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Smallville (Young Adults) #2
See No Evil
Before the legend . Before the icon . There was the teen from Smallville . Clark Kent has somehow got himself cast as lead man in the new school play. It was hardly intentional, but he's too good a guy to blow everyone out. Besides, he gets to play opposite a girl who'd be his choice for leading lady any time - the gorgeous Lana Lang. But pretty soon Clark's worried about more than just stage fright. Someone in school has taken a serious dislike to the production, beginning a murderous rampage designed to bring the curtain down . permanently. Look out for more great Smallville titles: 1. Arrival by Mike Teitelbaum (Nov '02) 3. Flight by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld (Jan '03) 4. Animal Rage by David and Bobbi Weiss (Mar '03)
Paperback
First published October 1, 2002
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191 people want to read
About the author
Cherie Bennett
135 books154 followersA popular novelist, playwright, and newspaper columnist, Cherie moves effortlessly from genre to genre, writing powerful and entertaining work, whether in literary hardcover teen fiction, mass market paperback fiction, for the stage, film and television, and for her nationally-syndicated teen advice column.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 13, 2017
I have this strange goal that is completely unnecessary and that adds nothing to my life - to read all of the YA series of Smallville, then the slightly older YA series of Smallville. Why? Who knows why I do these things. I do know that after reading the first book in the series, Arrival, that I became way less excited about this goal. Not only was the book amateurishly written, but it was such a copy of the first episode that it was somewhat dull.
Well, this surprised me - this second book was much better. Written by a different author, gone are the tedious exclamation marks, and even the dialogue isn't as corny. There's some humor slipped in the pages, nods and tributes to who Clark will eventually become, and an authenticity with the characters of the show. Although some of the abrupt shifts of point of view were off-putting, it delved deeper into Clark's psyche and made sense.
It took the basic story of Dawn and the weird play thing and made a variation episode. Since it wasn't a recap of an episode play by play and the author took liberty with the storyline, it was less predictable. Clark was fleshed out well enough, Lana and Chloe a bit, Pete just adorable, and the author really did a bang up job with Lex Luthor. The Lex scenes were likely the strongest - there's a few of them, with the dialogue authentic sounding, the teasing and the digging for secrets.
Overall a well done book for this sort - it's not award winning but it may end up being one of the best in the series by the time I'm done. I'm happy to see this author wrote a few more.
October 19, 2024
Two related but distinct series of books based on the terrific Smallville television series were published back in the day; one aimed at junior high to early high school age fans, the other geared more toward older young adults, and/or adults who loved the show. So far I’ve read two books in the older young adult series, Hauntings and Whodunnit, of which Whodunnit was clearly the best.
See No Evil is the second book I’ve tackled in the series aimed at junior high age students. Having previously read Flight, written by the same authors — Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld — which I really enjoyed as a nostalgic breather from more serious books, I found See No Evil to be every bit as good as Flight, if not better in some ways.
I realize some stress over timelines and minuscule details relating to the show, of which I’m a big fan as well, but when I read these, it is simply for enjoyment and a bit of nostalgia for the show. I really don’t nitpick such unless it’s really glaring, so you won’t find that here. The main thing in series based on a television show is to get the characters right, and Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld do a wonderful job with that. In addition, they’ve provided fans with a very charming and mildly thrilling story in the Smallville world. See No Evil captures the vibe of the early years of Smallville, and the story feels like it could be a lost episode from those seasons.
Clark’s got his crush on Lana, of course, but here in See No Evil it seems more endearing and less annoying than it became over time in the show. When Lana asks Clark to help out with the sets on the school’s play of Cyrano de Bergerac, it’s a foregone conclusion that Clark will say yes. But this is the freak-of-the-week era for the show. The leading lady, Dawn, is not only mean-spirited and full of herself, but has discovered those green rocks can make her invisible. Her huge ego and vindictiveness, not to mention her growing obsession with Clark, leads to dangerous mayhem.
What transpires is actually wonderfully done. We get the freak-of-the-week stuff, we get some spot-on exchanges between the Smallville characters, we get some very real danger and, in the end, some wistful longing by Clark concerning the secret he can’t reveal, which leads to him missing out on his big chance with Lana. The writers have imbued this entry with warmth and affection, and it has some really nice moments I can’t spoil. There is even a moment of insight when Clark discovers his superpowers can’t help him act, but thanks in part to Lex, feels a rare sense of accomplishment when he achieves something using only his human ones.
See No Evil is a quietly enchanting look back at those early years of Smallville, has a very good story for this age level — but adults can enjoy it as well — and reminds you how much you miss this show. Great stuff, highly recommended.
See No Evil is the second book I’ve tackled in the series aimed at junior high age students. Having previously read Flight, written by the same authors — Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld — which I really enjoyed as a nostalgic breather from more serious books, I found See No Evil to be every bit as good as Flight, if not better in some ways.
I realize some stress over timelines and minuscule details relating to the show, of which I’m a big fan as well, but when I read these, it is simply for enjoyment and a bit of nostalgia for the show. I really don’t nitpick such unless it’s really glaring, so you won’t find that here. The main thing in series based on a television show is to get the characters right, and Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld do a wonderful job with that. In addition, they’ve provided fans with a very charming and mildly thrilling story in the Smallville world. See No Evil captures the vibe of the early years of Smallville, and the story feels like it could be a lost episode from those seasons.
Clark’s got his crush on Lana, of course, but here in See No Evil it seems more endearing and less annoying than it became over time in the show. When Lana asks Clark to help out with the sets on the school’s play of Cyrano de Bergerac, it’s a foregone conclusion that Clark will say yes. But this is the freak-of-the-week era for the show. The leading lady, Dawn, is not only mean-spirited and full of herself, but has discovered those green rocks can make her invisible. Her huge ego and vindictiveness, not to mention her growing obsession with Clark, leads to dangerous mayhem.
What transpires is actually wonderfully done. We get the freak-of-the-week stuff, we get some spot-on exchanges between the Smallville characters, we get some very real danger and, in the end, some wistful longing by Clark concerning the secret he can’t reveal, which leads to him missing out on his big chance with Lana. The writers have imbued this entry with warmth and affection, and it has some really nice moments I can’t spoil. There is even a moment of insight when Clark discovers his superpowers can’t help him act, but thanks in part to Lex, feels a rare sense of accomplishment when he achieves something using only his human ones.
See No Evil is a quietly enchanting look back at those early years of Smallville, has a very good story for this age level — but adults can enjoy it as well — and reminds you how much you miss this show. Great stuff, highly recommended.
November 22, 2010
Saw this at the dollar store and being a hardcore Smallville fan I had to buy it!
I wish I could find all of them cause I really liked the way the author wrote the characters!
My one wish would be to have my favorite character, Lois Lane in the books, but since the books (well at least the one I read) was set in season 1, I can see why they wouldn't have her.
Great writing! Great book! Loved it!
I wish I could find all of them cause I really liked the way the author wrote the characters!
My one wish would be to have my favorite character, Lois Lane in the books, but since the books (well at least the one I read) was set in season 1, I can see why they wouldn't have her.
Great writing! Great book! Loved it!
July 4, 2023
I mean sure, this is a 20 year old book for young adults based on a TV show for teenagers and young adults - but I was both of those once. Smallville is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I've actually read a couple of these before (years ago). Written by actual writers of the show, this was a quick, enjoyable read that made me feel like I was getting an extra episode of the show.
So of course I loved it.
So of course I loved it.
November 29, 2023
I actually quite liked this. For a junior tie-in novel to TV show this was nicely written, well paced and an entertaining little adventure. The characters all sounded like themselves and it definitely felt like a missing episode of Season 1. Perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise, as I learned at the back of the book that the authors also wrote for the show, penning my favorite Season 1 episode, "Jitters."
One thing I will nitpick though is that the plot involves a girl using the meteor rocks to turn herself invisible - which is a very similar premise to the Season 1 episode "Shimmer." This time Clark's x-ray vision can't help, but he definitely used it in similar circumstances in "Shimmer." A bit odd, right?
Anyway, this time around there's a school play and someone is mad about it and picking off the cast and crew. This is a pretty cliche set up for any middle-grade/young adult story but I was pleasantly surprised that the authors put some thought into this and used it to explore Clark's character a little bit. There's nothing too deep, but I thought this was an interesting bit of insight from Jonathan Kent:
"You can't use superpowers to be an actor, right? It's going to require you to be . . . human. Which means taking risks. Something that, when you think about it, you're not that used to doing." (p. 60)
I appreciated that Clark wasn't instantly good at acting. Despite being able to easily memorize the entire play (which neither he nor the other characters manage to clock as evidence of his powers) Clark still gets nervous and freezes up/fumbles his lines and I really liked that.
Both Lex and Lana offer to help him get ready for the play, Lex with an impromptu fencing lesson in the armory and Lana by helping him run lines in the loft. Nice parallels between the two "LL"s currently in his life. Well done.
One could criticize the main antagonist as being a one-dimensional mean girl stereotype (which she is) but that was also part of the fun. "Dawn" was so over-the-top mean AND thirsty for Clark Kent at the same time, that it turned out to be very amusing.
I am going to keep my eyes open and try to pick up more of these on the second-hand market if I can, especially if I find more by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld.
One thing I will nitpick though is that the plot involves a girl using the meteor rocks to turn herself invisible - which is a very similar premise to the Season 1 episode "Shimmer." This time Clark's x-ray vision can't help, but he definitely used it in similar circumstances in "Shimmer." A bit odd, right?
Anyway, this time around there's a school play and someone is mad about it and picking off the cast and crew. This is a pretty cliche set up for any middle-grade/young adult story but I was pleasantly surprised that the authors put some thought into this and used it to explore Clark's character a little bit. There's nothing too deep, but I thought this was an interesting bit of insight from Jonathan Kent:
"You can't use superpowers to be an actor, right? It's going to require you to be . . . human. Which means taking risks. Something that, when you think about it, you're not that used to doing." (p. 60)
I appreciated that Clark wasn't instantly good at acting. Despite being able to easily memorize the entire play (which neither he nor the other characters manage to clock as evidence of his powers) Clark still gets nervous and freezes up/fumbles his lines and I really liked that.
Both Lex and Lana offer to help him get ready for the play, Lex with an impromptu fencing lesson in the armory and Lana by helping him run lines in the loft. Nice parallels between the two "LL"s currently in his life. Well done.
One could criticize the main antagonist as being a one-dimensional mean girl stereotype (which she is) but that was also part of the fun. "Dawn" was so over-the-top mean AND thirsty for Clark Kent at the same time, that it turned out to be very amusing.
I am going to keep my eyes open and try to pick up more of these on the second-hand market if I can, especially if I find more by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld.
May 7, 2013
Awesome story! I found a bunch of Smallville books at this library and they were a dollar a piece! I was a hardcore fan of Smallville until season 4 so these books are perfect to me. Some people might not like them because the lack of epic fighting scenes, but I'm more into drama and character development. See No Evil was excellent, believe it or not I laughed many times, I didn't expect that, but it happened!
Dawn was a perfect villain, her personality was really strong, same as Lex's. I love that, you can really feel them. Five stars, Clarkie!
Dawn was a perfect villain, her personality was really strong, same as Lex's. I love that, you can really feel them. Five stars, Clarkie!
December 5, 2018
These comics are incredibly amazing!!.
September 30, 2018
It was short but I liked it. I had fun reading the second book. What irritates me is that I haven't got the chance to read the first book of it because my cousin just gifted me the second book.
I was thrilled & engrossed with the story despite it being short. I wanted to know how would it end up with the spoiled brat narcissist Dawn Mills who was obsessed with Clark but Clark was in love with another girl, Lana Lang.
What I hated about Dawn is the way she acts and speaks. She thinks that she's above everyone else and has this "I get whatever I want" & "I am the best" vibes. From my perspective, I would classify her as an absolute narcissist, no wonder why her BF and her so-called best friends hated her. However, it was still wrong from them to speak behind her back and the best thing to do was to stop befriending her or perhaps advice her from time to time.
In this book, they've involved a play from a french writer that intrigued me and made me want to read it. I might once read plays when I get the chance to, like, why not?
I give the book 3 stars because I expected to see Dawn's development in character which it wasn't involved at all, sadly. Overall, the story was good. And I hope to get more books of it.
Favourite sayings from the book:
"The only way you can fail is if you give up on yourself before you even try."
"Fears are to be confronted. If you're scared of snakes, make one your pet. Scared of heights? Jump from a plane."
I was thrilled & engrossed with the story despite it being short. I wanted to know how would it end up with the spoiled brat narcissist Dawn Mills who was obsessed with Clark but Clark was in love with another girl, Lana Lang.
What I hated about Dawn is the way she acts and speaks. She thinks that she's above everyone else and has this "I get whatever I want" & "I am the best" vibes. From my perspective, I would classify her as an absolute narcissist, no wonder why her BF and her so-called best friends hated her. However, it was still wrong from them to speak behind her back and the best thing to do was to stop befriending her or perhaps advice her from time to time.
In this book, they've involved a play from a french writer that intrigued me and made me want to read it. I might once read plays when I get the chance to, like, why not?
I give the book 3 stars because I expected to see Dawn's development in character which it wasn't involved at all, sadly. Overall, the story was good. And I hope to get more books of it.
Favourite sayings from the book:
"The only way you can fail is if you give up on yourself before you even try."
"Fears are to be confronted. If you're scared of snakes, make one your pet. Scared of heights? Jump from a plane."
October 23, 2025
i’m not even lying when i say i loved every page of this . it had the humor and visuals of the show, it was so descriptive and alluring and i miss it . It’s also been a while since ive rewatched so it felt like a completely unseen plotline ? Maybe it is? I will be reading these slow because they’re so hard to find for a good price but i loved it .
October 28, 2025
The book was well written and a good time. It felt like another episode of the first season, and everybody acted in character for the most part. There were a few parts when the book said something very British for a book that took place in Kansas. Besides that, this book is a pretty good tie in novel.
December 17, 2016
No soy fan de Smallville ni de Superman en sí, pero este libro es corto y perfecto para pasar el rato.
November 23, 2018
A great book.
December 24, 2020
Thoroughly entertaining. I felt like I was watching a long lost episode. Gotta love Smallville!
August 29, 2021
This one was cute, but it wasn't the best in the series.
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October 19, 2025FRASES DESTACADAS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuLca...
December 22, 2025
An outstanding story. After the first YA novel was written as a version of the pilot episode, the fun begins, as this story is original. Set sometime early in the first season, most likely after the episode "Shimmer," as Chloe refers to the "Smallville Ghost" that turned out to be a person using invisibility via meteor rock-irradiated roses. Smallville High is producing a school play of Cyrano, and Clark Kent is involved for the same reason he always does in the show, to try to impress Lana Lang. Things turn when Dawn Mills, the lead actress with a large ego, discovers a special meteor rock that turns her invisible. I loved the idea of an invisible mean girl who learns just how much she is despised by those she believes are her friends, and that the only decent person out there is Clark.
But make no mistake, just like most of the freaks of the week that gain a semblance of wisdom from their power abuse it by hurting people. All this as Clark works from being a simple stage hand to the lead actor, obtaining the affection of Dawn, but also trying to discover why these people are being hurt. It all ends with the hero saving the day, just not getting the girl, as always. It is a well-written story, especially given that the writers of this story wrote an episode of Smallville.
In many ways, a combination of several episodes like Shimmer, which dealt with invisibility, and the mean girl episode, like the season 4 episode Spirit.
But make no mistake, just like most of the freaks of the week that gain a semblance of wisdom from their power abuse it by hurting people. All this as Clark works from being a simple stage hand to the lead actor, obtaining the affection of Dawn, but also trying to discover why these people are being hurt. It all ends with the hero saving the day, just not getting the girl, as always. It is a well-written story, especially given that the writers of this story wrote an episode of Smallville.
In many ways, a combination of several episodes like Shimmer, which dealt with invisibility, and the mean girl episode, like the season 4 episode Spirit.
April 10, 2011
ech...love the tv series and this novel was good too, I guess. For teen readers.
Clark runs into another mysterious meteor freak and tries to balance "saving lives" with "trying to impress Lana." Same old, same old.
Clark runs into another mysterious meteor freak and tries to balance "saving lives" with "trying to impress Lana." Same old, same old.
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May 17, 2010F SMA bk.2
Science Fiction
Science Fiction
March 22, 2017
Fue una lectura entretenida. Un tanto predecible, pero entretenida al estilo de un típico episodio de la tv serie Smallville.
January 7, 2023
Nada memorable, si no fuera por lo corto que es probablemente no lo habría terminado tan rapido, (si es que lo terminaba).
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews