You Know What You Have to Do

By: Bonnie Shimko

Narrated by: Cristina Panfilio

Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2013 Bonnie Shimko (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Tara M.

I reAlly enjoyed this book it starts off interesting from the beginning all the way through to the end...

A captivating read

I enjoyed this story very much. It's told from the view of a teenager with all the teenage angst & a little psychosis mixed in. I believe there was only one curse word. No sex, but it was referred to. No graphic violence, that part is left to your imagination. The narrator is the BESTI have ever listened to!! It was hard to believe all the characters were givien different voices! I do hope 2 hear her performances in the future.

Where’s The Rest?

This was a strange book. Not sure what I was missing. But, it ends with no answers. The story was intriguing and the narrator was great. But, it felt like it ended in the middle.

World's worst psychologist?

This guy earns a PhD for being cute, rather than being competent and perceptive. "You're a hard nut to crack." Weirdly inappropriate comment. Rorschach? Try the MMPI. People of all ages hide the most important info about themselves in therapy. Maggie most likely has schizophrenia, although people can hear angry (and worse) voices "in their heads" for many different reasons. This is a strange book. It *does* highlight the vulnerability of children and the general cruelty, insensitivity and obliviousness of the adults around them (includes domestic/elder abuse and animal cruelty).
Some young minds are more fragile than others. I don't know if this is the point of Shimko's book. I'm not sure I've understood the point. "I kill people and lie successfully"? Is manipulative, narcissistic Abigail allegedly the adolescent yardstick of normalcy? The narration of male voices is really bad. Does the end mean Maggie has gained control? Possibly. Doubtful.

Story strays as it progresses

What would have made You Know What You Have to Do better?

It would have been better if there were more people that the lead character had to "kill." The story starts off so well, and then seems to just fall flat. Lacks in action. Then, what action there is, the main character's personal involvement with another character/date, it has nothing to do with the main point of the story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Bonnie Shimko again?

Maybe

What aspect of Cristina Panfilio’s performance would you have changed?

Seems like she wasn't too able to do male voices.

What character would you cut from You Know What You Have to Do?

Abbigail. Her involvement in the book, again, adds nothing to the main story of the book...a young girl who hears a voice telling her to kill people that hurt others.

Any additional comments?

Initially this books seems to be on a much milder line of Dexter. However, as the book progresses, the action seems to die down.

Awfully disappointing

Don't waste your time on this one, no real storyline, ending awful, leaves you hanging, waiting for something to happen and it never does.