You Know What You Have to Do by Bonnie Shimko (review)

Fifteen-year-old Mary-Magdalene Feigenbaum hears a voice in her head commanding her to kill people, and she obeys. At first her victims are bullies and abusers, but now the voice calls for the blood of those Maggie cares about, including an infant she babysits and a childhood friend. Unable to confide in her emotionally distant mother or her increasingly self-absorbed best friend, she confronts the voice's demands alone, wondering if she's inherited evil from the imprisoned father she's never known. As time goes by, though, the murders are declared accidents, no one seems to mourn the loss of the dead, and Maggie becomes increasingly convinced that she might never be caught. A twisted tale of one girl's efforts to fight her darkest impulses, this intriguing novel unfortunately offers more than it delivers. While Maggie seems genuinely appalled by her actions, the vigilante quality of her murders and her ability to refuse her voice's commands when the intended victim is innocent undermine the psychological horror of a girl unable to control herself. A few close calls ratchet up the suspense, but otherwise the narrative slogs through a variety of overplayed teen dramas about overly sexualized boys, callous girlfriends, and pregnancy scares. The real draw here is Maggie's quirky, sometimes humorous narration, as she muses on both typical adolescent troubles and the problems associated with being a sociopath, and as she tries to reconcile her innate sense of justice with her murderous desires. Readers looking for a genuine scare or an intellectually compelling read might consider looking elsewhere, but those hoping for Dexter-lite may wish to have a look.