They say “Revenge is a dish best served cold” now you can add, “but The Eyes Are the Best Part”.
Love a serial~ish~ killer, unreliable narration, and pure female rage.

“The eyes are the best part” is a bloody-good book that makes note of the commonplace fetishization of people of Asian origin. Ji-won exemplifies a character who’s had enough of everyone else’s shit and is willing to take matters into her own hands. Overall, I think this is a very interesting read, even though there were certain areas that could have benefitted from being more fleshed out. A solid 3/5 read.

The Eyes Are The Best Part
By: Monika Kim
Publish Date: June 25, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and the author, Monika Kim, for the advanced copy of The Eyes Are The Best Part.

Have you ever wondered what fish eye would taste like? It is a delicacy and offered to the guest of honor in some cultures. Fish eyes contain a unique taste that can be quite intriguing once consumed.

Ji-won's parents have divorced and she lives with her mother and sister while they try to cope with their father leaving suddenly to begin a new family. Ji-won's mother typically eats the fish eyes and encourages her daughters to try, just once. Grossed out, Ji-won and her sister say no every time. One evening Ji-won's mom is upset over her father, so Ji-won decides she will show her growth and maturity by tasting the eyeball. After thàt moment, Ji-won becomes obssessed with eyeballs, especially the blue eyes of her mothers new boyfriend. But, since are they off limits, Ji-won tries to live a normal teenage life while harboring this unusal obsession. The problem is, in order to enjoy a human eyeball, the person must die. This doesnt stop Ji-won from getting what she wants....

This book was equally gross as it was intriguing.

Congratulations, you've been invited as the guest of honor! So, grab your plate and fork, and take a seat at the table for dinner! If you looking for a bit of a shock, psychological roller coaster and drama this book is for you! I recommend it for these reasons, you wont be disappointed!

THIS BOOK WAS CRAZYYYYY....

The imagery and the detail that this author portrays was fascinating to me and added such a wonderful horror and disturbingness that could not be beat.

The only thing I wish was that there was a little more gore.... I know that sounds horrible, but I really wanted to experience the true spiral that this main character went down and it was only half the way there.

Other than that this book was fascinating and I would love to read more from this author.

If you’re squeamish about eyes…don’t read this. This book starts out a little slow then goes full freaking throttle. We learn about Ji-won, her sister and her mother’s relationships, everyday struggles and how to deal with the men in their lives. I’m allll about a woman getting revenge and Ji-won sure AF gets revenge. I loved the weirdness, the serial killer elements and the overall chaos of this book. I’m obsessed and definitely recommend for anyone who wants to go on a wild ride

The Eyes Are the Best Part was so much fun. It was gross and it was relatable and it was quick. The main character had such a distinct voice and I was always shocked by her actions but not surprised. The characterization was great and the audiobook narration was even better. I highly recommend this book to experienced horror readers and new horror readers alike. Some scenes were gross but some scenes were just written wonderfully. Definitely worth the read.

A peek into the tumultuous period in Korean American Ji-won's life as she experiences her mother deal with the end of her marriage and the subsequent whirlwind romance between her mother and a misogynistic pig named George. Going in without expectations, I found this to be a fresh and engaging psychological horror with bits of girlhood realism, humorous quips and graphic nightmares. With the integrated social commentary focused around Asian-American fetishization and misogyny, that's where I found a lot of value in the writing when the horror aspect wasn't living up to what I had hoped. Overall, a good read and I enjoyed it.

**4 out of 5 Star Review: The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim**

I had high hopes going into *The Eyes Are the Best Part*, and I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint. Monika Kim delivers a gripping and unsettling exploration of themes like race, misogyny, trauma, and obsession, all through the lens of a protagonist who is as compelling as she is morally complex.

**Thoughts:**
This book takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the mind of Ji-won, a character who is unapologetically flawed yet incredibly relatable. As someone who has always had a soft spot for stories about unhinged women seeking revenge, I found myself glued to the pages, eagerly following Ji-won’s descent into madness. Kim’s writing is both sharp and haunting, making this a total page-turner.

What really stands out in this novel is how it handles the difficult subjects it tackles. The exploration of family trauma and the pressures of being an elder sibling, particularly in the context of Asian womanhood, is raw and poignant. Kim does a fantastic job of weaving these heavy themes into a narrative that’s both emotionally resonant and thrilling. Ji-won’s journey is messy and painful, but it’s also incredibly human, which made me root for her even when her actions were morally questionable.

The book is not without its gruesome moments, and fans of horror that doesn’t shy away from the grotesque will find plenty to love here. But it’s the psychological depth and the emotional weight of Ji-won’s story that truly sets this book apart.

While *The Eyes Are the Best Part* didn’t quite hit the five-star mark for me, it’s a powerful debut that leaves a lasting impression. If you enjoy dark, character-driven narratives that delve into the complexities of trauma and identity, this book is definitely worth picking up.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing, Erewhon, and NetGalley for the ARC. I can’t wait to see what Monika Kim writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

90/100 or 4.5 stars

This was a wild ride, and I loved it. There were only a few things that brought it down to a 4.5 instaead of a full 5.0 star, but this was a great time and I will definitely check out other works by this author!

Monika Kim’s bold, brutal novel The Eyes Are the Best Part sears with feminine rage and unflinching body horror.

Ji-won is not the perfect first-generation American daughter. She is friendless, average in academics, and lacks the intuitive emotional intelligence of her little sister, Ji-hyun, a quality that their mother claims makes the youngest more Korean. Reeling from the abrupt departure of Ji-won’s father, the women teeter on financial and emotional ruin. In an attempt to cheer up her mother, Ji-won eats a fish eye for the first time—a symbol of good luck. But it awakens an unnatural appetite within her, fueling her mental unraveling. She is left with one obsession: bright blue eyeballs.

Though her coping methods are gruesome, Ji-won has reasons to be angry. Her mother’s new boyfriend is a piggish white man who crashes into their lives with a fetishistic desire for Asian women. Her grades at college are slipping. The possessiveness of her pseudofeminist classmate becomes menacing. Again and again, misogyny and racism pursue her. And all this rage needs somewhere to land.

The world’s assumption that Ji-won is docile makes for good cover as she gives in to her violent impulses, directing them at men in her family and outside of it. In a moment of self-aware disgust, she asks, “Is this what it takes to make our fathers return to us?” Not all of the twists are shocking, but the intensity of Ji-won’s perspective carries the story to satisfying ends, cutting to her red-hot center and daring voyeurs to look away.

The novel The Eyes Are the Best Part bites a chunk out of the horrors of being young and marginalized, licking its lips all the while.

Very well put premise with a clear end goal. Loved all of it and can’t wait to see more from this author

I knew this book was written specifically for me. I loved this! I loved seeing the main character's slow descent to madness... it being my favorite trope. Ji-won's discomfort really came out on the pages. I had to stop reading it in the middle of the night because I was getting the creeps from reading this. This was an incredible debut from Monika Kim! I put off reading it for so long because I just knew how perfect it would be for me, and I'm so glad I finally took the plunge and read it. I will 100% read anything this author writes in the future, she has the potential to become a favorite author of mine.

I rarely get the opportunity to read a character that is "twisted". It's difficult to justify Ji-Won's actions but so easy to justify her anger. Racism, sexism, hypersexualization all push women, especially women of color to the end. We need more "fuck around and find out" books like these.

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim presents a thoughtful exploration of personal and relational dynamics through a unique lens. While the book offers insightful observations and a distinctive narrative style, its impact may vary depending on readers' preferences for character development and pacing. Overall, it provides an interesting read but may not resonate equally with everyone.

The story was very unique and I was really intrigued by the premise of the book - I feel it’s not something I’ve really seen or read before!

My main issue with the book was the pacing though, as it seemed to take a long time to build up to the crimes and when it finally got there it felt like there wasn’t enough time to fully explore that plot. I did enjoy the story like I said, I just feel like some of the build up was unnecessary and would have been better replaced with more depth to the action parts of the book.

It was a unique read though and a great combination of feminism and serial killers! It was a bit like My Sister, the Serial Killer in that sense!

Jiwon's villain origin story begins the day she meets her mother's new boyfriend, a middle-aged, bigoted and creepy white man with a fetish for Asian women.
Actually no, it begins the day her father abandons her, her mother and her younger sister, disappearing from their lives.
Or maybe it started a few months prior, when all her friends got accepted to UC Berkeley, but she didn't. Was that first abandonment the origin of everything? Who knows, but it’s sure that this year hasn’t been the best of her life.

For 18 years Jiwon, the eldest daughter of a Korean family immigrated to the US, has seen with her own eyes and experienced first-hand both racial and patriarchal discrimination. The humiliation has transformed into anger, an anger that has grown more and more, until it became uncontainable, until it swallowed everything.

When her father leaves her, she finds herself having to hide her pain in an attempt to contain that of her mother, a woman subjugated to her role as wife, always submissive with men.
And when her mother brings a disgusting man into her house, one who casts lustful glances at her and her 15-year-old sister, Jiwon has to endure, she has to accept it, for her mother's sake and happiness.
But from that moment Jiwon developes an obsession with this man and his big blue eyes, and her descent into madness begins: nightmares, hallucinations, sleepwalking. And a great hunger.

In this psychological horror, Monika Kim does not simply tell a violent and gruesome story of murder and cannibalism, but explores themes such as the fetishization of Asian women and misogyny, set in a family context that is as complex as it is realistic.

The writing style is simple, sometimes almost aseptic, but it was still able to capture me and immerse me in the story.
A beautiful debut! Will surely read more from this author!

4.5 stars

This was fantastic. I was not expecting this to be a five-star favorite but here we are! This book was so fascinating and GROSS, but exactly the way I like horror to be gross. I love stories like this where we slowly watch a character unravel mentally and become more and more unhinged. Mostly due to the behavior of toxic white men. It's fantastic lol. I loved this protagonist too -- I love that she was morally gray and didn't always make the best choices, but it was absolutely fascinating to be in her head. This book was so well written too, I can't believe this was a debut! I will be reading everything this author publishes in the future!

Woooowwww I loved this debut novel. It hooked my from the cover. That cover is stellar. I honestly don’t think there was anything I disliked about this book. It was brutal yet also subtle. There was social commentary. I loved the main character and could relate to her so many times. The ending was perfect for this story too. I would highly recommend if you like female rage! I can’t wait to see what Monika Kim has next for us.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for approving me to read this book!
I absolutely devoured this book!! So so so good!! I highly recommend

Gory feminist horror, I loved it! Writing was sharp and clever and the pacing was good as we followed the protagonists unraveling. I was constantly torn between “that’s disgusting” and “good for her”.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.