The Stanley children don't know it yet, but they live in a haunted house.

A local handyman warns the kids that his own father was the person who carved the wooden cupid banisters, including the one with the missing head - which was chopped off by the ghost! With the help of their new stepsister Amanda who is practicing the occult, the Stanley kids hurry to find an answer to the strange things that happening around them.

My daughter and I finally finished reading this today. I remember really loving it when I was younger, and while I love David and his siblings, Blair especially, their stepsister, Amanda, really was unlikeable for most of the story.
The paranormal elements in this book, which feature an initiation into the world of the occult and a seance may give some parents pause when introducing this to their young ones. There is also mention of a poltergeist and its shenanigans.
The characters are unique and I like that the story touches on some more difficult issues like being a blended family and the death of a parent.

I remember reading this book and loving it as a child, but on re-read I had zero recollection of any plot points of characters except that it was "creepy." As an adult, creepy it isn't, but it makes sense why I loved it as a child--it has so many similarities to the other "creepy" books I loved--blended families, close sibling ties, supernatural elements, mysteries to be solved. I especially enjoyed the different personalities of all of the kids, and the way they're trying to fit together as a family.

A little predictable, but hey, I'm not ten anymore.

This was another story my sister and I loved as kids, and checked out the record from the library over and over again. This is a great Halloween story with just a bit of creepiness and ghosts but also a look at kids and the issues they can face and how they can deal with them.

I didn’t care for this book. It just didn’t engage me. I picked it up without reading the back matter etc. it may be that I didn’t like these kids messing around with occult ideas and that whole angle.

This is a ghost story and a character study of an adolescent girl (she's 12) acting all sullen and teenager-y. We see her through the eyes of her younger (he's 11) step-brother who is far more earnest, considerate, and mature. Amanda is what we would now call goth. She missed it by 20 years, but she would've been very into The Craft. When her parents divorce and she's forced to live with her mom's new husband and family, she is clearly unhappy but takes the opportunity to try to induct her new siblings into the occult. There is someone in the family who may have actual supernatural powers, but it's not Amanda.

One very cringe thing that happens in this book is that Amanda gets her little step-siblings to do what she wants by playing "slave and slavedriver." She plays at whipping them to get them do the gardening. Shudder.

Amanda is not the only interesting character in the book. Janie the talkative, dramatic 6yo is a hoot. The 4yo twins Blair and Tesser each have distinct personalities. The grown-ups feel quite real and nuanced. David, the POV character, is exactly what parents want their kids to be without being too good to be true. He observes Amanda carefully and her character is revealed through his observations.

I read this because Lemony Snicket praised it in Poison for Breakfast.

David's new step-sister is quite a treat. She works so hard at hating everyone. I loved when the tables turned. The supernatural elements are softly hinted at. I would have preferred this story to have been either a flat-out mystery with logical conclusions, or to have more spine-chilling supernatural events. The dynamics of the kids' characters pulls the story along and makes for a very enjoyable read.

Loved this book as a kid.

Kindle Daily Deal 8/13/14

This is my favorite childhood book.

I am not sure why this book won a Newberry, it is a good book, but not sure it is at the caliber of award winning. I may have to look at the qualifications for that particular award. I did enjoy the book, and the story. Amanda is an interesting character, but really, my true love of this book is Blair. What an interesting character, and I may seek out more of the Stanley Family books just for more about him.

update 01/04/2020: This book won a Newberry Honor (basically a runner-up) in 1972. The award is given out by a selected group of children's librarians for books that challenge the norm for children's books. And it was the first award FOR children's literature. So, yes, it makes sense, this book was a bit different than most in 1972, and it has been challenged (oh the "witchcraft"!!).

A fan of Zilpha Keatley Snyder's The Egypt Game, I thought it would be opportune to read the Newbery Honor The Headless Cupid since it is February. Like The Egypt Game, the pre-mobile device imaginations portrayed by the characters is quite noticeable.

Overall, the book is spooky, and the how each of the characters navigate the mystery is interesting. One early scene is dated, and it wouldn't be written into a children's book today.