David Stanley suddenly has a Strange Girl stepsister move into his life. She dresses very unusual and is very unapproachable, not wanting to interact with the family, until one day she opens up and lets David and the younger kids (who are 4-6 years old) join in on her love of the supernatural and specifically, the occult. She will train the "neophytes", as she calls them, in the ways of the otherworldly.
And she does, in scenes that are both interesting and funny, mainly due to how the other characters react to it. It's all new to them, and let's not forget, David's younger siblings are preschool to first grade age in this story. So when they're given ordeals they must pass, such as going through an entire day without touching anything metal (including silverware!), or going through an entire day being as silent as possible and giving no more than a three-word answer to any question, they react in sometimes hilarious ways.
Not allowed to touch silverware? Try wearing a giant mitten to hold it in! 6-year-old Janie's solution gets the attention of their dad, but she comes up with an explanation that he simply accepts. 4-year-old Blair simply eats with his hands. Dad is driven to exasperation from the chaos.
Need to use a stolen item to construct a ceremonial robe? Well, how about dad's tennis sock? Janie hides it in her mouth and spits it out when the coast is clear.
Eventually, the kids are allowed to take part in a seance and summon a spirit, which turns out to be apparently the poltergeist who previously haunted the house. Oops.
Now things are being broken, rocks are being thrown, and Amanda's mom, who believes in ghosts, is terrified.
The seance and poltergeist part doesn't take place until 2/3 of the way in the book, which I find to be disappointing. While I enjoyed watching the kids go through Amanda's rituals, especially due to the noob way they botch it at times, it still took up a huge chunk of the book. By the time the mystery was occurring, there were only 70 pages left out of a 220 page book.
Still, the events are fun to read, and it's basically a light-hearted Slice Of Life story about, well, the occult. Who'd have thought such a thing would get written? This book is a fun curiosity and worth checking out.
Book 1, The Headless Cupid - fun Slice Of Life story about... the occult?
David Stanley suddenly has a Strange Girl stepsister move into his life. She dresses very unusual and is very unapproachable, not wanting to interact with the family, until one day she opens up and lets David and the younger kids (who are 4-6 years old) join in on her love of the supernatural and specifically, the occult. She will train the "neophytes", as she calls them, in the ways of the otherworldly.
And she does, in scenes that are both interesting and funny, mainly due to how the other characters react to it. It's all new to them, and let's not forget, David's younger siblings are preschool to first grade age in this story. So when they're given ordeals they must pass, such as going through an entire day without touching anything metal (including silverware!), or going through an entire day being as silent as possible and giving no more than a three-word answer to any question, they react in sometimes hilarious ways.
Not allowed to touch silverware? Try wearing a giant mitten to hold it in! 6-year-old Janie's solution gets the attention of their dad, but she comes up with an explanation that he simply accepts. 4-year-old Blair simply eats with his hands. Dad is driven to exasperation from the chaos.
Need to use a stolen item to construct a ceremonial robe? Well, how about dad's tennis sock? Janie hides it in her mouth and spits it out when the coast is clear.
Eventually, the kids are allowed to take part in a seance and summon a spirit, which turns out to be apparently the poltergeist who previously haunted the house. Oops.
Now things are being broken, rocks are being thrown, and Amanda's mom, who believes in ghosts, is terrified.
The seance and poltergeist part doesn't take place until 2/3 of the way in the book, which I find to be disappointing. While I enjoyed watching the kids go through Amanda's rituals, especially due to the noob way they botch it at times, it still took up a huge chunk of the book. By the time the mystery was occurring, there were only 70 pages left out of a 220 page book.
Still, the events are fun to read, and it's basically a light-hearted Slice Of Life story about, well, the occult. Who'd have thought such a thing would get written? This book is a fun curiosity and worth checking out.