You Know What You Have to Do

Gr 9 Up—Shimko's book is billed as a psychological horror story, but readers will be torn between shaking with fear at the frightening parts and laughing at the absurd scenarios that don't quite succeed. Mary-Magdalene Feigenbaum, 15, describes why and how she killed her neighbor Lester's abusive father. She seems nonplussed about what she did except that she left a lighter with her mother's initials at the scene of the crime and is worried that she might get caught. She then murders another man by pushing him to his death and yet another by bludgeoning him with a rock. Maggie decides to do these deeds because of the voice in her head that says, "You know what you have to do." The men she kills are not sympathetic characters, but the voice also tells her to hurt innocent people. Maggie, whose father is in jail for killing his mother, has nightmares, so her mother sends her to a therapist, but the teen refuses to let on about what is really bothering her. Maggie goes about her normal routine, attending school, visiting with her best friend, hanging with her dog and stepfather. Then there is this other gruesome side of her life where she kills people. The ending offers only a slight redemption for the protagonist. In the times in which we live, it is impossible to recommend a story in which a teenager who kills three people ends with her reflecting on how she truly is a good person.—Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson, LA