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

Dark, creepy, and tense. This book was a haunting trip through one young girl's anger at those who keep using her family. I enjoyed Kim's writing style, it was well paced and clear cut. The tension and suspense were excellent.

Content Warnings

hardbackhoarder's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

The synapsis tells you the plot, but this is really about diving into racism, sexism, social classes, and many other hateful practices that our society is built on in the USA. The direct call outs on behaviors and stereotypes of men are great discussion pieces on their own and I think this would make a great book club pick. Though, it is not for the faint of heart.
(also FINALLY a revenge story that doesn't start with r*pe)

Content Warnings

sarrie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

TL;DR: Don’t like eyeballs? This one is going to mess with you! A revenge filled story about a girl obsessed and the racist and sexist people she targets.

Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!

Plot: Ji-won’s father leaves the family and as her mother unravels then falls in love with an exceptionally disgusting man, she begins to fixate and… crave eyeballs. It gets real gross after that.

Characters: We focus in on Ji-won, and honestly everyone else was pretty unlikable except for a possible romantic interest (which I do wish had a bit more dimension).

Setting: Definitely not the focus of this, but I did enjoy the claustrophobia and dimness of what we got, it added to the overall feeling of it

Thrilling/Horror Aspect: Not nearly as intense as I expected, but if you’re squeamish about eyeballs and… well eating them this is going to gross you out

Thoughts:

The Eyes Are the Best Part is aptly named. This is the story of Ji-won and her slow decent into obsession over eyeballs, and let me go ahead and tell you that it get’s pretty graphic on the eyeball horror and… eating of things. Those bits by far were the best part of the whole novel.

That being said - don’t get into this one if you’re squeamish about people eating other people parts. It’s going to be a bad time. Ji-won falls fast into an obsession with blue eyes after her mother, still trapped in a cycle of grief at the leaving of Ji-won’s father, ends up dating and engaged to a truly repulsive white man with blue eyes named George. George clearly has a fetish and a type and is going after Ji-won’s mother for that reason. He’s that guy, racist but ‘Oh I know the language’ (when he doesn’t), or claims that 'No one appreciates the culture like him'. Ji-won sees through him, as does her sister, but unfortunately her mother is caught.

Blue eyes haunt her and she takes a rather abrupt and unexpected turn into the very gross acquisition of said eyes. There is also the boy in class with her who is not exactly who he seems, and equally as gross as George in his own way. The book targets these very clear and familiar types of people, showing them for how the really are and it can be infuriating at times. The racism, the gaslighting, and abuse is a lot but Ji-won gets her revenge.

The only thing that knocked this one down just a hair for me was that it read as a bit young, and everything in the end was exceptionally neat and tidy. I wanted just a bit more of a struggle or tension to the story, but I still enjoyed seeing her exact revenge and bloody hell on these folks. If you want some fun times like that - this is your pick-up.

4 out of 5 Blue Crunchy Balls You See Out Of

Content Warnings

whatsbridiereading's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Both the plot and the horror aspect of this book kept me hooked from the start. This is one of my favourite ‘female rage’ books- the kind where the MC has a reason for her rage, and where even when she’s doing despicable things you feel for her. I can’t wait to see what Monika Kim does next!

Content Warnings

emeliaisreading_'s review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Title: The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Horror
Pub Date: June 25, 2024

⭐ 3.75/5

🥢 Descent Into Insanity
🧿 Korean FMC
🥢 Feminine Rage

We watch as a sleep deprived college student decends into insanity. A Korean college student decends into madness as the men in her life continue to disappear or disappoint. After a fateful meal with her Umma, she's consumed with the thought of eyes between her teeth.

I must admit I was confused for the beginning of the book, but once I realized what was happening it was pretty interesting. I'm not sure if I can say it necessarily fits the horror genre, but I think eyeballs make basically everyone squeamish so if you're not into descriptive horror this might not be for you! I did appreciate the feminine rage wasn't for one political side or the other because honestly, there are disgusting people on both sides 👏

Thank you so much NetGalley and Kensington Books for the review copy!🫶

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