motivation to succeed。 I'm looking forward to Kathy Wang's next novel。 Thank you to #harpercollins for the complimentary copy for an honest review。 。。。more
Frank Woodson
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Help my Among Us play。 Thanks Kathy Wang。 I'm eternally in your debt。 God Bless America！ Help my Among Us play。 Thanks Kathy Wang。 I'm eternally in your debt。 God Bless America！ 。。。more
Sarah Kalis
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This book had me staying up too late and on the edge of my seat， but slightly sputtered out towards the end。 The meat of the story was fantastic and the journey was worth it， though。 The characters were nuanced， but mostly reprehensible。 Wang absolutely nailed the scathing criticisms about misogyny in the tech world and the societal double standards women are subjected to when it comes to balancing marriage， children， and a career。 I loved the author’s sharp and cutting writing style。 I’m not su This book had me staying up too late and on the edge of my seat， but slightly sputtered out towards the end。 The meat of the story was fantastic and the journey was worth it， though。 The characters were nuanced， but mostly reprehensible。 Wang absolutely nailed the scathing criticisms about misogyny in the tech world and the societal double standards women are subjected to when it comes to balancing marriage， children， and a career。 I loved the author’s sharp and cutting writing style。 I’m not sure how to classify this one， but it’s definitely not a commercial thriller。 It’s a lot more。 I only wish it had a little more juice for the finale。 。。。more
Erjona Topalli
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Um， yes I will read about women in tech， Silicon Valley hubris， and the promise of the american dream thank you very much。
Krystie （Starborn_Reader） （Starborn_Reader）
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I received an eArc of this book for review provided by NetGalley。 In 2006 Julia Lerner is living in Moscow， a recent university graduate in computer science， when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency。 By 2018 she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine， one of America’s most famous technology companies。 In between her executive management （make offers to promising startups， crush them and copy their features if they refuse）; self promotion （check out her latest op-ed in the WS I received an eArc of this book for review provided by NetGalley。 In 2006 Julia Lerner is living in Moscow， a recent university graduate in computer science， when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency。 By 2018 she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine， one of America’s most famous technology companies。 In between her executive management （make offers to promising startups， crush them and copy their features if they refuse）; self promotion （check out her latest op-ed in the WSJ， on Work/Life Balance 2。0）; and work in gender equality （transfer the most annoying females from her team）， she funnels intelligence back to the motherland。 But now Russia's asking for more， and Julia’s getting nervous。Alice Lu is a first generation Chinese American whose parents are delighted she’s working at Tangerine （such a successful company！）。 Too bad she’s slogging away in the lower echelons， recently dumped， and now sharing her expensive two-bedroom apartment with her cousin Cheri， a perennial “founder’s girlfriend”。 One afternoon， while performing a server check， Alice discovers some unusual activity， and now she’s burdened with two powerful but distressing suspicions: Tangerine’s privacy settings aren’t as rigorous as the company claims they are， and the person abusing this loophole might be Julia Lerner herself。 The closer Alice gets to Julia， the more Julia questions her own loyalties。 Russia may have placed her in the Valley， but she's the one who built her career; isn’t she entitled to protect the lifestyle she’s earned？ Part page-turning cat-and-mouse chase， part sharp and hilarious satire， Impostor Syndrome is a shrewdly-observed examination of women in tech， Silicon Valley hubris， and the rarely fulfilled but ever-attractive promise of the American Dream。Going into this， I thought it would be more of a thriller; with mention of Russian espionage。 While that spy aspect is there， this is a story about the corporate culture of Silicon Valley; specifically women finding their place and making their way in a male dominated industry。 Which I actually loved。 I do enjoy a good book about a woman in power。 Told from multiple POV of Julia our MC， Leo; Julia’s “handler” and Alice who I like to think of as the wildcard。 You get to see how each persons personal experiences along with their interactions weave together in this face pace story。 I also enjoyed reading the way Wang incorporated how “seamlessly” Russian intelligence was able to weave its presence in America。 Overall I was engaged the entire time and really enjoyed this book。 I can’t wait to read Wang’s other novel Family Trust as I am a fan of her writing style after reading this。 。。。more
Nick
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Not a very satisfying or particularly fun read。 Wouldn’t recommend if you have other options
David Valdez
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so far this book is a 1 star。 i am bored out of my mind and seriously thinking of doing a DNF。 anyone out there read this and has any encouraging words to convince me to stick to it？
Eleanor
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Wow I couldn't wait to get my paws on this book。 It didn't disappoint BUT！ It also didn't turn out to be the book I thought it would be lol。 I definitely recommend it， I just didn't feel like anything really got resolved at the end。 Maybe that was intentional， to leave the possibility of a sequel open， but I didn't enjoy that aspect of it。 Wow I couldn't wait to get my paws on this book。 It didn't disappoint BUT！ It also didn't turn out to be the book I thought it would be lol。 I definitely recommend it， I just didn't feel like anything really got resolved at the end。 Maybe that was intentional， to leave the possibility of a sequel open， but I didn't enjoy that aspect of it。 。。。more
Kirsta
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I loved this look at intersectional women in a dude heavy tech/espionage environment。 I didn’t like that Julia changed her last name when she married but otherwise I liked Julia and Alice。 As an American I was torn to be so invested in Julia having a happy ending。
MaryBeth's Bookshelf
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I'm sad to say that this one just didn't do it for me。 I thought it was going to be this intense Russian spy thriller， but it seemed more like a character study of a spy。 I'm clearly in the minority and I think it's more a case of "not what I expected。" I'm sad to say that this one just didn't do it for me。 I thought it was going to be this intense Russian spy thriller， but it seemed more like a character study of a spy。 I'm clearly in the minority and I think it's more a case of "not what I expected。" 。。。more
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christine liu
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Julia Lerner is a woman who seems to have it all。 An incredible house， a picture perfect marriage， and she's second in command at Tangerine， one of Silicon Valley's biggest tech companies。 She also happens to be a Russian spy， plucked from a grim childhood in an orphanage and strategically trained to rise into the upper echelons of the American corporate world so that she can be in a position to pass on crucial information on important individuals gleaned from Tangerine's servers。 Alice Lu is an Julia Lerner is a woman who seems to have it all。 An incredible house， a picture perfect marriage， and she's second in command at Tangerine， one of Silicon Valley's biggest tech companies。 She also happens to be a Russian spy， plucked from a grim childhood in an orphanage and strategically trained to rise into the upper echelons of the American corporate world so that she can be in a position to pass on crucial information on important individuals gleaned from Tangerine's servers。 Alice Lu is an IT grunt at Tangerine， working a thankless job that she's overqualified for， when she notices some unusual data transfers one day and decides to probe further。I don't know much about tech companies or Silicon Valley corporate culture （although I hear it's not great for women of color）， but I binged all 357 pages of this book in one day。 Kathy Wang's writing is absolutely captivating， and I eagerly devoured page after page， chapter after chapter。 Although the blurb describes this book as a cat and mouse chase， I found it to be less a spy thriller and more a deep and thoughtful character study of two very different women in a male dominated field。I appreciate a book that makes its characters authentic， fully realized people， and the characters in this book were complex and compelling — from Julia and Alice to Alice's Chinese immigrant parents and Leo， Julia's SGB handler。 However， the ending feels a bit rushed， and I was left feeling like we didn't get to see Julia and Alice's full character arcs。 I especially felt that Alice's story was unresolved。 But this book tackles some big ideas in a way that is smart and funny， and is overall a delightful read。 。。。more
Sheila
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Quick， kinda fun。 I liked it！
Lily Sagers
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This took a bit to get into， but once I got into it it was over too fast！
Krystle Meyer
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Julia is a Russian spy who is also second-in-command at a hot social media company called Tangerine。 Tangerine prides itself on user privacy， but Julia， by virtue of her being a spy， often has to breach this privacy in order to commit her espionage assignments。 Alice is an Asian woman who works in tech support at Tangerine who discovers Julia has been breaching user privacy。 Julia， by virtue of her status， seemingly becomes aware that someone is on to her。。。。and has taken a new interest in Alice Julia is a Russian spy who is also second-in-command at a hot social media company called Tangerine。 Tangerine prides itself on user privacy， but Julia， by virtue of her being a spy， often has to breach this privacy in order to commit her espionage assignments。 Alice is an Asian woman who works in tech support at Tangerine who discovers Julia has been breaching user privacy。 Julia， by virtue of her status， seemingly becomes aware that someone is on to her。。。。and has taken a new interest in Alice。This was a fast-paced， fun， original thriller told （like so many others） from multiple points of view。 Because of that we get to hear the story from Julia and Alice and other perspectives。 What I liked about this book more than some others， though， is we weren't just left with the two perspectives - there truly were multiple perspectives and sometimes only one or two chapters from one person's perspective which made it more fun and intriguing。 I wanted to read this book because it was a recent Book of the Month release and the author is Asian and I have been trying to prioritize reading some Asian voices during APIHM this year。 Going into the book I had assumed that， because the author was Asian， there would be a lot MORE focus on Alice's story but that was not the case。 Both Alice and Julia were fully fleshed-out characters， and， I think， the author even did more with Julia than she did with Alice。 I love "own voices" novels， but it was also great to have a thriller by an Asian author that had an Asian character that had more than just the focus on the Asian character。 I will definitely look forward to Kathy Wang's next book！ 。。。more
Amanda
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Loved it but damn， it’s fairly brutal in its （accurate） assessment of our world
Elisabeth
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BOOK REVIEW: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy WangSUMMARY: Julia Lerner is a Russian spy。 She’s also the Chief Operating Officer at Tangerine， the world’s leading social networking company。 But， after years spent building this life for herself， she may no longer be willing to jeopardize it for a distant superpower。Despite its summary， this is not a book about spies。 And despite its categorization， it’s not a mystery。 It is a literary reflection on human nature and how—even when we get what we want—it BOOK REVIEW: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy WangSUMMARY: Julia Lerner is a Russian spy。 She’s also the Chief Operating Officer at Tangerine， the world’s leading social networking company。 But， after years spent building this life for herself， she may no longer be willing to jeopardize it for a distant superpower。Despite its summary， this is not a book about spies。 And despite its categorization， it’s not a mystery。 It is a literary reflection on human nature and how—even when we get what we want—it doesn’t always satisfy us the way we thought it would。 Not a lot happens plot-wise， but I did find it interesting and worth reading。 It made me think （albeit cynically） about gender， privilege， corporate politics， relationships… There were so many kernels of truth throughout; if I were annotating， I would have highlighted numerous passages and written exclamation points in the margins。 It’s one of those books that will probably stick with me forever and would make for a very interesting book club discussion。 I neither liked it nor disliked it， but I do want to talk about it。 If you’ve read it， let’s discuss！Thank you to Kathy Wang， William Morrow and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review！ This book was a May pick for Book of the Month and will be available everywhere 5/25。 。。。more
Ashley Marsh
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I did not want to put this book down once I got a few chapters in。 It is a slow start so don’t give up， I promise it’s worth it！ Kathy Wang did an amazing job building all of the characters in the book。 Giving you a strong background of a young Russian girl raised in an orphanage who rose to COO level of a huge tech company in Silicon Valley。 It covers the “big bad Russians，” every day life， being a woman in a high level position， the tech-world， and extremely successful people。 I was expecting I did not want to put this book down once I got a few chapters in。 It is a slow start so don’t give up， I promise it’s worth it！ Kathy Wang did an amazing job building all of the characters in the book。 Giving you a strong background of a young Russian girl raised in an orphanage who rose to COO level of a huge tech company in Silicon Valley。 It covers the “big bad Russians，” every day life， being a woman in a high level position， the tech-world， and extremely successful people。 I was expecting a spy novel that was what I assume the Russian Mafia to be like and that was not what I got at all， which was surprisingly pleasant。 。。。more
Suzanne
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RECOMMEND: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang -- hits bookstores this Tuesday， 5/24。 This book is a mixture of so many things！ It's fast-paced and driven by a compelling espionage plot （i。e。 - imagine one of the top corporate execs at a company like Facebook or Google was a Russian plant。。。）， but at the same time， it offered an insightful-albeit-cynical portrait of women in the workplace in the high-powered Silicon Valley techie co world （do women in tech *really* "lean in"？）， as well as a （also so RECOMMEND: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang -- hits bookstores this Tuesday， 5/24。 This book is a mixture of so many things！ It's fast-paced and driven by a compelling espionage plot （i。e。 - imagine one of the top corporate execs at a company like Facebook or Google was a Russian plant。。。）， but at the same time， it offered an insightful-albeit-cynical portrait of women in the workplace in the high-powered Silicon Valley techie co world （do women in tech *really* "lean in"？）， as well as a （also sometimes cynical） glimpse of Asian-Americans in the California workplace。 There were times this book reminded me of: - THE CIRCLE by Dave Eggers - the hit TV show， KILLING EVE - the award-winning film， THE SOCIAL NETWORK - and， during those scenes between Alice and her cousin Cheri， little hints of CRAZY RICH ASIANSIf that sounds like the cocktail for you （and why wouldn't you be a fan of those things， amiright？） then grab this book on Tuesday when it hits bookstore shelves！ 。。。more
Isabelle Leventhal
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This book was a lot of fun！ The characters were well developed， the intrigue and storyline was tight， I felt it did a good job of shifting between storylines without losing details or voice。 Overall I enjoyed it。 This will be a great vacation read。
Alexandra
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I enjoyed reading about the characters， life in Silicon Valley and the dichotomy between rich and poor in the tech industry。I was disappointed that the story was not really thriller-like， and the ending kind of flopped。
Anthony Caruso
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