What readers think of The Bluest Eye, plus links to write your own review.

Reason No. 1 I Read This Book: From February 18, 2026 through February 18, 2027, Ohio is celebrating the life, literature, and legacy of Toni Morrison, a native of Lorain, Ohio and the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. I recently moved back to Ohio, so I want to join in this celebration and plan to read several of Morrison's books this year, starting with this one.

Reason No. 2 I Read This Book: I read banned books. And it's hard to come up with a title that has been challenged more frequently over a longer period of time than "The Bluest Eye."

Published in 1970, this debut novel from author Toni Morrison is an emotional punch in the heart as it shows how racism is insidiously internalized by young Black girls and then poisons the rest of their lives. It's bold and brazen. It's searing and seductive. It's tender and tough. And I was spellbound from page one.

This is the story of three Black girls in 1940 and 1941 in Lorain, Ohio. Claudia, who is nine, narrates the story. Her sister Frieda is 10, but seems years old and wiser. And their friend Pecola Breedlove, who is 11, is the primary character, the one who thinks of herself as being so ugly that she also feels hideous inside. She believes that having blue eyes will make her beautiful, and she prays to God every day that her wish will be granted. While Claudia and Frieda are poor, they are truly loved and cherished by their parents. Pecola, who lives in a family filled with violence and abject poverty, is severely abused as she is raped and impregnated by her father, Cholly.

The ending, which is a literary feat unto itself, is heartbreaking as Pecola, who just a little girl, descends into madness as the adults around her so severely betrayed and harmed her.

This piercing, brilliant novel takes readers into the legacy of slavery and the very heart of racism. The writing is hauntingly lyrical and emotionally devastating—and should be required reading for all of us.

I have read "The Bluest Eye" about 15 times since I first read it at 28 years of age..... I am now 49.

It is hard to sum up such a heartfelt piece of literature. The story and meaning of this book goes far beyond the words on the pages. You could say the book is simply about a little black girl that wants to be white with blue eyes because it seems like all is well for the little blue eyed blondes of the world.... but the stories are sooooo much more.

The Bluest Eye is about life, love, and the treatment of others. It is about being ugly in all ways because someone or something always told you that you were. It is about the death of someones spirit. It is about taking a persons happiness and crushing it.

There is a scene where Pecola goes into a small store with a little change to get some candy. She was okay, she was happy and in just an instant the man behind the counter took her to such a low level by treating her "ugly". After she left the store it began to rain and she ended up throwing her "Maryjane" candy into the street. She did not want it after being treated soooo ugly. "I still cry".

I grew up in an upper middle-class neighborhood. Racially mixed yet divided by certain treatment of others. I have 3 sisters and one brother. There was a small store run by a white man and his wife. We went there all of the time to get penny candy and each time this old white man treated us like we were "ugly". Yet, we continued to go there.

I tell everyone I meet to read "The Bluest Eye". Man, woman, child...... read this book. It is in a word "profound".

Thank you!

I first read The Bluest Eye about 20 years ago. I have read it about 10 more times since. I grew up in the 60's and 70's along with three younger sisters and an older brother. This book touched home for me on soooo many levels. Though both of my parents were college educated, the little black child experience was the same for all black children during that time.

One of the most touching parts was when the little girl went in the store to buy candy and the way that old man treated her. I still cry every time I think about it.

This is the only book that I have ever read that taught me what self-hatred is and where it comes from.

I recommend this book to every person in this world. No matter your race, religion, financial status or age. Read It! If you don't get it then Read It Again! Please!

At first I did not understand the book, but i soon got into the whole swing of it. I loved how the author looked into the past, seeing all the characters really helped me understand. It is a chilling story of a girl who just wanted to fit in and live a normal life. It is a ouching story, beautifully written, it speaks for all the black people who have suffered and who still suffer today. The author created an amazing story that has changed my life.

A great book with the power of stripping away the innocence of a young girl. A piece of literature that must be read by everyone in order for understanding.

After reading this book, I was moved is so many ways. My mental state was so jolted, the only reaction that I could muster were tears of pain. The suffering endured by an innocent little girl, who was ridiculed for her very existence, has such profound, life altering meaning. The very breath that she took was scorned by her own mother. The color of her very skin was revolting to the social eyes that surrounded her world. She knew of no bliss in her life. Her own self image had been dragged through the alleys of mental dilusion. Her only way of becoming loved and accepted was to become something that not even God could now change. After the physical taunting, the emotional beatings and the pschological distortions, her true salvation had come in the form of insanity. She was now and would always remain "Shirley Temple", with her "Bluest Eyes".

This book has really tought me alot about what went on in our life years ago. I have learned that race and racism has to do with the way you where brought up in life. So, that means that it interferces with our daily lives. Thats why I liked the book.

It was a very good book. Very detailed, deep, emotions, close to home kind of book.

I would recommend this book