Monika Kim Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Monika Kim is an American published author. She is known for her debut novel, The Eyes Are The Best Part.

Monika attended The University of California, Davis, graduating with her B.A. in communication. She has been working for an environmental agency since 2016 in southern California. She does work that is focused not only on environmental justice but helping communities that are under-served by working with outreach and youth education programs.

Monika cares a lot about the environment as well as climate justice. She does her best through her books to try and raise an added awareness of what it is to experience life as an Asian American and to raise awareness of feminist issues.

When she is not too busy, Monika enjoys trying out new foods, reading, playing video games, traveling, and taking pictures.

She is a Korean American, second generation, residing in Koreatown in Los Angeles with her family. This includes Velvet, her tuxedo cat. She has learned about various Korean superstitions and eating fish eyes from her mom, who came to California as an immigrant from Seoul in 1985.

The Eyes Are The Best Part is the debut fictional novel from Monika Kim. This 2024 novel is a feminist psychological horror story that focuses on a female serial killer in the making, all from the perspective of a Korean American.

Ji-won is the main character in this story, and her life is falling apart. Ever since her appa had an extramarital affair and then took off, everything has been stranded in a state of disarray. Her mother is fully upset about all of it, and her younger sister is confused but knows enough to be hurt. Her own grades as a freshman in college are going down, and the dreams that she does have and horrible but draw her in.

When Ji-won is in her dreams, she finds herself walking through different rooms that are filled with blue eyes. The rooms are bloody, and the eyes are the same shade and shape as George, the annoying new boyfriend of Umma.

George has been staying in her family’s apartment and it is really small, so he’s already been staying longer than he has been welcome. He is openly braggy about his consulting job, when they are going out to eat he looks at the Asian waitresses, and has a bad attitude when it comes to Ji-won and her sister, acting like he alone is the one who should get all of Umma’s attention.

Ji-won thinks that George shouldn’t get anything from the family, and he’s going to make sure that that happens. There may be many victims that are stacking up on campus and Ji-won knows that she has manipulated and deceived a lot of people. But she also thinks that her rage and hunger deserve to be satisfied.

Subversive and inventive, the tale of a young woman who is coming undone is irresistible in so many ways! Monika Kim has created a wonderful work here, the story of a family that falls apart and a horror story for the modern age that incorporates family and more. Read this book to go on the journey for yourself!