The title and cover image will completely pull you into this book.

The story is grounded in traditions, expectations and the sometimes super messed up reality of having people put a tad too much interest in you for who you they think you stereotypically are. Gross.

When Ji-won’s father leaves her mother for another younger woman it seems to set off a series of negative changes in her life. Her mother falls apart before her eyes and then pathetically picks up the pieces with a total jack-ass-cringy guy that seems to have a thing for Asians. Ji-won feels all alone until she finds a friend. Turns out he’s a tad off as well. Wow - the men in this story really suck. Don’t worry, they get theirs.

Ji-won is a unique narrator (part victim, part villian) who is unraveling and taking control in the only way she can to the situation around her. Yes, plenty of eyeball madness included.

I really enjoyed reading this unique story and recommend it. An author to watch.

this book delivered on all fronts, eyes were eaten, i stayed up til 1am trying to finish it in one sitting, i subsequently had bad dreams about it, the main character is a nightmare (affectionate), it was just as weird and creepy as i wanted it to be, I'm obsessed.

come for the deliciously gross eye horror stay for the subtle deconstruction of patriarchy, racism, Eurocentrism and generational trauma

💗Unhinged MC who slowly starts to develop the taste for icy blue eyes thanks to her mother’s new boyfriend. Ji-won is Korean- American and lives with mom and her younger sister. Dad left them for another woman and since then things have started to spiral, starting with mom. Seeing this angers Ji-won, leaving her wondering what did they do wrong for their father to leave… fast forward a bit and mom has found herself a more suitable partner- he’s a white “tough guy” named George. Jj-won and the sister dislike this man. He’s a misogynistic white make and has a filthy mindset especially towards “dainty docile asian girls”. Slowly Ji-won unravels more, anger fueled by George and other misfortunes happening in her life. And she really has a craving for George’s icy blue eyes- as the mom said after cooking a tasty fish for dinner one time- “the eyes are the best part”— they bring good fortune/ luck.

4 ⭐️’s:
Enjoyed the advance readers copy. Great, fun, quick, short chapters. Korean culture is embedded within the pages and it helps create a better story. I enjoyed learning about beliefs Ji-won was told and was able to relate to some. I totally was left sympathizing with the MC because I couldn’t see another way out

5 stars
-this book is like riding a roller coaster you cannot get off of
-brilliant social commentary on misogyny and racism (most notably the fetishization of Asian women)
-gory horror/thriller with twists you will never see coming
-very readable and fast-paced

Thanks to Monika Kim and NetGalley for this ARC

I really enjoyed this book. It was a crazy ride from start to finish. If you like thrillers with a bit of horror, then give this a shot. I kind of sped through this. I wanted to see what else Jiwon was capable of doing. It was interesting to see how her thoughts turned and how her paranoia also grew. I will be putting spoilers.

Jiwon is the main character and just starting her first year of college when her father leaves her mother. He leaves for another woman. Her mother becomes distraught and cooks up big meals with fish and eats the fish eye for good luck. One day, Jiwon actually decides to eat the fish eye to please her mother. I think this is the catalyst for her fixation to blue eyes, especially when her mom starts dating George, a white man with yellow fever who has a wandering eye. Jiwon’s craving for a blue eye causes her to dismember a homeless man, kill a man in an alleyway, and kill George as well. Geoffrey was a creep and a stalker and I’m glad Jiwon put the blame of the murders on him. I wonder if the tumor might be why she started acting this way. I wonder if she’ll kill her dad or dismember his eyes. The ending is a bit open ended in that way. I enjoyed the feminist aspect and also how white worshipping can be insane. Her mother went on a rant about marrying a white man and ended up with a cheating loser. Jiwon’s friendship with Alexis seemed a little more than just friends. Jiwon’s high school friendships were wild too though. She manipulated her friends so easily. Jiwon is definitely not someone to be messed with. The end of chapter 32 was a good 2 paragraphs to read.
When the author described eating the human eyeballs, I was a bit grossed out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for alowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Brilliantly crafted, The Eyes Are the Best Part is one of the best horror books recently written. The social commentaries were smartly interwoven with the slow decent into madness of the main character. There is a great balance between horror, gore and suspense, and scenes of everyday life and family dynamics. I loved every page of this book! Highly recommend

⭐️3.8 stars
‘Before I can talk myself out of it, I squeeze my eyes shut and shove it into my mouth. The eyeball is cool from being under the faucet for so long. A salty liquid trickles down my throat. The outside is crunchy cartilage. I jam it into my left cheek and bite down with my molars; jellylike matter explodes within my mouth. It’s delicious. The flavour is rich and full’

Thank you to Kensington book for allowing me to access this arc through NetGalley. This was so intriguing, and deeply disturbing. But I did kind of love it, in a strange way. Definitely unique and one of a kind story.
The story was well developed, and I definitely enjoyed the second half better than the first. I found the first half to be too much thinking without Ji-won taking action. I was kind of waiting for her to kill someone, and the dreams were a little too much at times. This got much better in the second half, when the killings were taking place. The way she spoke about the blue eyeballs was so disturbing. Kim did not hold back in those description.
I love the way the book ended, with Ji-won’s power growing and the threat against her father. Despite her brain tumour surgery, her fascination still remained with killing, and eyeballs…. Kim commented upon serious racial issues, such as how white men like George and the student in the cafe had a fascination with stereotypes of young Asian girls. Even Geoffrey was an example of this, as in an attempt to understand the culture, he became obsessed with presenting himself as ‘the good guy’. Yet this was his downfall.

I thoroughly enjoyed this as it picked up in the second half. If it was like this all throughout, it would been a five star read for me. I wanted more of Ji-won’s action, instead of her freaking about what she wanted to do. Would definitely read more from Kim as this was a very dark, yet intriguing read.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- remind me to never mess with Ji-Won ever. she’ll eat my eyeballs and i don’t want that lol.

- a gory, horrifically delectable story about one girl’s plot for revenge against the men who have damaged her family. i loved exploring the descent of madness that Ji-Won goes through, the gory murders she commits, and the lies she told in order to get her way. when people say they support women’s wrongs, Ji-Won is who they’re talking about. Monika Kim wrote a horrifically detailed and fast paced story that touches on the fetishization of Asian women and how one woman takes her revenge on those who objectify and damage those she loves.

- content warning: racism, misogyny, murder, eyeball eating, blood, death, usage of pills

This was absolutely wild. There were so many twists in this book that I never saw coming and the ending was so intense. It felt like I was watching an unhinged horror movie in the best way possible. I think that this book does a fantastic job of exposing readers to Korean culture in a nonchalant kind of way. Ji-Won is just going through her life and telling us about the every day things that her and her family do as a part of their culture and it really allows for an opportunity for the reader to take time to pause and learn about those different aspects of their household. It also allowed for excellent commentary on the pressures, stereotypes, and straight up racism that Ji-Won and her family would face as Asian American women.

There is great tension throughout the story as we are trying to parse out whether Ji-Won is spiraling out of control mentally or just coming into her own as this villainous character. The ending left me reeling with this. I did have a bit of an issue with how easily everything seemed to wrap up for Ji-Won. It felt like everything fell perfectly into place for her despite the fact that this girl made a million crucial mistakes while carrying out her violent spree and none of that came to bite her in the ass. It was enough to make me dislike the book or ruin the story but it was enough to keep this from being a new favorite.

I will say that this story had me questioning the safety of my blue eyes.

this one had so much social commentary in terms of racism towards Asians, and as a Filipino woman, not all of it was relatable, but the majority sure was. This book explores the horrors of misogyny & racism & has many good for her revenge moments.

Wow wow wow

This was a fast paced read. I was engrossed in the book from the beginning. I loved the ending.

I wanted to love this book, and I still adore the premise and angry energy behind it. The execution didn't truly work for me. It was more of a slow build than I'd expected, which threw me a bit. (I wanted murder MUCH faster, whatever that says about me.)

The Eyes Are the Best Part was a fast-paced and horrific story about a Korean-American college student, Ji-won, and her mother and sister. After her father leaves, her mother begins dating George, a man who fetishizes Asian women and is truly unbearable. Ji-won starts spiraling and begins dreaming of eating George’s big, blue eyes.

I really enjoyed the author’s exploration of the theme of racial fetishization through George, and I loved Ji-won’s slow descent into madness. I particularly enjoyed the plot twist at the end, and still loved Ji-won even if she is completely unhinged. The only thing I wanted more of was Ji-won’s relationships with her friends, but I loved seeing her relationship with her sister.

Thanks to the publisher, I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Available June 25, 2024!

Horror fans are going to love this debut! I love a great story about a female serial killer and this one did not disappoint. Ji-won’s life begins to spiral out of control when her father has an affair and leaves the family. Her mother begins to date misogynistic and racist George and he quickly wears out his welcome around their home. With all the upheaval, Ji-won’s grades in college plummet and she is plagued every night by visions of eyeballs; specifically blue eyes that resemble George’s. This book begins with a bang with Ji-won’s mom demonstrating how to eat fish eyeballs to her two daughters and never lets up till that fantastic ending. This story is extremely graphic, disturbing, and very well written. For such a short book, it covers a lot of themes and packs a big punch. I am not a huge horror fan so the gory images made me squeamish. But the overall story and message is amazing. This is definitely a new author to watch! Thank you Netgalley, Kensington Books, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on June 25, 2024

This is a twisted, sympathetic portrayal of someone whose life is coming apart at the seams, by no fault of their own. It has memorable characters, identifiable in their ubiquity but still feeling individual and genuine, and a well-paced story that builds on itself as its main character finds herself lost on the threshold of grief and madness.

There is something to be said about the pacing. The first hints of what might be identified as the traditional horror elements don’t even come until we are about forty percent into the story. This actually works well for the story, we get a strong sense of character and environment, we see all the pieces coming into place even without knowing what they will end up building. However, the blurb about the book revealed so much of the story and set up certain genre expectations that I started the story with different pacing expectations. This is more a marketing problem than a narrative one, I think the story builds itself up and then rips itself apart at what feels like a good pace. If you read the book summary and expect something that jumps into the horror from the get-go, however, you may be disappointed.

There are a few chapters where the book feels a little didactic, being blunt in explaining how racial and gender micro and macro aggressions are continually experienced. In most chapters these are wonderfully displayed with just enough narrative commentary that as a reader we see the intricacies at play, the insidious actions, traumas, and potential consequences. The few places where it felt didactic just feel a little clumsy in what was otherwise a really smooth exploration of a character’s breaking apart under countless external and internal pressures. That said, there were only a handful of chapters like this, and they stuck out in their change in tone or style but weren’t enough to sink the book. Most of the chapters were quite short, and that really propelled me along as a reader, even when the events of the story weren’t always as frenetic. Things unfolded and were revealed at their own pace, but the story kept moving in a delightful way. This novel was a lot of fun to read, and I look forward to enjoying more from this author!

I want to thank the author, the publisher Kensington Books, Erewhon Books, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5 star rating.
In this anxiety-inducing look at a young Korean-American’s nosedive, the reader is treated to squirming social interactions, cathartic acts of racial justice, and deeply authentic family dynamics, with streams of gore flowing throughout. The descriptions utilized in this novel are truly hair-raising in their mastery of sounds, textures, and tastes as Ji-won acts out her deepest, most disturbing desires. Choked full of commentary centered around Asian-American discrimination, this novel, and Ji-won specifically, sort of bite back (pun intended) against dehumanizing fetishization. Perfect for those who enjoy a purgative feminist horror filled with blood, rage, and acute slips into madness.

i devoured this book. fast-paced, funny, horrific, and oh-so-satisfying (call me what you will), this gave me what it promised and so much more; even the somewhat heavy-handed ways that it handles racism and sexism only added to the outlandishness of the novel while still being grounded in the terrifying reality of it all.
without giving away major spoilers, i’m just a bit confused about the exploration of ji-won’s other relationships, specifically her friendships, since there wasn’t really much of a ‘resolution’ as such, though there was potential to draw parallels between past and present (only that it’d take away from the otherwise tight plotting). regardless, all i can say is: good for her!
body horror mixed with intersectional social commentary with a truly unhinged woman as the mc is my new favourite niche.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the main character, Ji-Won. Even though she was flawed and unhinged I understood her motives. She was smart and clever. Even though her situation was hard she never complained or felt sorry for herself. She just took matters into her own hands. I loved the dream scenes, and the imagery of the eyes. I really hope there is a sequel. Ji-Won is an amazing leading character!

This book was quite the journey. We meet Ji-won at a time in her life where the pressure is great, and her life seems to be falling apart. She comes across as timid and meek-afraid to fall below perfect student and daughter. But she quickly escalates to no nonsense rage as the taste for eyes drives her mercilessly forward. There are a number of things the author hits on that makes us squirm and quite frankly, angry. White guy with Asian fetish, misogyny, the “nice guy” who feels like you owe him something, the mom who forces a role reversal, overbearing expectations-they all come out swinging and try to beat Ji-won down. But what the author gives the protagonist is a chance to fight back and shake off her mousy demeanor. Kim molds Ji-won into a feminist powerhouse and twisted antihero. Ji-won is not looking to be right and proper-she wants revenge. Her story becomes bloody and gruesome, and ends on a morally grey note. As a horror novel, it packs quite a punch. However, I felt that as a whole, Ji-won’s rapid chance was a bit jarring and shaky. She went from 0-60 almost too quickly. A slightly slower and more refined transition would have worked better. But overall, this debut was pretty well written and developed. 4 stars rounded down to 3.5.

Thank you Monika Kim and NetGalley for my advanced copy. My opinion is my own.

I’d like to thank this book for getting me out of a reading slump. 😆 It’s very easy to get into and written in a very accessible style.

This is about Ji-won and her increasing unhealthy obsession with eyes, especially blue eyes. She’s made a lot of poor decisions, leaving her without friends, and her family is a mess. She is not ok, and things just get worse from there.

As noted, this is a very readable book. The style is very simple and clear, which I did like. I also liked the overarching plot for the most part because I like a story of slow mental unraveling. Geoffrey was oof - so effectively THE WORST. The ending, including the bits about Geoffrey, was great.

My struggle with this one was with a couple main things:

1. While the style was very accessible, I found it quite wooden. Scenes zip past and often feel too quickly resolved. Dialogue felt unnatural. It was serviceable, but awkward. Something about it felt overly told instead of shown.
2. I wish this was novella length instead. The pacing/escalation was odd. The first half felt quite repetitive without a steady increase in intensity, so I wish it was shortened. There are some side plots (like Alexis and Ji-won’s old friendships) that feel shallow anyway and could be cut.

I like the plot of this book in theory, so I’d still be curious to try more from Kim in the future if she keeps writing horror. But maybe not if her writing style continues in this vein.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.