You Know What You Have To Do

by Bonnie Shimko

You do not kill a man in cold blood and then talk your way out of it. Other than her real name — Mary-Magdalene Feigenbaum — fifteen-year-old Maggie’s problems seem ordinary. She has tiffs with her too-critical mother, a crush on her cute psychologist, and worries that her only friend — fellow outcast Abigail — is morphing into a popular girl, leaving her behind.

But Maggie has a few not-so-ordinary problems. A voice in her head is telling her to kill. And not just anyone. Each time the target is a person who has done something terrible to someone Maggie cares for. You know what you have to do, the voice commands. Maggie struggles to resist, but the voice is relentless. And as its demands escalate, her world begins to crumble.

With rising suspense, this story of psychological horror introduces a narrator whose own unique voice and irreverent humor are unforgettable – an unlikely hero fighting a desperate battle against incomprehensible evil.

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Suspense

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Cassi Haggard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes books actually make me angry. They can be so frustrating, annoying and insipid that I find myself wanting to smack something. Unfortunately, after a decent start, You Know What You Have To Do completely fell apart.

I actually like the idea of a book written from inside the head of a villain. A mild-mannered teenage nobody who's secretly killing people? Odds are I'm going to be curious about that book every time. However this book had piss-poor character building and I hated how it dealt with women's issues.

Mary Magdalene (Maggie for short) is one of the unpopular kids, sitting at the loser table with only two friends, the loyal Abigail and the annoying Lester. What nobody knows is that Maggie hears voices in her head telling her to kill people. But that probably just runs in the family since her father's a convicted murderer.

One of the biggest problems with this book is that Maggie is just not fleshed out. She's a caricature of a high school girl, never really developed enough to have her own personality. For this concept to work the main character needs to be complex and interesting, someone who feels (either good or bad) about what they're doing. We don't have to like her but we do have to believe her and be interested in understanding her. Maggie's not interesting. Yes she kills people -- but she neither struggles nor relishes in it. I want to see that internal debate and some strength of character. Instead the voice says "Hey kill that dude he's bad" and off Maggie goes. Yes technically she resists once but that scene felt tacked on to say "Look Maggie's not completely a monster."

The way it dealt with female issues is where the book really went to hell for me. There's girl-on-girl hate and that's expected, considered the norm in this book. As soon as loyal BFF Abigail loses the braces she joins the popular crowd and abandons Maggie. Having such distinct cliques is a shortcut to actually developing the characters and a believable high school setting. Instead we're handed these cartoon versions of popular girls, losers and nerds. There's nothing to make anyone interesting.

If girl-on-girl hate and friendship abandonment isn't enough, there was also a rape in this book that was never really addressed. It just kinda happens.

"Did you know he used to be a wrestler in his old school?" ... "He was on the varsity team in his freshman year." ... "He's so strong. I couldn't get him off," she says. ... "When he really got into it, I liked it. It felt good. I didn't want him to stop." (Note: Only showing Abigail's side of conversation for brevity)

WHAT? SAY HUH? Note that Abigail kept dating him and nobody really says or does anything about the fact he raped her. Nobody. I can't cope with books that don't recognize rape as rape. I just did a search of my ebook and the word rape, rapist or raping is never used in this book. When they eventually break up she notes that him and his tendencies are another girl's problem now and calls her a whore.

There's more I could say about what made this book bad. The mundane teenageness of love-triangles, the slut-shaming, the fact that a guy flirts with Maggie by saying she looks like the girl off of the "J Crew commercial", the fact that at least 3 people know that Maggie has killed somebody, lack of character progression, etc. But do I really need to beat this dead horse? This book was a waste of my time.

I received an advance reading copy of this book for review purposes.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this was rough.

I did more eye-rolling than reading, really.


Mary-Magdalene Feigenbaum hears a voice in her head. It tells her to kill people. Sometimes it's because that person is bad or just because they happen to be crossing the street while she's driving. She's listened to it a few times and it might just be catching up to her.



The dialogue in this book made me cringe. It was unbelievable. The character interactions felt forced.
The main character bored me,
the creepy neighbor made me want to reach into the book and choke him,
the best friend made me roll my eyes so many times I thought they would stay in that position forever,
the mom was irrelevant throughout the whole story
the step dad was the only sane person here, well, kinda...
the dad seemed sincere and very nice

it's not that I don't remember their names, I do. It's just that I can't be bothered.

You know a story is bad when your favorite character is the man who is in prison for bludgeoning his mom to death with a meat pounder.


AND THAT ENDING!
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

These are actual notes I wrote while reading:

"And even though I'm regular from the neck up, I'm an A plus as far as the rest, thanks to Roxie's genes."
KAY, CHILD, HAVE A SEAT

She looks down at her flat front, then over at my way-too-curvy one"
LMAO NAHHH, WHAT KINDA MESS...

"The dam in Abigail's heart must have broken..."
I HAVE NO SYMPATHY FOR YOU. YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING, NOW DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES

"Looks like you inherited your mom's sexy bod."
WTF? I'VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF THIS BS. EVERYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS SOUNDS BLEGHHH

"Did you read today's paper?"
FUCK OFF, LESTOR!

"...new waffle iron Roxie gave him for his seventieth birthday"
HOLY SHIT, HE'S SEVENTY!

"This last thought scares me, and I tell myself..."
WOW. I THOUGHT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO BE HER FRIEND ANYMORE BECAUSE SHE HAD MATURED, BUT NO. SHE'S AFRAID SHE MIGHT "HURT HER" IF SHE PISSES HER OFF AGAIN.

"First on the list is that I have a new boyfriend."
NEWS FLASH, ABBY: NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU. YOU SELFISH BITCH


"..I can't think of anything else to say that would be as interesting as what I have already written."
I WANNA SHOOT MYSELF IN THE FACE


I am in no way bashing the author. I am sure the author worked long and hard on this book and good for them for publishing a whole book. I know I could never accomplish this much. I am just stating my honest opinion about the book. It's aimed towards a younger audience and perhaps that is why I didn't enjoy it...

This book was not for me but maybe someone else will like it...

Maybe...

It's possible, I guess...

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why this has such poor ratings! I thought it was hilarious.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okayyy. Not sure where to start with this one..

I saw this on Amazon and thought it looked good. The story looked interesting and the plot creative. Well, thats really where the interesting and creative stopped.

Mary-Magdelene, aka Mary, Maggie, Mare, is a 15 year old girl who lives with her mom and stepfather in her stepfathers funeral home. Maggie hears voices in her head telling her to kill people. She does act on these voices, and soon is having horrible nightmares, and is forced to go to a therapist. Maggie doesn't have many friends, and she's sort of a loner.

I didn't like this book for many reasons. First off, there was no story here. Instead of a story it was a "slice of life". It had no ending. This is a stand alone novel, therefore, it should have SOME kind of ending. It did not. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Ziltch. I didn't understand why the author had Maggie go to a therapist if she was just going to lie and not try and help herself. It made no sense.There was a passage in the book that said. Besides, if Dr. Scott can't figure me out, I doubt if a bunch of high school students can." Well, if you're constantly lying to your therapist, how is he supposed to help you?? I feel like the author added the therapist story line to make the book more interesting. Maggie also had no friends, and the people that were in her life, I felt like the author put these people in her life to make it harder. Plus, Maggie slept in a casket! Didn't anyone else find this odd? I also didn't like the use of the word "regular" that the author used so much. Example: "I struggle to keep my face regular". " He keeps his face regular". Seriously? How about " I struggle to keep my face natural"? It's a teeny tiny pet peeve of mine. I also didn't understand how Maggie was able to sometimes not listen to the voice in her head, and other times she HAD to listen. If she's able to shut the voice off and not listen, why couldn't she do it all the time? At least Maggie has a conscience, hence the nightmares. She does have that going for her. I cant figure out what she is since she was NEVER diagnosed. Yes, you heard me. She hears voices in her head telling her to kill people, acts on it, is seeing a therapist, has been in a mental institution, yet she's never diagnosed. Is she a psychopath? Schizophrenic? I guess we'll never know..

I guess that's what bothers me most about this book, aside from the empty story and no ending, is the questions left unanswered. There's murder, therapy, a definite crazy person, yet we never find out what happens. Does she keep killing? What happens to her? Does she finally get diagnosed?

I thought the idea for the story had potential, If there was more to the story, like an actual story, and an ending that tied the loose ends up, it could have been a great read.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up a review copy of You Know What To Do on a bit of a whim. It seemed interesting and I love shows that feature serial killers and troubled criminals. I'm a law student. I read about regular criminals all the time and the crazier ones are something of a macabre interest. I love shows like the Following, Criminal Minds, Dexter, etc. and Hannibal and Bates Motel are both on my 'must watch' list.

So I thought I might enjoy this book. The whole plot revolves around this girl Mary-Magdalene (also called Mary, Mare, Maggie, etc.) and the voice in her head that tells her to kill people. Seems right up my alley, right? Not quite.

It was a pretty cool idea but I just didn't really like the book itself that much. It was an awkward sort of 'slice of life' story when that slice of life is interrupted and partially controlled by the crazy, murderous imaginary voice in the main character's head. You see her home life. You see her friends. You see all that mundane stuff.

And then you see her murdering people.

More often than not the voice tells her to kill people who 'deserve' to die but the fact of the matter remains that the book is about a high school student who goes around committing murders in her small town. These aren't premeditated murders so there isn't a whole lot of preparation. She kills a handful of people throughout the book and each time she does it is because the voice tells her something along the lines of "they deserve it" and "you know what you have to do."

But then it's also a lot about Mary-Magdalene complaining about her friends who are all pretty much normal. She lies somewhat successfully to her therapist. She proposes to love animals and children - until she nearly chucks a baby down the stairs when the voice starts telling her to do so.

I might have liked the book more if something substantial had happened. But nothing really did. A few little things happened here and there. A few major life events happen, I guess, and some regular teen drama things happen to some of her friends - abuse, sexual assault, pregnancy. It's all jumbled together like it's some Degrassi/Dexter crossover.

It wasn't a bad read. But I did keep hoping something more would happen. I thought it was going to be more than just the traditional teenage fanfare but it really wasn't in the end.

Final Score: C-

[ARC Courtesy of Amazon Children's Publishers via NetGalley]

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bonnie Shimko's "You Know What You Have to Do" had me and then completely lost me in the respective journey. It tells of a young woman named Maggie who has more than a few issues to work out. This is the kind of dark humored novel that is either hit or miss, and by dark - I mean VERY dark. I once described this to someone as "Serial Mom" for teenagers, and that description is true, at least at first. Maggie has a voice inside her head that pretty much tells her to kill people or think some really morally trangressive thoughts. She's at first kills those whom she thinks she deserves it (the first death occurs in the first chapter or so) and then she goes on like no one's business, when really it affects her more than she lets on. She has a dark ironically humored voice that I caught several times, but some of it either was a complete miss or it couldn't hold onto the fabric of where it began. It seemed like it didn't know what it wanted to say through the narrative, ultimately, and in the end, it lost me by the time I got to the last page. It didn't have the same grounded attachment for overall aim in following a morally trangressive hero/heroine as say Jeff Lindsay's "Dexter", or Barry Lyga's "I Hunt Killers" series or even Dan Wells "John Cleaver" series.

I do think Shimko has an interesting narrative voice that could go in many potentially cool directions, but I think this had too many cons for pros - and it wasn't necessarily a realistic read or a darkly humored read - it failed in both by toeing the line and never coming up towards either measure.

Overall score: 2/5 stars

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

[Dear Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this and my other reviews over at The Social Potato.

An advanced reading copy was provided via Netgalley. Thanks you very much~

If there's anything that YKWYHTD has, it's an interesting premise. A character that has a voice in her head that tells her to kill people? How intriguing is that? I thought to myself this would be a freakin' awesome setting and one that would lead to a lot of drama, conspiracies, and other good stuff. The fact that it has a quirky character and an even quirkier internal monologue is A. Unfortunately, I don't know why, but along the way, it just kinda fell.

It's not really the writing's fault, though. I loved the way it was written - personal and realistic. You can totally feel the various bottled up emotions Maggie, the main character, was experiencing and I think that's a feat that not all writers have accomplished. But I guess my problems stem from purely subjective reasons.

See, I can't really decipher if the heroine is a hero, or an anti-hero. Sure, one can probably see she has common sense and all, and a nice girl at heart, but in many instances in the book, you see her doing things that are just... unforgivable, and I can't, for the life of me, understand why she did those when prior to that, she implied that she wasn't that kind of person. Killing is wrong, especially when you really don't have a ground reason to do such (like self-defense), and especially if you have a voice in your head telling you so, because that's just screwed-up, dude. But the heroine does all of these inexcusable acts, anyway, giving in to this suspicious voice in her head, allowing it to control not only her life, but others, too.

You're not god. You're not even the law. Please don't pretend to be one and think you have the absolute right to decide who deserves to live or not. Especially not when you know only certain parts of the picture.

I do understand, though, that this is fiction, so I try not to cloud my judgement based on these personal feelings of mine, but if you keep on reading a story of a character who says one thing and does another, it gets a tad bit annoying (and a cause of bad migraines. No joke, I did get a headache from this). I feel it was some sort of attempt to make the heroine more complex, an attempt to allude human beings as complicated creatures, full of contradictions. How can someone not want to be a killer, but murder in the name of a self-righteous justice at the same time? Yeah, it's all in her head, maybe so, maybe not... but still. And I find it even more hard to believe that the heroine gets away with it.. It was disturbing.

I did enjoy it to a certain extent, though. Then we get to the ending, and I'm like, "That's it?" The ending was really disappointing, and I didn't feel that there was any real, good closure. No real, logical, and satisfying explanations why there was a voice in her head encouraging her to bloody her hands, and not even a yearning to get rid of it. The end pretty much implies "What the heck, I have it, might as well use it!". Even though it has a Robin Hood-ish aspect to it, it still felt so wrong.

Needless to say, I do indeed think it could have been better, and the chain of events could have been done in a different way. I don't really like that there's no real storyline - just a teen trying to resist a voice in her head telling her to kill people, her giving in, getting more frustrated and contradicted with herself, etc. etc. and then that's it. I really was expecting for more. I may read it again with a more open mind someday, and then perhaps I may appreciate it.

[Jessie Potts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved most of this book. The writing was good and the heroine was creepy, she hears a voice in her head telling her to do bad things, and she came up with a ton of excuses in her head as to why she did things, justifications and explanations, and she really believed them. This made the story even more interesting. What did not work for me was a few things.

First the book is dark, people die, a lot of people, and all by Maggie’s hand. The book isn’t quirky, funny or anything, it was a dark and scary book and should not be labeled so misleading-ly because parents will allow their children to read this based off the blurb and it’s definitely not for everyone.

Second the secondary characters all seemed put in place soley to make Maggie’s life hard. I mean her best friend isn’t one, the boy she likes isn’t the best, and her mother comes with a host of other issues. My favorite books are when the secondary characters add dynamic to the plot, sometimes so much that I end of loving them as much as the main characters. In YKWYNTD the characters detracted.

Third and finally I felt like there wasn’t really anything big that happened, no dramatic build up, no stunning conclusion. I get the feeling that there will be more books, but it’s more of a slice of life story than a full novel so to speak.

Now after having said all that I’m a huge fan of dark books, I love murders and psychological thrillers, the fact that this was a young girl attempting to throw babies down the stairs will not appeal to everyone. I think the publishers/publicists need to do a better job marketing this to the correct audience. If darkness and murder are your things, you should read this, if you’re looking for a ‘quirky, appealing YA novel turns formulaic teen fiction on its head as funny, feisty fifteen year-old Mary Magdalene….’ Yea not so funny, quirky, or feisty, unless you call murder feisty then yes she is feisty.

[Alice4170 🌙 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐️
Very enjoyable and a bit dark at times, I highly recommend the audiobook

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

You Know What You Have to Do by Bonnie Shimko

3 stars

Mary-Magdalene Feigenbaum refuses to be known as anything else but Maggie. Maggie starts to hear a voice inside of her head telling her to kill people when she feels like someone is being cruel or unfair. The voice tells her, “You know what you have to do” and gives her ways to kill people. Maggie doesn’t want to kill people but the voice and the headaches are too much for her to fight. The books description is really misleading and I feel like my description sums up the whole entire book. The book was Maggie complains, kills, therapy session, and then repeats with a little bit of extra drama thrown in here and there. This novel is definitely quirky, but not in the good-you-dress-or-listen-to-different-music quirky. This is the I’ll-kill-you-because-you-pushed-someone-down quirky. This book isn’t enthralling but it is entertaining.

The main female character is Maggie. Maggie is said to funny and feisty in the summary. Maggie is just a really cruel person. She’s a straight-up bitch. I don’t like saying that about characters, but I had no sympathy for Maggie when it came to her situation. As the novel went on I found myself disliking her more and more. By the end of the novel I despised her and thought she was really cruel. I got tired of her complaining about her mother and even when she learned more about why she does the things she does, she was still cruel to her. Maggie has a whole lot more problems than voices in her head. She needed that insane asylum, but she didn’t need it for what they were putting her in for. Maggie’s point of view is one the best when it comes to being a pathological liar. Maggie lies about everything to everyone. She’s also really mean to her supposed friends and I don’t get why she treats people so badly. I would think she would want people around, but by the end of the novel she had hardly anybody left.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 2

The main male character is… I’m not really sure. There was a love interest, but I’ve forgotten his name. We’ll call him Jerk-Face. Jerk-Face is the epitome of jerkiness. He goes through girls like tissues and has great pick up lines and pretends to like people. I could care less about Jerk-Face. The real guy that I liked was Lester. I hated how cruel Maggie was to him. They had been close growing up and he was a nice kid. He was really creepy though, but I think that Maggie shouldn’t have been so cruel towards him because in all honesty he was probably her only real friend for a long time.

Swoon Worthy Scale: These boys are all irrelevant and weird. I don’t like any of them or the swoons coming. I feel like getting a rape whistle and running. Jerk-Face: 1 Lester: 1

The Villain- The voice in Maggie’s head is the villain, but I feel like the voice was never really justified. She briefly said what she thought the voice was coming from and then brushed it aside. This voice also went away while she was locked up and came back the minute she was about to go home. This made absolutely no sense to me because I’m pretty sure that Maggie’s case of schizophrenia doesn’t work like that.

Villain Scale: Insanely Flawed- 3

My favorite character out of the whole novel was Harry, Maggie’s step-father. Harry was probably the only character in the whole entire novel that I liked or sympathized when something bad happened to them. Harry was a pretty well-developed side character. He had depth and a story. Harry made a lot of the story enjoyable for me. Abigail, Maggie’s best friend, is probably one of the worst friends I’ve read about in YA. I’ve come across quite a few of them, but Abigail makes the list. She seemed like a genuine friend to Maggie and I liked her at first and then Jerk-Face enters and it’s all downhill from there. Abigail abandons Maggie and then goes back to her when she needs help and tries to go back to her again when she loses her knew friends and boyfriend. I kind of felt bad for Abigail though. She was a terrible friend, but I don’t feel like Maggie should’ve left things the way she did. I think she should’ve talked to Abigail faced to face, but then again she probably only would’ve stabbed her with some weird object. Maggie’s mom is not the best mom, but Maggie is cruel to her mom. She calls her a slut and doesn’t give her any credit. I was happy when Maggie went to see her father in prison and he told her the person that her mom really was. I thought it would change Maggie’s views, but she would prefer to deny the truth. I thought Maggie’s counselor… he was a good counselor, but Maggie made everything awkward. She’s crazy and obsesses over this guy and takes an elephant out of his office. Who does that?! It’s just so weird. I liked the guy, until Maggie started making it all weird with her awkward thoughts of them being together.

Character Scale: 5

This book isn’t bad, but it is flawed and could’ve been better. My expectations were some crazy Criminal Minds-esque episode about a teenage serial killer. In a way I got that, but I was also disappointed by it. Shimko has potential, but that isn’t always a good thing. My band director comes in to watch our rehearsals sometimes and he told our advanced team that he had potential. He said that potential is a terrible thing to have though because either you can be really good and embrace it, be OK, or be a failure at. Shimko had potential with this novel, but it just came out OK. I will give her a try though, because I did enjoy her writing, but the characters and plot holes lessened my enjoyment. I feel like I got absolutely no answers and that ending was just abrupt and a letdown.

Cover Thoughts: It’s creepy. She looks crazy and it fits, but why do her eyes look kind of red? The cover isn't bad, but I don't really like it.

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley and Amazon Children’s Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

[Rayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

Even though my rating would suggest I hated this book, this isn't so much about hating or loving as it is about being devastatingly disappointed by what turned out to be of a product with a fascinating premise and a very satisfying and deeply engrossing first few chapters. I honestly thought this would be one of those wonderful times when I find myself loving a book that for some reason everybody else has hated, but, as it turns out, I have to agree with the general rating this time. After a really good first couple of chapters, You Know What you Have to Do just fell apart.

It started with a dark, fascinating tone, a believable, self-deprecate and slightly disturbing narration on Maggie's part, and a creepy atmosphere that promised a great basis for a psychological exploration of a teenager that hears voices in her head that push her to murder, but then nothing of consequence happened in the story, Maggie turned into your typical teenager complaining about her mom and thinking about boyfriends and feuds with friends, the voices in the head came sporadically into the plot, it somehow turned into an after-school special with cliques and mean girls doing shallow things and ex-friends doing stupid, immature, irritating things, pregnant teens and near rapes, and, in the end, absolutely nothing happened or obtained resolution.

The book was not the disturbing, psychological thriller I expected it to be. It was the normal ramblings of a girl that sometimes heard voices in her head and went vigilante all of three times. Even the one time when the plot thickened and Maggie found herself being blackmailed by someone who knew her secret, the poor characterization and writing, along with the flat atmosphere of the novel, didn't allow for the necessary suspense to emerge from the situation and give the reader a thrill. Absolutely nothing felt important in this novel. Nothing was thrilling or engaging or lived up to the premise or the first interesting couple of chapters. The whole psychological aspect of the novel was severely lacking and I think it could've done with a bit more research and exploration.

I considered giving the book 2 stars, because like I said, I didn't hate it. I feel almost indifferent towards it right now in terms of liking it or not liking it, but it wasn't an enjoyable experience to read this book, quite frankly it was almost painful, and I am very disappointed by it.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride. I couldn't put this down. I know this was for young adults, but I believe it's for kids of all ages! It leaves you thinking, that's for sure!

[Kathy Byrd · Rating 2 out of 5]

What? Like honestly…. What? This book just ended. Very strange. I was enjoying it for the most part, but then it was like the author just got sick of writing, so they stopped. Very odd

[Neon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down.

This was a really enjoyable thriller and everytime that little voice came into her head I got a little bit more excited. Very well written.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's true! This book does turn formulaic teen fiction on its head. Can I get an AMEN! Perhaps, this explains the wide variety of star-ratings. Either you're going to like the change or not. For me, it was a winner! If you're looking for gore or slasher scary, you won't get it here. This is a psychological haunt that seeps into the brain and does the dirty work. What makes it frightening? The seemingly everyday ability to function with a demented voice in the head. The realism is what brings on the shiver factor. Although the tag line reads, Dexter meets Judy Blume, I'd write it as, Norman Bates say hello to Mary-Magdalene. Norman and Mary are more likely to be soul-mates than Dexter, the blood specialist working homicide.

Norman Bates, I'd like to introduce you to Mary-Magdalene.
The psychological construction of Mary is complex, consistent and deeply intriguing. We're never told what her mental illness is because just like the other characters (and herself), this is all new and happening in real-time. Like Dr. Scott and Adams, the reader is provided information and left to determine a diagnosis. However, the advantage goes to the reader because we're given access to Mary's intimate thoughts. Her ability to lie is astounding, suggesting she is highly intelligent and understands right from wrong, as well as self-preservation. On the other hand, Mary also can't seem to lie when it comes to social interaction, which makes her come across as brutally honest, awkward and a bit strange. Her justified empathy is fascinating, yet she still seems to have a conscience or at the very least, a distorted moral compass. Plus, she loves animals. I can not help but draw a comparison to the young Norman Bates and we all know how that turned out! So who is the voice in her head? Well, that is the million dollar question and would make for a great class or reading group discussion. What exactly is 'wrong' with Mary-Magadlene?

And what about that voice? All I can say is WOW! The voice in this text gets a standing ovation! I don't mean the voice in Mary's head, but rather I'm referring to the literary voice. It is seamless, flawless and convincing. The deadpan delivery takes skill and even when it would be 'normal' to heighten emotion, Shimko manages to maintain control to keep with the character. Some readers might find this too steady of an approach in certain scenes, but from a psychological standpoint this is so necessary and important. It provides more insight into the mind of the main character than any other description. So much depends on Mary's response or lack thereof, and I was pleased to see any temptation to veer from what the character demanded was avoided. It takes great discipline and Shimko flexes her writer muscles with this one!

The only thing I might poke at is the ending. It provides just enough to scrape by and qualify as a complete story, but it's hard not to want a bit more. I've gone over this a few times and I can make an argument for both adding another scene or leaving it as is. The imagination will get the better of you. Clearly there is a resolution and ending, but it might frustrate some readers. Whereas others, like myself, will enjoy pondering the possibilities of what happens next. It's beautifully annoying and again fits with the entire flow, voice and path of the story. I find that I've been arguing with the voice in my head about the ending. Isn't that ironic! Oh, and how clever!

[Christal · Rating 2 out of 5]

See this review and others like it at BadassBookReviews.com!

2.5 stars - You Know What You Have To Do by Bonnie Shimko is a difficult book to review. The writing was well-done and I was captivated by the premise while I was reading it, but I was unsatisfied with the ending and the lack of a cohesive plot. As I was reading, I thought the story was building to a large, climactic finale but it just went out with a whimper. Thinking back on it now, there doesn't really seem to be a point to this book as no unexpected reveals or actual discussions about the central event ever occur. I do think Ms. Shimko has talent; I just don't think this novel shows everything she is capable of.

Mary-Magdalene, aka Maggie, seems to be a normal teenager but, as we learn right away, she has begun hearing a voice in her head that tells her to do horrible things. I found Maggie to be an unreliable narrator because her justifications color all of her experiences. We as a reader judge her actions for what they really are, but Ms. Shimko did a very good job of making Maggie's inner excuses believable and understandable. I never really liked Maggie, except for her scenes with her step-father, but I did enjoy her sarcasm. Though this book is billed as "quirky" and with "irreverent humor," it is actually very dark... almost bleak. Maggie is super judgemental about everyone in her life and that, combined with the presence of the voice, make her a pretty miserable character.

Almost none of the other characters in this novel bare mentioning. They just seemed to be there to make Maggie's life more difficult. Her mother, Roxie, was very young when she became pregnant and she has never really acted like a parent to Maggie. Her best friend Abigail, a stereotypical ugly duckling, blossoms and leaves Maggie behind. The only hints of romance come from her neighbor, Lester, whose feelings she does not reciprocate and the new kid who ends up being not so nice. The only bright spots in Maggie's life seem to be her dog and her stepfather, Harry.

My biggest gripe about this book was how the possibility of mental illness was handled. Maggie sees a therapist because she has night terrors, but she constantly lies about and hides the fact that she hears the voice. So, even though the character receives psychological therapy, nothing is ever discussed about her actual mental issue. Because we are only shown what Maggie experiences, it is impossible to say what the voice actually is. Ending this story without ever diagnosing her issue, or even having it brought up by any other character, felt like a cop-out. Maggie never learned anything about herself, her suffering, or any way to deal with her episodes.

As I said before, I definitely think Bonnie Shimko has talent; this book just did not work for me personally. It was very readable and the pacing was super-sonic fast, but the lack of a solid conclusion left me flat. I do look forward to Ms. Shimko's future novels and hope that I am able to connect more with the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Children's Publishing for providing an ARC copy of this book!

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 Stars

I hate when a synopsis mislead me and lie. I went in hoping for a quirky, fun read like it says, but instead, all I got was a very dark, slightly insensitive story about a teenage murderer. This is not a light or simple read. Quite frankly, I'm surprised I even finished it.

Maggie, as a character is very dull. There is close to no fight or feelings of remorse (that don't feel forced and awkward) in the book. Every time the voice comes into her head, I waited, hoping that she would fight back and show that weirdo who's boss! That doesn't happen. Ever. She gives into the voice almost immediately and it really frustrated me. Also, Maggie doesn't sound like, nor does she act like a fifteen year old. When I first started reading this, I honestly thought she was just starting middle school and not already in high school.She's very petty and whiny, Bonnie Shimko did a poor job trying to get the protagonist to sound and seem the right age. I mean, I don't even know thirteen year olds who would allow their parents to drive them to their first date. That is just so weird!

I hated how, for every new thing/person introduced in the story, there is immediately a summary or a bunch of facts about it. Although I don't mind this happening a few times I cannot stand to have it right away for every single thing. Especially when it's on things that are never mentioned again in the book. The ending isn't much of an ending either. It just sort of stops and that's it. It isn't a cliffhanger, where she's about to die or something intense and cool that leaves readers wanting more. It's confusing and odd, I didn't care for it at all.

Sadly, the only good thing I can say about this book is that I got through it. And I know that sounds awfully mean but even thinking back to everything that I like and dislike about this book, the like portion is nothing. I would not recommend this to anyone. It isn't interesting, there is no fight in the protagonist that keeps me on my toes about what will happen next. Everything just kind of...sucked.

For more reviews chick out my blog:A Lot Like Dreaming

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I loved the narrator's voice, and for me that is the most important element in a first person narrative. It was smart and witty and what a unique look inside the head of someone who hears voices. So many times authors cannot get humor to come across the way it was intended. This book was brilliant at humor, and because of the subject matter this was all the more difficult.

The thought provoking question came through in much of the inner dialogue. Who deserves to die? Who deserves to live? We all make mistakes, but when those choices are wrong does that mean we should pay? Mary wrestles with this as she murders man after man. She placates her conscience by repeatedly telling herself that each of the men were evil. And they were so does that make her right or does that make her a murderer? The notion of justice plays an important role in the determination of whether Mary is a heroine or a villain. And that is the crux of the novel. Where do we, the readers, place her? She is a very likeable character who commits some heinous acts. The ability to restrain herself while she is babysitting is an important scene in the book. This shows that Mary can resist the voice which means that the times she does not restrain herself she is actively choosing to murder. This is pretty heavy for teens to think about, and a concept that I think is important for them to question themselves. Where do they stand on the death penalty, mercy killings and vigilante justice?

The ending was just bizarre though. I had kinda hoped for more. After all she had killed 3 men and then nothing? There needs to be a balance to justice. You can't go around killing men (evil men, sure), and then not expect punishment. Perhaps there is to be a sequel which will delve more into Mary's judgement.

[Tianna Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talking to yourself is normal, but what happens when someone inside your head starts talking to you? The voice isn't telling you that you look pretty today either, it's telling you to murder. That's exactly what the main character of this book, Mary Magdalene has to deal with. She faces a constant battle with an unfamiliar voice in her head telling her to kill numerous people that have hurt people close to her. The voice is strong and demanding so she finds herself committing the murders, to silence the voice.

Sounds like a great read right? Not so much..

I was able to relate to the fact that I too find myself enraged at people that hurt people close to me, however I would never kill them. That's about the only similiarity. Mary Magdalene is a rather under-developed character personality wise so it's kind of hard to get attached and feel sympathy for her. The idea of a book that's inside the mind of a serial killer teenager is captivating but it would've been way better if Maggie was more complex and interesting. The story lacked diving into actually who Maggie is and her background, which would've made for a way more personable read...considering the problem is rooted in her father, a convicted murderer, who's hardly mentioned.

I would've liked the book more if something more substantial had happened but it was rather repetitive and boring. After the second time of the voice appearing and saying exactly what Maggie needed to do to kill her next victim, it was easy to predict that indeed she was going to do EXACTLY as the voice told her.

Overall, the book was a great idea but failed to live up to my expectations of a fast-paced, mysterious, "can't put it down" novel.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm starting to read more YA lit just because there's so much of it available now. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and this was one I chose to measure the fuss. I'm glad I chose it because it was much much better than I anticipated. I used to think YA lit was dumbed down; I was wrong. At least I was wrong as that notion applies to this book. I really enjoyed it. The author has great insight into the thoughts and feelings of adolescent girls, and I really liked that she gave Maggie the sense to learn lessons from what happened to her. Of course there's a moral dilemma here since what Maggie does is horrific, but the reasons she does what she does are almost admirable. It's hard to judge Maggie, which I think is what the author had in mind. The book has a satisfactory ending, but I can't help but wish there were a sequel for Maggie. Does she continue to manage what she has come to realize is something that may always be with her in some form or another, and can she continue to battle the evil in favor of the good even if that's a little questionable. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good read with some thought provoking issues.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about a whole new take on YA reading! This is dark, scary and a real page turner with a quirky heroine, a snarky attitude and a great plot!

Fifteen-year-old Mary Magdalene Feigenbaum is a girl with a problem. She hears a voice in her head that tells her: 'You know what you have to do'...and it wants her to kill, seek revenge for wrongs done to those she cares about. Accompanying the voice, comes pain, even professional help does no good, of course she isn't exactly honest with anyone about what is truly wrong. Every time she gives in, there are resulting, mounting problems.

Maggie tries to resist, but its tough. Can she win? Can she quiet the voice?

Maggie is a great character, suffering through more than most teens, but with an attitude that makes you love her. Her mental commentary is brilliant!

This ARC edition was provided by NetGalley and Amazon Children's Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

[Kelly Hager · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I was expecting something a little closer to Serial Mom. What I got was a truly creepy novel about a girl who is told to kill---by a voice in her head.

I do wish we had seen Maggie try to resist the voice in her head (like REALLY try) because I feel like most people would need some major coercing in order to murder someone else. Even if that person was an awful human being.

And that was the part of the story that interested me the most---the Dexter-ish idea of killing people who "deserve it."

I hope there will be a sequel. I'd like to see if (a) Maggie gets the help she needs and (b) can continue to get away with the killing.

(Because honestly, she's got a knack for it. Multiple murders and no one even looks in her direction! And she feels guilty, yes, but not as guilty as you'd think someone would feel after having committed multiple murders.)

Definitely a very interesting book, but I think it would've benefitted from being a little bit longer.

[Nan Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number one: I love creepy. Number two: I love a unique voice. Number three: I Iove this book.

It's pretty hard (CRAZY HARD!) to create a protagonist that a reader can (dare I say it?) like and care about who is also a murderer and a schizophrenic who many times obeys the violent voice in her head. I mean, the murdering thing, even if some of the victims were deserving, should be a turn-off, right? And the goading voice suggesting atrocities should make your skin crawl, correct? But they don't. Weird, huh? Instead you're left somehow identifying with the aggressor instead of the victims and rooting for her to do... and sometimes not do... the right thing:-)

You Know What You Have to Do was a joy to read. You're a tricky one Bonnie Shimko!

[Melissa Wehunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. And that took me totally by surprise. I figured I'd like ok... but I thought it was awesome. I found the characters quirky and compelling and the story intriguing. The only reason I didn't 5 star it, is I feel like it kind of lost steam towards the end.... she could have done cool stuff with the story to make it "deeper"... but then, I might watch too much Supernatural for my own good. So... Still though: a strong, fast, physiological thriller.

[TheGremlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

A copy of this book was generously provided to me by the publisher via netgalley. All opinions herein are mine and were not influenced by the author or publisher in any way.


This book was definitely not for me. Maybe it’s because I’m not in it’s target audience. Certainly, had I read this book 10 years ago (I’m in my late 20’s now), I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. After sitting through countless critical reading courses and a few psychology courses (necessary for my degree ‘n all), I can safely say that what would be an enjoyable read for a teen turned into a nightmare for an adult.

First, however, let’s talk about what I did like.

I absolutely love the adults. I felt horribly sorry for both Roxie and Lonnie Kraft. Roxie, because she got the short end of the stick, so to speak, after she got pregnant with Maggie. Her parents died, her former boyfriend (Lonnie) ended up in the pen for killing his mother, and she was stuck in a loveless marriage with someone 30+ years her senior, all so she could provide for a baby she wasn’t ready to have. I felt immensely sorry for her and her situation, and in a weird, disconnected way, for Maggie, because she just doesn’t know.

I actually really liked Dr. Scott, too. Maggie spends a lot of time crushing on him, but once you actually ignore her blather about marrying him and adding feminine touches to his house (like curtains), he’s actually not that bad a guy. He even -gasp- calls her out on lying blatantly to him. It was at this point in the novel that I thought maybe I could take some of it seriously, but definitely not all of it.

Shimko’s writing flows well, also. While there’s a bit of a disconnect between Maggie, who is our (definitely) unreliable narrator, and the reader, Shimko writes Maggie’s views well and doesn’t hold back.

But that’s about as far as the things I liked goes. So let’s talk about the things I didn’t like, because it’s actually only a couple of things, but for me, they’re major.

At one point in the novel, Maggie goes out on a date with this guy from school, Jacob, who proceeds to feel her up in the back of the movie theater, and has the nerve to get mad when she tells him ‘no’. (Personal opinion time: I actually like sitting in the back of the theater for reasons unrelated to getting felt up, which includes no children as well as an ability to see the screen better.) Maggie complains to her friend, Abigail, who’s been reading a bunch of those teen mags that actually have really terrible advice. Abigail proceeds to tell Maggie that she “asked for it” (in other words, of course, but that phrase stands). Actually, what she said can’t be paraphrased. Here it is:

“Well, no wonder. You never sit in the back row unless you mean business. It gives a guy permission to do whatever he wants.” ... “Whatever Jacob did isn’t his fault. You gave him mixed signals.” (p 128 from the digital ARC)

Um, no. No, Abigail, it doesn’t. This is victim-blaming in the worst way. At best, Abigail has been lead to believe this by her teen mags (like Cosmo and Redbook, which give ok hair tips, but nothing else worth reading, especially articles related to anything relationship or sex); at worst, Abigail has been lead to believe this by her parents, friends, and anyone else that keeps telling her that. But what bugs me is that no one bothers to correct her. No one says, “It’s really not your fault, Maggie.” No one tells Abigail it’s “not her fault”, either, when she has her own boy-related issues later in the novel.

The victim-blaming doesn’t fly with me, at all, and it’s a subject that has to be touched carefully in books. I don’t mind it when it’s utilized well and ends up actually having a happy ending, but perpetuating the cycle is a sore spot for me, even as someone who’s never been a victim.

Another thing I couldn’t stand was Maggie’s treatment of pretty much everyone around her, with the exception of her dog. She doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of friendship, or family. She constantly thinks badly of everyone around her (including going so far as to call someone she doesn’t even know a “slut”, just to appease Abigail, only to deny friendship with Abigail). She calls Abigail “frog face” because she wears a retainer at the beginning of the novel. She constantly refers to Roxie as being “easy” (mostly because she doesn’t know Roxie’s story with Lonnie, and she is constantly fueled by rumors floating around her small town about Roxie, but she doesn’t bother digging for the truth, and when it finally comes out, she still refers to Roxie as easy.)

Maggie as a character bothered me, truthfully. I don’t really know where the author was going with her as a character, if she intended for her to be experiencing symptoms of schitzophrenia, or if it was something else entirely. Nothing much actually happens in the book except Maggie goes around killing people, and cleaning up after herself. So here’s the thing: if this is supposed to be Maggie experiencing what would later be diagnosed as schitzophrenic symptoms (not necessarly the disorder itself, but she does display auditory hallucinations), I have a hard time believing it. If, on the other hand, it’s intended as a commentary on the human condition (or just the teenage condition) and the nature of good and evil, it’s a big bogged down in all the teenage melodrama.

But what bugged me the most? I felt like there was no plot. Oh, sure things happened. But to what end? I felt like it wasn’t a complete story--I was left reading what was 5 of 6 total chapters, and the last one happened to be lost somewhere. Nothing happens to Maggie. At least two (possibly three) people know she’s killed someone, and no one does anything about it. Yes, she’s killed bad people. But the vigilante angle that Maggie tries to work doesn’t do so well, and I find it hard to believe that cops aren’t suspicious of (at least) three deaths in such a small period of time in a small town. Really, I wanted Maggie to be caught. I wanted the story to come full circle, and at least have closure, but I, as a reader, was denied.

So over-all, I’m actually fence-sitting almost exactly half-way between liking it and not liking it. As I said before, if I’d been 10 years younger, I’d probably have really enjoyed it. But as an adult? Not so much. Definitely recommending to teens who want a quick read that’s different from normal faire.

[Robin (ReadItRobi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billed as “Judy Blume meets Dexter” this 2013 YA release surprised me in many ways. At first, I expected a bloodbath, instead I was met with a teenage girl full of emotion battling an evil voice in her head. The only problem is, the voice instructing her to kill seems to be trying to protect her loved ones by knocking off the people who hurt them.

This is a short YA novel published more than 5 years ago, so don’t expect to be treated to characters expounding on what’s appropriate using today’s sensibilities on mental health and date rape. Instead you’ll find a few things to disagree with, but those that may certainly still be pervasive today. Posession or psychosis? The author artfully avoids dealing with this question, even as she illustrates the MC’s access to mental health care, that she doesn’t fully take advantage of. In another flaw, one teen girl berates our MC for sitting in the back row of the movie theater as a tacit agreement to being groped.

Even with my qualms about these factors, this book still surprised me with the depth of feeling the author was able to wring out of our main character Maggie and her tender relationship with her step-father, her burgeoning understanding of her mother’s sacrifices, and her anxiety surrounding the meeting of the father she never knew. I felt my heart droop for Maggie as she shut herself away from the world in an attempt to stop meeting the demands of the voice.

The ending seems as if someone chopped the story a bit short, but I quite enjoyed this backlist beauty. 4 stars

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Title: You Know What You Have to Do
Author: Bonnie Shimko
Format: ebook

Quick Take: In addition to the usual concerns of a fifteen-year-old girl, Maggie Feigenbaum finds herself responding to a voice in her head instructing her to kill those who have wronged her friends.

Thoughts: There's just so much to unpack that I don't know where to start. First of all, there's a scene where an obvious rape is described and it just gets swept over. Like, tf!? And that same character had basically sexually assaulted the lead character earlier in the book and was victim blamed by his later victim. And said later victim would refer to his next "girlfriend" as a whore. That by itself gives this book a 1-star rating.

Second of all, there's no character development of Maggie. All we know is that she has a voice in her head that tells her to kill "bad" people but there's no internal struggle about how she deals with the voice or how she feels about being a killer. Like...how can there not be some kind of struggle about that? She's in therapy but she's spends more time daydreaming about marrying the therapists than thinking about her murderous alter ego.


The dialogue is cringey at best, the mom character was not even needed; actually none of the characters but the stepdad was needed but he dies at the end so wtf!

Ratings: 1 out of 5 Stars

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had potential but it was held back by being YA

So I read You Know What You Have to Do by Bonnie Shimko, and honestly, I have mixed feelings. The story itself is actually really interesting. You’ve got a girl who clearly has some sort of mental health issue maybe schizophrenia or something along those lines and she feels compelled to kill certain people. That alone could’ve been a deep, psychological thriller.

But because it’s written as a young adult book, the story kind of dances around the heavy stuff. It keeps dipping into school drama, friend issues, and crushes, which takes away from the darker, more complex layers that could’ve been explored. It’s like the book had this amazing, chilling foundation, but it never got the chance to really go there because it had to stay “light enough” for the YA category.

This honestly felt like a story that should’ve been adult fiction. If it were, I think we could’ve gotten a much deeper dive into her mind, her motives, and that psychological unraveling that makes thrillers so good.

It actually reminded me of S.T. Ashman’s I Kill Killers, just a younger, toned-down version of that vibe. The concept? Fantastic. The execution? A bit undercooked.

Overall, I’d say it’s okay a solid read with a great premise that left me wanting more.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)

[Sarah Goodner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason this one earned a second star is because the plot was decent. The character development and dialog, however, was laughable. Maggie, the narrator, is a high school student who starts to hear voices that tell her to kill, and she has to obey or suffer physical pain. As she tells the story, it reminded me of the vocabulary and dialect more indicative of a ten-year-old than a teenage girl.

The end was really terrible, though, and I don't mean tragic. I really didn't care enough about any of the characters for there to be a tragedy. She could have killed off the entire cast of characters, and it would have been an improvement. Every character came off shallow, forced, and stupid. The fact that she ends up in a mental institution for depression without anyone diagnosing any signs of schizophrenia was completely implausible and insulting to anyone who knows anything about psychology or mental health.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book that straddles the mystery-horror line. It's not quite a mystery but not quite horror. So I'll just put it on both shelves! You'll figure it out.

This was a quick and very engaging read, but the ending was unsatisfying. I feel like I'm owed a sequel, so I can see where Mary-Magdalene headed next in life. Also, while the book is contemporary, Mary-Magdalene's friend Abigail sounds and acts like a Sweet Valley High character, and I do not mean that as a compliment to Abigail or to the writing. Something about that character and her contemporaries feels intensely dated and it is clearly unintentional.

Three stars, again based on the "couldn't put it down" rule.