Cute story!

The Headless Cupid did not disappoint on this reread! Last time, I found the middle of the book too slow, with the way it details several of the initiation ordeals Amanda puts her stepsiblings through. But this time I found this part just as enjoyable as the rest of the story. It has a lot of fun or intriguing moments, providing some levity before things really become sinister.

This time, I noticed a lot more of the subtext about Amanda. The clues are subtle, but Snyder was very smart about giving the impression of how Amanda uses "witchcraft" to make herself feel important and powerful during a difficult time in her life. It's also quite telling when she talks about her friend Leah that she always seems to be making excuses for her friend. It seemed to me like Leah was also using magic as a sort of ego boost herself. The fact that Leah kept all the money that she and Amanda made with their charms and potions hints that Leah may not be averse to manipulating her less experienced friend for her own gain. As much as Amanda acts sophisticated and jaded, she is still very young, insecure, and perhaps a bit naive.

I've read The Headless Cupid three times now, and it has held up beautifully. There's a lot to be said for any book that you can read many times and still keep discovering new things within. It's a truly unique and surprising story, and one I can heartily recommend!
Old review:
3.5 stars

I think I liked The Headless Cupid more the first time I read it, but it still held up pretty well upon my re-read. The story and characters are still pretty good, and the character development of Amanda is especially notable. But I did feel that this book was missing something that could have made me enjoy it almost as much as The Egypt Game. I think the main thing that keeps me from loving this book is that the story slowed down a bit too much in the middle, when not much seemed to happen other than the Stanley kids trying to complete Amanda's challenges. But Zilpha Keatley Snyder definitely has a talent for creating atmosphere through her writing, and Alton Raible's illustrations are as wonderfully atmospheric as they are in The Egypt Game. I also think it was a great decision to leave the ending ambiguous and mysterious. If everything had been neatly wrapped up it would have lost its impact.

This certainly hasn't replaced The Egypt Game as my favorite Zilpha Keatley Snyder book, but it was still very much worth re-reading.

This one’s not so great

Holds up well as a favorite from childhood, but David has the patience of a saint with his new sister. I don't think I would've!

A charming book from the past which I re-read. I always like Zipha Keatley Snyder. This is about how a family learns to be blended and a daughter obsessed with the occult starts to accept her new siblings.

I really enjoyed this book again. I hadn't read it since childhood. I do enjoy Z. Keatley Snyder a lot. The Egypt Game is another favorite by her. I know that there is another book with the same family that is set in Italy I think. I'm going to check that one out.

(3.5 stars) I didn't think I was going to like this at all because of Amanda's attitude and all the witchcraft / occult content, but I enjoyed it because the book was grounded around David and his siblings. I thought Snyder was astute in her portrayal of Amanda, dealing with divorce and remarriage, contrasted with the Stanley children, whose mother had died as they formed a blended family. I liked how the "real" Amanda was drawn out by the end of the book. Regardless, I won't hand this book to any of my kids because I'm wary of books that might encourage them to play around with the occult.

When asked in an interview what his favorite book as a child was, Handler answered “Dino Buzzati's The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily and Zilpha Keatley Snyder's The Headless Cupid or anything else full of mystery and secrets.”

Growing up, I listen to this on tape many times. It was neat to go back decades later and hear it again with adult ears. I can still hear certain lines in my head read by the original recording. I sure wish I could find that one.

This Newberry award winner is one of my fondest reads of my childhood. Originally published in 1971 it still is one of the most entertaining and alluring chapter books written. Full of spooky fun but just shy of being too scary it is sure to keep kids hooked. It is the first in the Stanley family series starring their four children and their new stepsister Amanda. Strange and mysterious things begin happening in their ancient house and Amanda, who just happens to study witchcraft, believes they have a poltergeist and it is responsible for the oddities. A headless statue of a cupid at the base of the staircase railing is just one clue. But is it really something supernatural at work or is there a more human element influencing events?

I read this book a couple of times as a kid and I had a lot of fond memories of it, especially of it being a pretty creepy book. I decided to pick it up again and read it to my kids. I found it to be fairly tame at this point in my life, but I still enjoyed it and so did my kids (although they didn't think it was scary, either).

I loved this story about a family struggling to fit a new stepsister into its midsts. Snyder shows, and refrains from too much telling, and the result is a sensitive and delicate exploration of the ways children work to fit in and stand apart.