Legend has it that a ghost cut the head off a wooden cupid on the stairway of the Stanley house. Has the ghost returned to strike again?
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Sep 28, 2011
Myles
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Me and my reading nostalgia. The Headless Cupid was my first Zilpha Keatley Snyder book and made her my favorite author from when I couldn't remember how to say her name right let alone spell it to when I discovered Redwall.
All grown up now, this is definitely one of her best books, striking the perfect balance between troubled youth and the supernatural.
Snyder knows that the kids aren't alright, and that is what makes her books worth reading. Because yes, it's true tha More...
All grown up now, this is definitely one of her best books, striking the perfect balance between troubled youth and the supernatural.
Snyder knows that the kids aren't alright, and that is what makes her books worth reading. Because yes, it's true tha More...
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Jan 02, 2009
leigh
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Zilpha Keatley Snyder simply smacks of awesomeness. Even her name is unbelievably rad. (I’m not a huge fan of the Snyder part but it serves a great purpose in keeping the name from being painfully hip or stripper-esq.)
The Headless Cupid stirred up many of my own childhood memories and made me smile a lot. My only two issues with the book were the title and the length. The title in my humble opinion is lame as it sounds like a rejected Nancy Drew book. The length is that of More...
The Headless Cupid stirred up many of my own childhood memories and made me smile a lot. My only two issues with the book were the title and the length. The title in my humble opinion is lame as it sounds like a rejected Nancy Drew book. The length is that of More...
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Oct 04, 2009
Awallens
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When the four Stanley children meet Amanda, their new stepsister, they're amazed to learn that she studied witchcraft. They're stunned to see her dressed
in a strange costume, carrying a pet crow, and surrounded by a pile of books about the supernatural. It's not long before Amanda promises to give witchcraft
lessons to David, Janie, and the twins. But that's when strange things start happening in their old house. David suspects Amanda of causing mischief, until
they learn that th More...
in a strange costume, carrying a pet crow, and surrounded by a pile of books about the supernatural. It's not long before Amanda promises to give witchcraft
lessons to David, Janie, and the twins. But that's when strange things start happening in their old house. David suspects Amanda of causing mischief, until
they learn that th More...
Nov 12, 2010
Chris
rated it:
This was a pretty neat story. The core plot is pretty simple. David Stanley suddenly has a new stepsister and mother move into his life. Amanda is very strange and obsessed with the occult. She dresses unusual and has a rather unapproachable demeanor, not wanting to interact with the family, until she eventually opens up and lets David and the younger kids (who are 4-6 years old) join in on her love of the supernatural. She will train the "neophytes", as she calls them, in the ways of
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Apr 20, 2009
Kendall
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This is a book for fourth through sixth grade readers. I didn't like the book, and I think that if you're a student considering reading it, then you should try Sammy Keyes mysteries, The Graveyard Book, or Skeleton Creek before reading this one.
This book was a Newbery Honor book in 1971. At the time, there wasn't much out there for adolescents. Although probably good adolescent literature for its time, there are much stronger pieces of literature out there today. The plot s More...
This book was a Newbery Honor book in 1971. At the time, there wasn't much out there for adolescents. Although probably good adolescent literature for its time, there are much stronger pieces of literature out there today. The plot s More...
Jan 31, 2010
Cliff
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This was the third book by Zilpha Keatley Snyder that I have read. (Witches of Worm and the Egypt Game being the other two.) Of them, this one stuck with me the most.
Snyder has a gift for crafting believable children which can only come from years of experience and observation. The parent-child relationships, especially in the homes of single-parent children, seems to be a recurring theme with her. But she does it remarkably well. The books hold up nearly 40 years since they wer More...
Snyder has a gift for crafting believable children which can only come from years of experience and observation. The parent-child relationships, especially in the homes of single-parent children, seems to be a recurring theme with her. But she does it remarkably well. The books hold up nearly 40 years since they wer More...
Feb 08, 2012
Emma
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After David's mother dies he mostly takes care of his younger siblings, that is until his father gets remarried. Davids new step mother, Molly, has a 12 year old daughter named Amanda who is a year older than David. She claims to be part of the occult world and practices supernatural things. Everything she does is strange or rude but yet she still has a unique sense of coolness according to David. Living in an old house made David suspect that is was haunted, but with Amanda there his suspic
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Mar 10, 2010
Shauna
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This Newbery winner (1971) never won me over. I liked David's character well enough, but was completely rubbed wrong by Amanda, even while acknowledging that her characterisation was probably true enough (being a child of divorce, torn between the father who gives in to her every whim, and a mother who not only has rules, but remarries a man with four other children besides!). And while the supernatural stuff was interesting, and most likely would have been more fascinating and even scary if I
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Sep 07, 2009
Doreen
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Great book! Ms Snyder knows well how to narrate the pain of being a child with difficult parental relationships, and also the pre-pubescent fascination with the occult. The kids all sound like real children and the adults, though tangential, like real people, as well. This wasn't as good as The Egypt Game (my favorite) partly because the dramatic tension in this book didn't involve a life-threatening situation, but I will say that this book probably had more laugh-out-loud moments, mostly involv
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Aug 12, 2009
Victoria
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One of my favorite books when I was younger, any fan of ghost stories or paranormal mysteries should really enjoy this.
David Stanley tries his hardest to play the ultimate big brother to his three very different young siblings. With their mother dead, and their father often away working and preparing for remarriage, he is the one they look up to. But David is about to have problems of his own, arriving in the form of his new stepsister, Amanda. And Amanda brings more than the usua More...
David Stanley tries his hardest to play the ultimate big brother to his three very different young siblings. With their mother dead, and their father often away working and preparing for remarriage, he is the one they look up to. But David is about to have problems of his own, arriving in the form of his new stepsister, Amanda. And Amanda brings more than the usua More...
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Jul 22, 2011
Amanda
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When I turned ten, a friend of mine gave me a pack of five books by various authors for my birthday. One of them was The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I loved that book, along with three of the others (the one I didn’t like was Johnny Tremain). I read it over and over for a couple years, and then eventually abandoned it as I got older. I never forgot it, though. About a year ago, somehow Jason and I came across a copy of it, probably at a library sale or something, and I reread it. I real
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Oct 15, 2010
Abigail
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The four Stanley children - David, Janie, Esther and Blair - are fascinated by their new stepsister Amanda in The Headless Cupid, drawn by her claims to be a practitioner of the occult. When Amanda offers to teach the children about the supernatural world, the “ordeals” she arranges to test them seem mostly aimed at antagonizing her own mother Molly, whom she blames for her parents’ divorce. But when David and Amanda discover that their house was once believed to have a poltergeist, and Amanda h
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Apr 24, 2008
I was 12 when I first picked up this book, I had just move hundreds of miles away from my home to a new school new step family and knew nobody. Honestly I only desided to read it because the two main characters were David and Amanda. David and Amanda were the names of 2 cousins I missed very much.
But after that it was the story that carried it, it was the very first book I read completely and then read again. I fell in love with the characters as well as the author. At the time 1989 I co More...
But after that it was the story that carried it, it was the very first book I read completely and then read again. I fell in love with the characters as well as the author. At the time 1989 I co More...
Nov 25, 2011
Dayna
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When the four Stanley children meet Amanda, their new stepsister, they're amazed to learn that she studies witchcraft. They're stunned to see her dressed in a strange costume, carrying a pet crow, and surrounded by a pile of books about the supernatural. Amanda promises to give them witchcraft lessons. But then strange things start happening in their old house. David suspects Amanda, but is the house really haunted? What is up with the wooden cupid on the stairway - the one with the missing head
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Feb 17, 2011
Samantha-Ellen
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This book was recommended to me as a Newberry Honour book, and I really did enjoy it. The tone of the story-telling reminded me so much of the books I devoured as a kid - those sort of hidden away ones at the library which are always older than the rest and what I tended to resort to when I had read everything else or the book I wanted wasn't there. Of course, these are the ones which then kept me in the lounge room chair all weekend, and that is just what this book reminded me of - deceptively
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Jul 16, 2008
Jennifer
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I originally started reading The Headless Cupid about ten years ago, but then had to stop because I had to return it to the library or something. I began reading on the recommendation of a friend, and didn't remember particularly liking it, which made me more afraid that, despite the fact that it's a Newbery Honor book, that I wouldn't like it, just like childhood cartoons that we've cherished don't hold up to the scrutiny of our older minds. However, I did like The Headless Cupid, not only be
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Sep 25, 2011
evelyn
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Finished my book on the train to work and realized the battery on my Kindle was dead, so I grabbed a book form my classroom library I hadn't read in a while. I've been recommending this to all my kids asking for scary stories even though I hadn't read it since I was their age. It's still great, although I'm not sure that the kids looking for a scary book will be very satisfied. The only scary parts are close to the end. The characters are so well-written, though.
Jan 02, 2012
Christine
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this has been one of my all time favorites since the day i opened it up. i am not sure why i loved it so much. it has a very mysterious tone, especially the part with the girl and her ceremonies. it defiantly captures the essence of childhood, the innocence of the younger kids, and with the older girl trying to show she's cool, and course with the oldest boy being protective of his younger siblings.
Aug 22, 2010
Ana
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I read this as a young girl and loved it and recently read it again to my children and loved it even more. My 15 year old son even commented on how he liked the way she did the characters--one of the big reasons I like it so much too. It is a great read-a-loud for many ages--I read it to all my kids. The three year old didn't get into it but from ages 6-15 they were spellbound.
Jun 17, 2011
Happycat
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This book is my favorite of Zilpha Keatly Snyders, because it is full of her usual magic that could acctually be just coincidence, or is David's new step sister really a witch and does Blair really have magical powers.
It has recently come to my attention that there are two sequels to this book and I will have to get on it and read them.
It has recently come to my attention that there are two sequels to this book and I will have to get on it and read them.
Jul 02, 2008
Monica
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 22, 2011
Na
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I love this book. It is kind of a mystery.
I read this because I read the first book in school
and even did a play about it. So I got interested
and bought the next book.
I think the second book is much better than the first :)
I read this because I read the first book in school
and even did a play about it. So I got interested
and bought the next book.
I think the second book is much better than the first :)
Jan 07, 2010
Megan
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Another Zilpha Keatley Snyder book that I loved as a kid and re-read for my niece. I guess I just loved books about magic back then (and still do), mystery, and family dynamics. I hope my niece enjoys it as well.
Dec 18, 2011
Pascale
rated it:
Quick, entertaining, may not be a standout looking back. If you like a mystery and scary, but not too scary, with mystical hauntings and ghosts thrown in---you will like this!
Sep 21, 2011
m1 Kara
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Kind of a strange book. As I continued reading, I got hooked, but I don't know why! I definitely learned about the supernatural and some of the aspects of ghosts and witchcraft.
Feb 07, 2010
Phoebe
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The appealing Stanley kids make a first appearance in this exciting and often creepy adventure. How nice it's been reissued with a better cover. Newbery honor.
Oct 04, 2008
Sebastian
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Yet another Newbery Honor book from Zilpha Keatley Snyder. The book is based on a family, the Stanley's, who just got a little bigger. There are four sibling, David, Janie, Esther, and Blair, the last two being twins. The Stanley's dad marries a woman named Molly who has a daughter named Amanda. Amanda joins the household in a very unpleasant mood. She considers herself a expert of the occult and the Stanley kids want to be apart of it until it appears that there is something really supernatural
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May 03, 2009
This was my absolute favorite book as a child. I still have it on my bookshelf. I read it so many times that it's in about 3 or 4 pieces.
Feb 11, 2009
Jeaneane
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I read this book about 30 years ago and loved it.In fact, I read every book I could by this author and read and loved each one
