This one just didn’t quite do it for me. I liked the idea of the story but the execution just fell a little short for me. I did like how it wrapped up at the end though.

I DNFd this book when learning that Hendrix is a highly problematic author. I do not want to support this author on my channels.

I love Grady Hendrix, he really has a way with words. He can make any scene play out like a movie and tug on your emotions. I fell in love with Fern but I feel like the witch part of the book was an afterthought.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was high on my list when I first requested it. Unfortunately, I have tried picking this one up more than once but just find I am not connecting to it. I adored The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires was a favorite of mine though.

Grady Hendrix’s Witchcraft for Wayward Girls lands heavy—both in its creep factor and its emotional resonance. Set in a 1970s maternity home for unwed teens, the audiobook pulls you into a brutal reality: forced separations, erasure of identity, and desperation. Hendrix layers that real-world horror with occult undertones, and Leslie Howard, Hillary Huber, and Sara Morsey deliver strong performances that bring both fragility and fury to the teenage voices.

That mix of historical cruelties and witchcraft could have felt gimmicky, but Hendrix approaches it with real empathy. The girls aren’t just vessels for terror—they’re individuals with pain, dreams, and righteous anger. The writing reflects their humanity in moments of reclaiming agency, and the folklore elements feel earned when power enters their hands—for better or worse.

Still, it’s not flawless. Some listeners, like a Redditor, found the tone “schlock and a cash grab,” arguing that the girls are sometimes reduced to symbols rather than full characters . I hear that. At times, the witchcraft riffs can feel forced, and there are pacing lulls where the narrative hits inertia.

Yet, the audiobook earned praise elsewhere. One reviewer called it “a perfect horror for our imperfect age” . Another appreciated how Hendrix dug into emotive foundations—anger, helplessness, rebellion—calling the book **“heart-wrenching, suspenseful, and memorable”** . The cast’s reading earns bonus points: the emotional beats land genuinely, and the shared narration builds a sense of solidarity among the girls.

Final Take: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is unsettling and primal—part period drama, part folk horror, all emotion. It sometimes fumbles its supernatural threads and simplifies characters, but it never shies from its core truth: these are real stories about girls forced into silence—and trying to fight back. If you're drawn to horror that doesn’t flinch from social pain, this audiobook bites deep.

Thank you to __ and NetGalley for providing me with a digital arc of this book.

This is now the second Grady Hendrix book that I have read, the first being 'The Final Girl Support Group,' and my opinion is that Hendrix' writing is just not for me. I've never really been a fan of horror - not that I would label either book as such - so it's not a huge surprise to me why I didn't love this book but my issues go deeper than just my dislike of the genre. The pacing of this book was off. It was slow and repetitive most of the time but action-packed for the last 100 pages. The ending felt jarring and not at all like what I had imagined while reading the book. The characters behaved in ways at the end that seemed to betray their growth throughout the book.

This book missed the mark for me for several reasons, From the time that I am writing this review to the time I read the book it's been a couple of weeks and I find that I do not remember the finer details of this book. I didn't completely despise it. I did like the introduction of the witches to the very real-world consequences of teen pregnancy but that was one of the few aspects of this book I enjoyed. 2/5 stars.

This was a very interesting book that blended realism and magic. I thought this was a very interesting take on the topic of teen pregnancy. I think the author did a good job setting up the story. Girls arrive at a house in the middle of nowhere in St. Augustine, Florida to have their babies and then go back home as if nothing happened. Once the girls meet a librarian who gives one of them a book about magic, things start to change.

Each girl is given a different name when entering the house and I found that very unique and a bit dehumanizing. It shows that the Wellwood House really thought about how to have the girls mentally separate themselves from the pregnancy once it was done. The first half of the book is a nice pace but it starts to slow down after that. I do think this book could have been written without magic at all and it still could have been a good story about how life was in 1970 and it was brutal to be a teenage girl let alone a pregnant one. I did not really care for the ending and do not think it should have ended that way. Overall give it a 3.5 as I do think the storyline and characters were written well. It was also a unique concept to write about.

This high-octane horror delivers a perfect storm of suspense, intrigue, and emotional depth. Every twist is meticulously crafted, keeping you constantly off balance and hungry for more. The characters are compelling and authentic, their fates impossible to look away from. It’s an unforgettable, edge-of-your-seat experience from the first page to the last.

This was unfortunately so boring and put me in a bad reading slump. “Witchcraft” is almost nonexistent in this book—to the point I think the title is misleading—and it’s more historical fiction than anything witchy. And it’s definitely 100 pages too long. For me, this would be better suited as a movie to skip past all the descriptions that dragged throughout the whole story.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a sly, subversive spellbook masquerading as a novel, where female adolescence is both crucible and coven. Set in a world only slightly askew from our own, it follows a circle of rebellious young women who discover that magic isn’t an escape from girlhood’s trials, but their ultimate expression. The prose crackles with mordant humor and whispered menace, conjuring a mood somewhere between The Virgin Suicides and a riot grrrl grimoire. It’s a coming-of-age tale that refuses redemption, embracing instead the raw, feral power of misfit sorcery.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a story about pregnant teenage girls who are sent away to have their babies and then return to society as if nothing happened. But what it is really about is women taking back their power, how society doesn't see and doesn't care about certain populations of people, and a secret past that people don't want to acknowledge. This was a fantastic read and a bit of a departure from Hendrix's usual work.

I was so excited to read this novel and when I scored an ARC from Netgalley, I couldn't wait to dive right in. 1970s southern home for unwed mothers and witches? Yes please!

Unfornately, the execution fell flat for me. And I also felt that 100-150 pages could have and should have been shaved off. I felt that there were parts of this book that just draaaaagged on. And honestly, unlike TSBCGTSV, I felt most of the time that I was reading a historical fiction novel with witches as a plot device rather than a witchy horror book set in a historical time with some social plot devices thrown in.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the feminist "take back your power" message that this book portrayed a lot, especially since it was written by a man. But I really just wanted more witches. The witchy parts actually made me uncomfortable at times which is weird because I love witches and witchy books. Miss Parcae the librarian was off-putting and not my favorite character and as soon as she was introduced, I began to get bad vibes from her. It's almost as if Grady Hendrix wrote a cautionary tale about witches instead of a fun little witchy book. And that was disappointing.
I enjoyed the wayward pregnant girls theme and all the struggle and injustices that the girls went through. I enjoyed a lot of the characters and their relationships to each other as well as their babies. But. When I was expecting something more horror forward, it was ultimately a disappointment. And though the beginning dragged on for me (I mean I don't even think witches even come into play until like 30-35% in) the first half was so much better than the second. The first half was all about claiming your power and using witchcraft to right wrongs and correct injustices, and I really dug where it was going. And then the second half just fell flat for me. I didn't particularly care for the direction the author took (no spoilers here) and just found it strange. There were a lot of parts that made me uncomfortable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when it comes to my reading experience, but I didn't find the discomfort enjoyable. And if I'm also being honest, I didn't love the main character. Fern was my least favorite character by a mile, but Holly and Rose and Hagar totally made up for it. I wished that Hagar and Miriam played a bigger part and I wish that there was more emphasis placed on some of the history of the house and the traumas suffered.

So still 3.5 stars because overall I liked more than I disliked, but I really wanted to love this and I just didn't. And a lot of it was just personal preference and my disappointment in some of the author's choices, but a lot of my friends really loved this so I'm probably a wrongreader on this one. I do think it should have been shorter though. Not having the draggy bits would probably have upped my enjoyment.

Set in 1970 when young pregnant girls were without options about their futures and their babies, Fern, Rose, Holly, Zinnia and other young girls are sent to a home in Florida to finish out their pregnancies, give away their babies and then return to their lives as if nothing ever happened. They come to find all that they were told is good is evil and what was evil may actually be good. The girls are at the mercy of the adults in their lives while the boys/men live unscathed but with the help of a book on witchcraft, they find their power and rebel. It's a difficult topic and unsettling to remember the days when this was a reality for young girls. Written by a man but full of the angst of women.

As a Grady Hendrix devotee I was waiting for this book from the second it was announced and I hate to say that it did not live up to the hype for me. I found the horror elements just as spine chilling as ever, but found the characters storyline lacking. I have always enjoyed the way Grady Hendrix writes his female characters, and I know the point of this book was for them to lack agency, but I may have been hoping for them to have the ability to reclaim that agency at some point. This foray just felt a little scattered to me. Still a highly entertaining read.

A very evocative read. The storyline is very gripping and the writing style is very unique. The characters were easy to empathize with and the character development was good.

Grady Hendrix is a very interesting author. His books have stories I enjoy reading and I always look forward to his next book. The setting and date of the book are intriguing.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was a hard book to read. I admit I requested this one purely based on the title. It sounded interesting. I personally have not read a Grady Hendrix book before so this was an experience.

I was kind of nervous picking this one up once I learned that this book was written by a man. Such a sensitive topic needs a strong voice. And I think Grady Hendrix did a decent job. Teenage pregnancy is such a hard topic to discuss these days. Especially during the 70’s. And I am glad someone wrote a story about it.


These wayward girls broke my heart everytime they spoke. Their stories hit me so hard. I wish I had paid attention to some of the TW regarding this book. But that was completely my fault. But the best part of this one was the friendship these girls were able to make in such a scary place. Truly beautiful storytelling there.

This book definitely made me want to check out the authors previous books.

This book is absolutely gut wrenching.
The story follows a group of pregnant teenage girls before abortion was an option.
The fantastic writing really makes you feel what it is like to be in this situation, rejected by society and your family.
To be only allowed to feel shame, to be alone, scared and denied any voice or choice.

The horror aspects are great, both the very graphic body horror and the more psychological interaction with the witches. I loved that the plot was the direct consequence of the characters being deprived of any support or help from the adults who should protect them.

This is a very powerful story, and it will stay with me for some time.

This was a brilliantly crafted historical horror story that shines a light not only on pregnancy and bodily autonomy, but on womanhood as an experience. I loved all the characters. I especially loved that the head witch was a librarian of a mobile library. Hendrix brings characters to life in a way that is super satisfying. Loved this one and highly recommend it!

This was a slow read for me. I was instantly hooked, and then it lagged in the middle, and then I zoomed through the end. Interestingly, the least interesting parts for me were the witchcraft. I can say that, after the misnomer title of How to Sell a Haunted House, this one tells you exactly what it is.

The horror story here lies in the abject disregard for and mistreatment of “wayward girls” pre-Roe and the absolute trauma that is childbirth, though I can’t speak from experience—and I suppose neither can Hendrix. I spent much of the book wondering how a man had the gall to write this, but I admit that he did so convincingly.

This story is full of pain and so much cringing. It’s the first book to make me nearly vomit, and it did so twice. Still, I’m not sorry I read it.

Full review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6582404389