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See No Evil
This spellbinding haunted-house story takes place within the confines of a grand London mansion, a place where shadowy characters are always coming and going, almost like ghosts. But when twelve-year-old Nettie’s beloved tutor disappears, the cloistered yet savvy girl must pull her head out of the sand and find out why. In her search, she makes a friend and turns detective, coming apart yet coming alive as she discovers deeply disturbing things about her father and how he funds her family’s extravagant lifestyle – through human trafficking. The award-winning author’s new novel is a rich and riveting story about the dangers of turning a blind eye to unsightly events and unsavory possibilities.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 2009
About the author
Jamila Gavin
90 books69 followersJamila Gavin was born in Mussoorie, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas, to an Indian father and an English mother. Jamila has written many books with multicultural themes for children and young adults. She won the Whitbread Children’s Book Award in 2000 and was runner-up for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Her work has been adapted for stage and television. Jamila Gavin lives in England.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 10, 2015
Originally rated G by Melissa Dwyer
At first I thought this book was going to be about ghosts, but I was wrong. It tells the story of a young girl, Nettie, who has her eyes opened on her charmed life and all of the evil that is going on around her. It was an interestiong read and some kids will enjoy it.
Publishers Weekly
Whitbread winner Gavin (Coram Boy) holds nothing back when plotting her layered novel about human trafficking, and the end result is shocking, though the story is occasionally confusing to wade through. The book follows Nettie, a spoiled 12-year-old, as she adapts to a gargantuan new home in present-day London and, later, to a prestigious school after years of homeschooling. Nettie's privileged setup takes a dark turn when her beloved live-in tutor, Miss Kovachev, disappears, leaving behind a mysterious journal. With the help of the doorman's son, Nettie attempts to find her and uncovers some sinister family secrets. Nettie's discoveries are sandwiched between excerpts from Miss Kovachev's diary: her leaving Bulgaria in shame; her arduous journey to London while pregnant; and her involvement in an undercover investigation attempting to link Nettie's father to an international trafficking ring. While Nettie is infuriatingly naïve as a heroine, she feels realistic, given her sheltered upbringing. Though it can feel like Gavin is trying to cover too much ground at once, a slow stream of revelations and the book's rich sense of setting give it the air of a modern gothic mystery. Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
VOYA
Nettie's sheltered lifestyle has featured unimaginable opulence and riches for twelve years, with her parents seeming otherworldly. Vlad, her mysterious, powerful father, is frequently away handling his shadowy business. Her beautiful mother Peachy's avocation is luxurious pampering. Changes begin after Nettie's beloved tutor, Nina, suddenly vanishes, a ghostly presence appears, and ancient Great Aunt Laetitia, formerly a premier ballerina, arrives. Presumed gothic suspense with lurking vampires fades as Benny, the doorman's son, admits to playing ghost and Nina's diary surfaces. It reveals her being sold into slave labor trafficking and her disappearance a kidnapping to silence her syndicate knowledge. Laetitia tutors Nettie, also a ballerina, focusing upon Swan Lake, which the plot clearly mimics. Becoming shrewder, Nettie asks to enroll in regular school and witnesses Vlad deftly bribing her admission by a lavish donation. Meanwhile Benny locates and rescues Nina, and as Nettie is dancing Swan Lake for a recital, her father disappears from the audience before being revealed as head of the trafficking syndicate. Symbolically a vampire, Nettie's father sucks lives and souls from his prey including Nettie's, as her controlled lifestyle was equally victimizing. Nina's situation is the real focus with her diary narration interspersed throughout, but as her words turn the plot virtually transparent, readers will be far ahead of the story's slower revelations. Vlad's vanishing fits his vampire persona, but his and Peachy's silence exclude their views and rationale, leaving much unanswered. In any case, this novel compellingly simplifies and demonstrates a complex subject for younger females. Reviewer: Lisa A. Hazlett
Alan Review
Antonietta (Nettie) Roberts has led a life of luxury so far in her twelve years. She has her own nanny, her own butler, her own chauffeur, even her own suite of rooms to run through. She has also never attended a formal school. She was tutored for as long as she could remember by Miss Kovachev. Suddenly, Miss Kovachev deserts Nettie and all of her dreams without leaving so much as a note. Nettie's father, Vladimir, adores his little girl and will do most anything to make her happy. Unfortunately, this could mean that he would do illegal things. Nettie and her new friend, Bennie, learn all about seeing, hearing, and speaking evil in Regent Mansion in London, England. What kind of secrets does Nettie's home hold? The mystery does not unfold until the absolute end! Ages 12+. Reviewer: Mary E. Schmutz
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9–Something strange is happening at Nettie’s London home. Her beloved tutor, Miss Kovachev, has mysteriously departed, and there appears to be a ghostly figure of a boy in the shadowed hallways of Regent Mansion. Almost 13, Nettie is beginning to resist being the sheltered only child of rich, indulgent parents, Vlad and Peachy Roberts. Then Great-aunt Laetitia comes to live at the mansion, and Nettie’s independence and love of the arts grow as she is invited to study ballet with this once-celebrated ballerina. She explores her former tutor’s room, seeking clues, and finds a hidden notebook written in Miss K’s native Bulgarian, a poignant diary. Nettie also meets the “ghost,” Benny, a boy from Barbados who lives in the mansion’s basement with his father, the Roberts’s doorman. Benny aspires to be a secret agent and is adept at computer hacking. He reveals a hidden back staircase that accesses the many levels of the mansion and implies knowledge of Nettie’s father’s secretive business while recalling the rule of the three monkeys, referenced in the title. Persuading her parents to send her to school, Nettie finally escapes the confines of her well-guarded home and meets Raisa, a student from Bulgaria, who, along with Benny, helps in the suspenseful resolution of the missing tutor. Nettie also learns the terrible truth about her father’s wealth. This well-written novel has descriptive language, atmosphere, and lots of intrigue as it moves to a stunning conclusion.–Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT
Kirkus Reviews
The author of Coram Boy (2001) again tells several affecting tales at once-but here they're all weighed down by a baroque literary artifice and a gooey, simplistic ending. Cocooned in total luxury thanks to her genial, fabulously wealthy father, 12-year-old Antonietta is impelled to take her first hesitant steps toward independence by the sudden disappearance of her beloved tutor Miss Kovachev and the appearance of Benny, a guard's son, who flits about playing minor pranks when he's not hacking the household computer systems. Miss Kovachev leaves behind a journal which, though written in Bulgarian, evidently begins translating itself in Nettie's dreams to present a harrowing account of a clandestine trade in Eastern European girls smuggled into England as short-lived sweatshop labor. It's all true, as Nettie discovers later on, and-gasp-her father is involved. When the police finally arrive her father makes a clean escape, her trophy mom retires to another estate and Nettie, joyously reunited with Miss Kovachev, goes off to try for a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School. It's a muddle, with good parts but no center. (Fiction. 11-13)
At first I thought this book was going to be about ghosts, but I was wrong. It tells the story of a young girl, Nettie, who has her eyes opened on her charmed life and all of the evil that is going on around her. It was an interestiong read and some kids will enjoy it.
Publishers Weekly
Whitbread winner Gavin (Coram Boy) holds nothing back when plotting her layered novel about human trafficking, and the end result is shocking, though the story is occasionally confusing to wade through. The book follows Nettie, a spoiled 12-year-old, as she adapts to a gargantuan new home in present-day London and, later, to a prestigious school after years of homeschooling. Nettie's privileged setup takes a dark turn when her beloved live-in tutor, Miss Kovachev, disappears, leaving behind a mysterious journal. With the help of the doorman's son, Nettie attempts to find her and uncovers some sinister family secrets. Nettie's discoveries are sandwiched between excerpts from Miss Kovachev's diary: her leaving Bulgaria in shame; her arduous journey to London while pregnant; and her involvement in an undercover investigation attempting to link Nettie's father to an international trafficking ring. While Nettie is infuriatingly naïve as a heroine, she feels realistic, given her sheltered upbringing. Though it can feel like Gavin is trying to cover too much ground at once, a slow stream of revelations and the book's rich sense of setting give it the air of a modern gothic mystery. Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
VOYA
Nettie's sheltered lifestyle has featured unimaginable opulence and riches for twelve years, with her parents seeming otherworldly. Vlad, her mysterious, powerful father, is frequently away handling his shadowy business. Her beautiful mother Peachy's avocation is luxurious pampering. Changes begin after Nettie's beloved tutor, Nina, suddenly vanishes, a ghostly presence appears, and ancient Great Aunt Laetitia, formerly a premier ballerina, arrives. Presumed gothic suspense with lurking vampires fades as Benny, the doorman's son, admits to playing ghost and Nina's diary surfaces. It reveals her being sold into slave labor trafficking and her disappearance a kidnapping to silence her syndicate knowledge. Laetitia tutors Nettie, also a ballerina, focusing upon Swan Lake, which the plot clearly mimics. Becoming shrewder, Nettie asks to enroll in regular school and witnesses Vlad deftly bribing her admission by a lavish donation. Meanwhile Benny locates and rescues Nina, and as Nettie is dancing Swan Lake for a recital, her father disappears from the audience before being revealed as head of the trafficking syndicate. Symbolically a vampire, Nettie's father sucks lives and souls from his prey including Nettie's, as her controlled lifestyle was equally victimizing. Nina's situation is the real focus with her diary narration interspersed throughout, but as her words turn the plot virtually transparent, readers will be far ahead of the story's slower revelations. Vlad's vanishing fits his vampire persona, but his and Peachy's silence exclude their views and rationale, leaving much unanswered. In any case, this novel compellingly simplifies and demonstrates a complex subject for younger females. Reviewer: Lisa A. Hazlett
Alan Review
Antonietta (Nettie) Roberts has led a life of luxury so far in her twelve years. She has her own nanny, her own butler, her own chauffeur, even her own suite of rooms to run through. She has also never attended a formal school. She was tutored for as long as she could remember by Miss Kovachev. Suddenly, Miss Kovachev deserts Nettie and all of her dreams without leaving so much as a note. Nettie's father, Vladimir, adores his little girl and will do most anything to make her happy. Unfortunately, this could mean that he would do illegal things. Nettie and her new friend, Bennie, learn all about seeing, hearing, and speaking evil in Regent Mansion in London, England. What kind of secrets does Nettie's home hold? The mystery does not unfold until the absolute end! Ages 12+. Reviewer: Mary E. Schmutz
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9–Something strange is happening at Nettie’s London home. Her beloved tutor, Miss Kovachev, has mysteriously departed, and there appears to be a ghostly figure of a boy in the shadowed hallways of Regent Mansion. Almost 13, Nettie is beginning to resist being the sheltered only child of rich, indulgent parents, Vlad and Peachy Roberts. Then Great-aunt Laetitia comes to live at the mansion, and Nettie’s independence and love of the arts grow as she is invited to study ballet with this once-celebrated ballerina. She explores her former tutor’s room, seeking clues, and finds a hidden notebook written in Miss K’s native Bulgarian, a poignant diary. Nettie also meets the “ghost,” Benny, a boy from Barbados who lives in the mansion’s basement with his father, the Roberts’s doorman. Benny aspires to be a secret agent and is adept at computer hacking. He reveals a hidden back staircase that accesses the many levels of the mansion and implies knowledge of Nettie’s father’s secretive business while recalling the rule of the three monkeys, referenced in the title. Persuading her parents to send her to school, Nettie finally escapes the confines of her well-guarded home and meets Raisa, a student from Bulgaria, who, along with Benny, helps in the suspenseful resolution of the missing tutor. Nettie also learns the terrible truth about her father’s wealth. This well-written novel has descriptive language, atmosphere, and lots of intrigue as it moves to a stunning conclusion.–Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT
Kirkus Reviews
The author of Coram Boy (2001) again tells several affecting tales at once-but here they're all weighed down by a baroque literary artifice and a gooey, simplistic ending. Cocooned in total luxury thanks to her genial, fabulously wealthy father, 12-year-old Antonietta is impelled to take her first hesitant steps toward independence by the sudden disappearance of her beloved tutor Miss Kovachev and the appearance of Benny, a guard's son, who flits about playing minor pranks when he's not hacking the household computer systems. Miss Kovachev leaves behind a journal which, though written in Bulgarian, evidently begins translating itself in Nettie's dreams to present a harrowing account of a clandestine trade in Eastern European girls smuggled into England as short-lived sweatshop labor. It's all true, as Nettie discovers later on, and-gasp-her father is involved. When the police finally arrive her father makes a clean escape, her trophy mom retires to another estate and Nettie, joyously reunited with Miss Kovachev, goes off to try for a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School. It's a muddle, with good parts but no center. (Fiction. 11-13)
March 7, 2019
This story was about a young girl named Nettie whose tutor disappears from her home. She sets out on a quest to find what has happened to her much loved tutor. She is faced with her "haunted house", gossip, and rumors surrounding her family. Her life as she knows it is not what it seems. She is faced with truth behind her life.
Even though this book was very good, I do not think that the summary given does the book very much justice. When I read the summary, I thought that this book was going to be a haunted-house, but that was not the case. It was more about unlocking the secrets behind her life and everyone around it. I do think that this book does a great job to capture the life of a 12 year old girl. She fights with wanting to lead a normal life while at the same time she likes where she is at. With that said, I do not think I would have read the book if the summary was something different.
Even though this book was very good, I do not think that the summary given does the book very much justice. When I read the summary, I thought that this book was going to be a haunted-house, but that was not the case. It was more about unlocking the secrets behind her life and everyone around it. I do think that this book does a great job to capture the life of a 12 year old girl. She fights with wanting to lead a normal life while at the same time she likes where she is at. With that said, I do not think I would have read the book if the summary was something different.
May 10, 2015
i found this book very interesting and mysterious, how she sees both the dark and light side of the world is amazing,how a young girl with a great deal of innocence is shown the dark side of her fathers work and how she tries to find the only person she loves, her tutor.
the ending was very well put but left me asking allot of questions
i give the book 3/5
the ending was very well put but left me asking allot of questions
i give the book 3/5
May 21, 2009
A quick read with dark twists as 12-year-old Nettie explores the recent disappearance of her tutor who has ties with illegal trafficking.
June 17, 2009
(Detailed review available at www.flamingnet.com)
This one just didn't do it for me. I tried. But it just wasn't the least bit interesting.
This one just didn't do it for me. I tried. But it just wasn't the least bit interesting.
July 19, 2012
Secrets and lies, good mystery and intrigue.
August 20, 2012
Not what I was expecting, but it was REALLY good! I couldn't put it down.
October 10, 2012
This book had more plot and twist then a switch back mountain, in parts of it I was sorta lost and in others it was just okay I guess is a word to describe it oh well.
October 10, 2012
I was almost half way through before I really realized this was written for kids...was still a good read
January 27, 2016
Kinda predictable but I liked how Swan Lake the ballet was woven in. It's an okay book to introduce fiction readers to the issues of human trafficking.
April 15, 2015
Simply written, but intriguing and memorable.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews