Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Eyes Are the Best Part

I am not sure how the author made me feel sympathetic towards Ji-won. I can't say that the random people she killed deserved it. But George definitely did.

We watch the descent of Ji-won as her mental health spirals out of control, after her father leaves and her mother starts dating a new man. Along with that we see the familial drama between mother and two daughters, who seemed close but all become at ends with each other. We also see asian fetishism which is not a topic that is broached nearly enough despite being very prevalent.
This one can get a bit graphic with the body horror aka

tearing out and eating of human eyes.

The writing is also a bit choppy, which I feel like worked well for the story. But this writing style may not be everyone's preference.
Such a strong debut and I can't wait to see what else this author does!

Thanks to Netgalley and Erewhon Books for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

lauren_reads_outside's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This book was hard to read, not because it wasn't good but because the characters and the imagery were so clear it was difficult to get through without flinching. In high school we dissected sheep's eyes and I've never wished more that I didn't know what it feels like to hold and cut into an eyeball as I did while reading this book.
I do wish the queer coded scenes with Ji-won and Alexis went a little bit further as they just sort of end up as an aside to the main story. The main story though really tells of a woman who simply has reached the edge and snapped and honestly who can blame her.

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estruch's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

woodsybookworm's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Received as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher Kensington Books (thank you, both) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

A deep dive into the hardships of a second generation woman struggling to keep herself and her family together as her mind unravels and begins to hunger not only for her own autonomy, but for eyeballs.

Ji-won’s life is crumbling around her - she's self sabotaged her relationship with her childhood friends, she can barely keep her grades up let alone forge new friendship or partnerships, her father abandoned the family for another woman, and now her mother is dating a man with an Asian fetish. Nothing could be worse, until she starts dreaming of eyeballs, hungering for eyeballs.

The gore wasn't overly descriptive, but it worked just enough to keep me squirming whenever it came up. I will most definitely be having nightmares about eyeballs after reading this book.

The first half of the book was a slow build up in which we learned about the characters, their background, how the family ended up in the position they're in now - and then it ramps up with Ji-won spiraling out of control until the end. But it ended rather abruptly and it left me wanting more!

Overall, it was a great read and a wonderful debut. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Content Warnings

laurenj1398's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book has left me speechless.

It follows Ji-won and her family’s journey in grief after her father abruptly leaves them for another woman. When Ji-won’s mother finally starts dating a new man, Ji-won slowly spirals and ends up in the darkest parts of her brain.

Monika Kim should run a masterclass on how to paint emotions through physical descriptions. Every emotion was palpable, which made empathizing with Ji-won very easy. I also loved the social commentary on the fetishization of Asian women and the first gen (born in America) eldest child experience.

The horror in this book was exquisite! There was the perfect balance of suspense, gore, and unhinged feminine rage. I will definitely have this book on my mind for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the eARC.

Content Warnings

adamyeti's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"The Eyes Are the Best Part" gave me everything that I wanted from it and a lot more. The first quarter of it is almost purely a domestic drama, but it was so interesting on its own that I would have been perfectly happy if it never made the shift into horror. The domestic drama aspect was leveraged into a building tension, which continued to build throughout the entire book with the protagonist, Ji-Won, growing increasingly insane. It was a bit of a slow burn in this regard but the slow increase in tension combined with the fast-paced short scenes made the book fly by. It was very hard to put down at times.

One shining triumph of this book is the characters. I was so invested in the characters and their relationships that I was just as excited to hear about Ji-Won's personal life as I was the interspersed horrific murders. The gore in the aforementioned murders was just enough to make you squirm but wasn't over the top or drawn out. You should have a pretty good idea about what the gore entails from the title alone...

I would make a vague comparison to "Maeve Fly" since this book has a similar slow burn structure following the unraveling of a seemingly ordinary female serial killer. The vibes, however, are very different. A comparison could also be made to Sayaka Murata's "Earthlings," particularly in the way that both authors focus heavily on the characters' home lives and personal relationships. If you enjoyed "Earthlings," I really think this one will be perfect for you.

I loved a lot of things about this book, and I think Monika Kim did a great job of putting the reader in Ji-Won's shoes and showing a glimpse of what it's like to be the child of an immigrant and the challenges that come along with that. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves horror and appreciates strong characters and meaningful stories.

Content Warnings

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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