I enjoyed this book. The pacing was off in some parts but not so much that I couldn’t finish the book.

"The Eyes Are the Best Part" by Monika Kim is a chilling feminist psychological horror novel that brilliantly explores the making of a female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective. Ji-won’s life spirals into chaos after her father's extramarital affair leads to his departure. Her mother is distraught, her younger sister is confused, and Ji-won’s college grades are plummeting. Her dreams, however, are horrifying yet strangely alluring, filled with rooms of bloody, succulent blue eyes—the same eyes as George’s, her mother’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George’s presence in their claustrophobic apartment is unbearable, and Ji-won decides that he deserves nothing from her family.

Ji-won's descent into darkness is marked by her increasing obsession with sating her hunger and rage, no matter the cost. As victims begin to accumulate around her campus, her deceptive and manipulative nature comes to the fore. Monika Kim's debut novel is not just a tale of revenge but a profound exploration of misogyny, racism, and cultural fetishization. Kim's narrative is both disturbing and compelling, making it impossible to put down.

This book touches on various heavy themes, including cannibalism, sexism, racism, PTSD, infidelity, and child abandonment. Kim’s portrayal of Ji-won’s unraveling is both horrifying and mesmerizing, and her critique of societal issues is sharp and insightful. The novel’s title is woven seamlessly throughout the story, and the intense scenes are described with a gory yet captivating detail that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.

"The Eyes Are the Best Part" is a bold and innovative work that marks Monika Kim as a powerful new voice in horror literature. The book's combination of psychological horror and social commentary creates a unique and unforgettable reading experience. The complex character development, especially Ji-won's, and the well-crafted plot make this a standout novel in the genre.

Thank you to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for the ARC. This review reflects my honest opinion.

The Eyes Are the Best Part is not a story for the faint of heart and truly fits within the horror genre. Monika Kim has written a story with a lot of intellectual depth surrounding culture as a whole and cultural appropriation. The elements of horror come alive on the page and can be quite frightening at times. However, toward the middle to end you really have to suspend some disbelief and the story starts to get away from itself. The beginning and the end felt like two different books. If you want an unhinged main character, deep horror elements and are ready to go with the flow of a story, pick this one up.

I don’t think I was the right reader for this one. I found the pacing to be weird, very up and down and I contemplated DNFing. I am glad I continued though because the ending was just so good, but I wish it got there sooner.

this is the type of slow burn story I love! Ji-won and her family were such fascinating characters to follow. although this is marketed as horror, it really reads more as a coming-of-age story for Ji-won with some creepy elements thrown in, the 'dark' things don't really start happening until well into the book. Kim's writing is really the highlight of this novel, I can't wait to read more from her!

The Eyes Are the Best Part is a fun, thrilling read perfect for fans of women's rights and women's wrongs. Ji-won's father has left, and her mom has started dating George, about as lewd, unaware, and fetishizing as they come. The stressors in Ji-won's life lead her to fantasize about and crave eyes. After all, the eyes are the best part of a baked fish and eating them brings good luck! I'd highly recommend this story for anyone who appreciates descriptive horror and feminine rage.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance copy for review.

4.5 ⭐️ Good for her.

This is a book for those who support women’s rights, but also women’s wrongs. When Ji-Won’s father abandons their family, it’s up to her and her sister to pick up the pieces. Their mother Umma is a shell of who she was. One night, she makes fish and insists the sisters eat the eyeballs for good luck. Ji-Won does and from that moment forward she becomes obsessed with eyeballs, especially blue ones. Umma surprises Ji-Won and Ji-Hyun when she introduces them to her new boyfriend, George. George, who is particularly vile, but has the most enchanting pair of blue eyes. Ji-Won begins to have horrible dreams, and soon she can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t.

It’s easy to say this book will be one of my favorite horrors of the year. There are some truly gruesome moments, but also a commentary on men and fetishization of Asian women that is just as gross if not moreso than the bloody bits. It just made my skin crawl.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon for the review copy. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This was fantastic, go in to it knowing nothing and come out of it feeling, well, you'll see.

This book was an absolute trip. It's somehow delicate and vicious with the writing style where the lines of "okay that's reasonable" to "what the fuck" are blurred.

I am a big fan of Sayaka Murata (Convenience Store Woman etc.) and while I hate to draw comparisons, The Eyes Are the Best Part certainly has similar vibes and writing style and execution.

Monika Kim is a debut author and I will absolutely read anything they write.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Kensington Books for a free e-arc of this title in exchange for a review.

This is described as a feminist, psychological horror and I fully agree. Definitely don’t read this if you’re squeamish about eyes, I’m not but I still found it bordering on too gruesome. That said, I still really enjoying reading this, I finished the entire book in one sitting. It’s fast paced and addictive, all the characters are realistic. I think I’ve met each character in real life at least once. I feel like there may have been a deeper meaning that maybe I wasn’t smart enough to catch but I still think it was a good take on fetishization of BIPOC women and the real struggles that result from it. Overall if you’re looking for your next unhinged hot girl revenge thriller this is it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Monika Kim and Kensington Books for this e-ARC

this book was everything I didn’t know I needed! the details were so incredible; a literal movie playing in my mind. though I was queasy at times, it was enjoyable. the ending left me craving more!

What a roller coaster of a ride. The reader enters the world of a young college student and we have a first class seat as she slowly slips into madness. When the reader thinks they have her figured out, plot twist. If you want horror with beautiful writing, check this book out. You will not regret it.

The Eyes Are the Best Part begins as a family memoir. Ji-won is devastated by her father leaving their family for his mistress. Ji-won’s mother is alternately despondent and hopeful of a reunion. One day, the mother makes fish and insists that Ji-won eat the fisheyes for luck. Ji-won then has dreams of eyes, but not fisheyes, blue human eyes. When her mother finds a new boyfriend, Ji-won dislikes him intensely. And so starts Ji-won’s descent into madness.

The memoir part of The Eyes Are the Best Part has the typically slow pace of literary fiction. But don’t quit reading. The thriller section makes the lead-up well worth reading. Few books describe insanity from a killer’s perspective so creepily. And the twists at the end are fantastic. 5 stars and highly recommended to serial killer thriller readers.

Thanks to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Ji-won, a young Asian woman, has a lot on her plate: She is failing college, her dad just left the family, her mother is distraught, her sister lost. Also on her plate – a fish’s eyeball, because eating the eyeball brings good luck, her Umma says. Luck that she will need, because her mother’s new boyfriend has the bluest eyes and they just look so tasty...

"The Eyes Are the Best Part" is Monika Kim’s debut, and what a bold debut it is! This horror book doesn’t hold back and really goes there (I’m not gonna say where exactly, you have to find out for yourself). But I’m glad it does.

What I liked most about this book is how real especially the protagonist Ji-won felt. As the reader, I truly understood her feelings and why she acted the way she did. I don’t have to agree with a character's decission to understand their motivation, and that’s how I felt about Ji-won.

This is a strong debut and in my opinion a strong perspective on not only horror but, like many great works of the genre, on so many other things, including racism, misogyny and more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the eARC.

This book was just so fun.

The main character is a teenage girl who has recently had some big changes in her life including her dad leaving, her mom dating a man that she hates, and navigating friendships at her first year of college. While there are good discussions on important topics, this seemed like a much more lighthearted take on weird girl fiction. It is still very gorey and quite graphic but I was able to read it in less than a day.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the advanced readers copy.

Thank you to Kensington Books & NetGalley for an e-ARC of The Eyes are the Best Part!

Okay, this book was something and that cover is phenomenal. I love eyeball horror so much (love? Or hate might be a better word — cause it creeps me out & absolutely disgusts me, however, a strong reaction is exactly what I’m looking for when it comes to horror.)

This book hits but also misses? & I think the best way to review this is to break it down.

Likes:
- The concept of The Eyes Are the Best Part is amazing. Love it & I even love the messages woven within, but we’ll get back to that later.
- The development of Ji-won, or more so, the degradation of her mental stability. One of my favorite things is watching a character lead completely fall apart & go wild by the end of the story.
- The slow pacing, which is not normally something I enjoy but with this it works (see above point.)
- Of course, gore & eyeball horror.
- The emotion. This book, especially when it comes to Umma, has some heartbreaking scenes. It’s easy to feel for Umma & her daughters.
- The amount of hatred I had for the men in this that kept me supporting Ji-won.

Dislikes:
- The writing. This is a huge one for me & is what dragged this rating down. It just didn’t work for me & I can’t fully pinpoint the problems (well, I pinpoint one of them in the next point), however, this is a debut book & will 100% try another Monika Kim book in the future.
- The messages that I brought up before were a bit too obvious. We are told these messages, instead of fully seeing them play out, allowing us to figure it out on our own. I think subtlety would have worked much better for this one.

In the end, I’m glad I read this. There was still a lot of good, regardless of my complaints & I am very much looking forward to Monika Kim’s next one

Female Rage: The Novel, The Eyes Are the Best Part is a ferociously told, surrealist story centering around the female experience of a Korean-American collage student. As an Asian first-gen immigrant myself, I greatly resonated with Monika Kim's depiction of the breakdown of a nuclear family in a foreign land, as well as various forms of racism in America.

Even though it is marketed primarily as horror, the first half of the novel reads more like a brutally candid character study with a dash of the macabre. I've seen The Eyes Are the Best Part's marketing material mentioning Michelle Zauner's Crying in H-Mart, and that is actually a very spot-on reference point for this portion of the narrative. The horror and violence does amp up drastically in its later half, offering numerous instances of nightmare-inducing visual (I will not be seeing eyeball the same way after this).

The one critique I have is regarding its conclusion, which feels a bit like the author simply ran out of steam — various plot details are explained away in quick succession with great amount of convenience, and I would've preferred to have what was suggested in its open-ended closing to be actually depicted on page.

Despite the slight premature ending, as a whole The Eyes Are the Best Part hits home emotionally, I sympathize with the rage and pain of its female protagonist, and they are expressed with blood-dripping style and gusto. Maeve Fly by CJ Leede comes to mind as a comparable (but also vastly different) reading experience.

***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***

Psychological horror is not a genre I usually look for so I didn't really have any expectations going into this but as weird as this book was, I ended up really enjoying it! Ji Won is such an interesting character to me because I definitely did not agree with all of her actions, and sometimes questioning her decisions and behaviors but at the same time I was rooting for her? Seeing the way she unraveled definitely was hard to read. I loved the way the themes are incorporated into this such as racism, misogyny and Asian fetishization. This is definitely one I would recommend to people!

A dark psychological horror, female rage, and an unsatiable hunger for human eyeballs. Jiwon is having a hard time adapting to her new life after her father, who had an affair, left the family. It caused a huge despair to Jiwon's mother; she still believed her husband would be back and started to eat fish's eyes as it was considered to be 'good luck'. Jiwon and her sister are trying their best to make sure their mother is okay and happy. That is, until she brought a new boyfriend into their house. The new boyfriend, George, is a white man with blue eyes who is obnoxious, racist, misogynist, and has kinks for Asian fetishization. Ji-Won develops a fascination with blue eyes and wants to carve them from a man’s head, which leads her to instability.

This is such pure horror that does not shy away from the darker parts. Each of the scenes has its own purpose and is well crafted. While the story starts slowly, it is still fascinating how it slowly builds up the premise and the sinister part comes in so intensely. Jiwon's perspective shows us how she is slipping more into obsession, rage, and madness. 

The book touches a lot on racism and misogyny faced by Asian women and societal pressures. And I think the author did very well to portray that in our main character. The story was wonderfully written and thrilling! Jiwon is such a compelling character; she is morally gray and makes not quite the right decision. But it's really fun to stay in her head.

This was absolutely disturbing, feral, and gross (but my kind of gross), as well as somewhat satisfying and very entertaining. Giving this 4.3 ⭐️ Thank you Netgalley for the review copy.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! As soon as I picked it up, I literally could not put it down. The chapters went by so fast, and I needed to know how it ends! I also really appreciated the parts about Korean culture, and how it ties into the title (and plot) of the book. I really don’t want to say a lot so I don’t spoil anything, but wow. Definitely read this!!!!!

This book had some very intense scenes and I loved it! One of my favorite parts was how the title was apparent throughout the book. Beware, this is also not for the faint of heart. Gory depictions of eyeballs galore. Just look at the cover, and you've got an idea of what your getting yourself into here. This book had a lot going on for being so short, it touched on misogyny, racism, toxic relationships, cannibalism, and violence just to name a few. This is a well written novel with a heavy character focus. I liked the book but I will admit that I did not love it as much as I expected. I just found myself not connecting enough with the narrative. This is a horror book where things get gory, and it made me cringe in the best way, though it isn’t one I would want to read while eating!