"The Headless Cupid" By Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Title: The Headless Cupid
Author: Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Published Year: 1971
Pages: 203
Awards: Newberry Honor Book

I just realized after finishing this book that this is the second book I have read by this author. I loved the previous one, and I have to admit I love this one as well. Aimed at the 9 to 12 year old crowd they do not bore easily and keep the reader entertained. Even as an adult I was wanting to know what was going to happen next and what mystery was coming up in the next chapter.

For this installment the author takes the story of the Stanley children who have lost their mother a year previous and shares their story of having their father re-marry as well as getting a new mysterious step-sister. The step-sister is very unique and into the whole occult scene and wants to impress the new younger siblings with this knowledge. The reader follows the children on a hilarious trip to being introduced into the occult and becoming actual "wizards" according to the step-sister.

In addition to this, the house holds its own mysteries with past stories of poltergeist events happening in the home in the late 1890s. Mysterious events that relate to these past episodes begin to happen and the subject of whatever happened to the head of the cupid on the banister continually comes up. No one knows what happened to the headless cupid's lost head, and that is the big mystery that awaits the reader.

The author does an awesome job of taking a major life change for children and spinning it into a story that is also intriguing with other events. Learning to adapt with some of these changes can be hard and I would recommend this to kids going through the same issues the children in the book have been presented with. Adding mystery to something like losing a parent and getting a new parent has a way of letting a kid know that there are others going through the same thing and it is not the end of the world.

Also the way the author writes, I can completely understand why they have been nominated for awards. The writing is mesmerizing and worth the time.