This is the third of Grady Hendrix's novels that I've read, and maybe my favorite. Not for his trademark humor, as the subject matter didn't really lend itself to that. No, I loved Witchcraft for Wayward Girls for its heart.

That being said, I had to push through the first two-thirds of the book. The final third, however, made it worth it. I'm not a horror fan, but I'll continue to make an exception for Hendrix.

As someone who’s thoroughly enjoyed Grady Hendrix’s previous work — from the satirical horror of *My Best Friend’s Exorcism* to the pulpy, heartfelt chaos of *The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires* — I came into *Witchcraft for Wayward Girls* with high expectations. Unfortunately, this one didn’t just fall short — it felt like a complete misfire.

One of the biggest disappointments was how the book squandered its witchcraft premise. There’s so much potential in the concept — teenage girls, a creepy reform school, buried secrets, dark powers — but Hendrix never fully commits to any of it. The supernatural elements feel underbaked and oddly detached from the plot, like set dressing rather than something integral to the characters or story. For a book with “witchcraft” in the title, there’s shockingly little actual magic, and what *is* there lacks any real weight or mystery.

What really took me out of it, though, was how unconvincing the teenage characters felt. Hendrix has done well in the past writing from the perspective of teen girls (*My Best Friend’s Exorcism* comes to mind), but here it felt like he was out of his depth. The dialogue reads like an adult trying too hard to sound young, and the emotional arcs of the characters never quite ring true. There’s a dissonance between how the girls *talk* and how they’re *supposed* to feel, and it makes the relationships feel shallow and inconsistent.

Tonally, the book also struggles — it never quite knows if it wants to be horror, satire, emotional drama, or YA fantasy. The result is a muddled story with pacing issues and characters who don’t feel grounded in any one world. The creep factor is minimal, and the stakes feel manufactured rather than earned.

Overall, *Witchcraft for Wayward Girls* feels like a novel that didn’t know what it wanted to be, and worse, didn’t do justice to its core themes. As a longtime fan of Hendrix, this one left me cold. Here’s hoping the next one brings back the heart, humor, and horror that made his earlier books stand out.

This was a dark one, but I think it highlighted an important era of young women and the desperation caused when there are so few choices available to venerable people.

It's 1970 and Neva is 15 years old and pregnant. Her father has brought her to another state to live at Wellwood House, a home for unwed mothers. She's promised that after her pregnancy has ended, she can go home like nothing ever happened. The baby will be adopted by a good family and she will go back to being a teenager. At Wellwood House, each girl is given a new name to protect their reputations, so Neva becomes Fern and makes new friends in Rose, Holly, and Zinnia. But as their pregnancies progress, they begin to question what they really want, and when the librarian who works on the bookmobile that visits the home gives Fern a copy of "How to Be a Groovy Witch," they feel like they finally have some agency in their lives. Of course, nothing comes without a price, and there are no easy escapes in a world where women bear the literal burden of premarital sex and men continue to live their lives.

A pre-Rowe story that packs an especially hard punch in our post-Rowe world.

I don’t even know what to say about Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. It was so far out of my wheelhouse of books I’d normally read, so I don’t even know what opinions to have. It was strange? But darkly funny? I don’t know. DNFd it around 30% unfortunately because I just couldn’t get into it.

A haunting and emotional read. Exploring the shame and guilt imposed on unwed mothers and pregnant underage girls in the 1960s-70s. Grady did an excellent job capturing these women being stripped away of their choice and the emotional and physicals scars that were left behind in the process.

I love Grady Hendrix but this was not my favorite. This could have gone in a great vendetta-like direction, but it did not. It just went into a silly direction. I just stopped caring.

I have had sold this book SO many times since finishing it and also have a 5-star read tag displayed next to it! 5 stars. I loved everything about it. No notes!

I wish there was more witchcraft!! Nice storyline but some areas got super detailed and was a bit much to handle.

Grady Hendrix has a way of getting way under my skin, in the best way possible. He crafts believable characters and puts them through unbelievable horrors, while providing searing commentary on issues of the current day. I felt for Fern as she tried to deal with the hand dealt and will continue to come back to Grady Hendrix for his next book!

While there are witchy components to this one, with all the lack of bodily autonomy, it would have been a horror novel without that inclusion at all. I was impressed with how Hendrix managed to capture how scary an uninformed pregnancy can be (and how he proved men can empathize with womens’ issues).

I went into WITCHCRAFT pretty blind, and what I found was brutally real, heartbreaking, poignant, and so stunning.

WITCHCRAFT follows Neva Craven aka Fern as she gets sent to a Home for Unwed Mothers. What happens next is a story of humility, sisterhood, witches, and the vast array of definitions behind the word “mother.”

I loveeeee how uncomfortable this book made me. Not even all the blood, although that contributed, but just how the girls were treated, how Black people were treated, etc. It’s set in the late sixties, early seventies, so it’s all real and just horrifying. It feels on the nose, too, with how the world is going right now. We need to be uncomfortable because we need to make moves!

I really enjoyed the found family aspect of WITCHCRAFT. Only those girls in that home know exactly what they went through and they went through it together. Trauma bonds galore but sometimes those are the deepest connections. I loved the ending for the cameos from the girls.

This story is beyond haunting and just an incredible experience. I liked Grady’s writing in this one immensely!!!

Grady Hendrix's books are all unique, but have intrigue and oddity in common. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is full of 70s vibes, terribly realistic circumstances for pregnant teens and, of course, witchiness.

This might just not be my type of book. I wanted more witches and magic. It’s not bad, just not what I wanted or expected.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Grady Hendrix you have done it again. I absolutely loved this book! It may now be my favorite Grady Hendrix book. It is poignant and nostalgic and funny and silly and dark and raw and all the things you want a great book to be. I loved these girls and their story. This is a tale that aside from the supernatural elements was a very real thing for many women before the passing for Roe v. Wade. If we are not careful this may become a reality again. Shoving young women away like shameful secrets. These young women are able to reclaim their power with the help of some witches but the girls of our past an future will not be so lucky.

This wasn't my favorite Grady Hendrix book, but I still liked it for its social commentary and shining a light on how (still to this day) pregnant women and young girls were treated. It was great in the beginning but it really fell flat for me in the middle and end. I really liked the epilogue, and thought it ended on a much better note. Still one of my favorite authors!

Thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity to review this book.

The main character's name is Fern and for the life of me, I couldn't stop picturing her as the infamous Fern on tiktok that doesn't treat her kid great, so it really took me out of the story. I'm going to rate it higher just because the story was good, I myself just had an issue with the name. The story does take a second to get going, I'd say around the 35-40% mark is when it really took off for me and I had a hard time putting it down. I have read some of Hendrix's work before and I haven't disliked any yet.

It's 1970 in the South. A 15 year old girl gets dropped off at a home a state away to have her baby so no one in her home town will know she was pregnant. Yes, this is set back before Roe Vs. Wade became law. It also has a lot of parallels to now. This is not your typical Grady Hendrix book. The dark humor is gone replaced by how poorly women and especially young girls who got into trouble were treated as pariahs. Anyway, one day at this home, Fern comes across a book about witchcraft and some of the girls begin to take their power back after feeling helpless for so long. But will there be a price to pay? A lot of horror in the book is how these young girls know nothing about childbirth and is treated almost like body horror. It's a good book, just not a light read.

WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS by @gradyhendrix is one of my favorite reads of February and definitely a 5 ⭐️ for me!

This almost 500 page book hit me so hard. In true Hendrix style, he managed to creep me out as well as make me emotional. The story spotlights America’s shameful past of homes for pregnant girls where they were mistreated, their babies stolen and sold, and the girls threatened with psychiatric lockup if they didn’t comply. It takes place in 1970 with the looming danger of cults and war, when really the real danger lay in the boys and men who take advantage of these young girls.

And of course not much has changed since then. Even today, where are the outcries and punishment for the MEN who get these girls pregnant? Girls are STILL treated as if they get pregnant all on their own. People still turn a blind eye when little girls are raped by men they trust. And it doesn’t look like it’ll change any time soon.

So, good for the girls who fight back in whatever way they can. It’s a hard lesson to learn how much ppl take advantage of vulnerable girls. Even the witches had their agenda. And interestingly enough, there were huge chunks of the book where the witchcraft storyline was almost forgotten bc the reality of injustices that were happening was consuming me as a reader.

Ugh, there’s so much to say and not enough words. And not enough emotions. There were parts that had me in tears. Ch 16 especially. And the part where Fern says “I’m just a kid! I’m only fifteen and everyone keeps wanting things from me!” was so powerful. The witches, the boy who took advantage of her, her family who wanted normalcy, etc. they all wanted things from these girls.

IMO Hendrix did a great job portraying how these girls fought back against the helplessness as they befriend one another. When no one else would help them, they helped each other.

I love diving into a different decade with a unique story from Grady Hendrix.

I love a good story of witchcraft and girl power! This was an interesting take on witches and the use of witchcraft but I’m not sure if I liked it or not. I really love when stories about witches are centered around community and empowering those less fortunate but I’m not sure if witchcraft helped or hindered the characters in this story.

The characters and the plot were interesting but it’s definitely a slow burn. At least the first 25% is just getting to know the different girls and how they manage in the home. I did love being immersed in 1970 but did find it hard to keep my attention.

By halfway into the book the witchcraft part is finally getting started and you start to learn some heartbreaking things about the girls that gives you insight into the motivation of each girl.

I have mixed feelings about the ending but did think the story was wrapped up well.

Thank you *Berkley Publishing Group* for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.