Grady Hendrix’s latest title is a different type of novel for him. An expert at creating unique horror novels, his latest title covers the topic of teen pregnancy in 1970s Florida. At a home for unwed mothers, teenage girls are forced to perform chores while hiding from society and awaiting their due dates. The girls must assume a fake name while in the home and are encouraged to put their babies up for adoption so they can “forget this ever happened”.

Bonds are formed between 15 year old Fern, Rose, the hippie girl intent on keeping her baby, Zinnia, who hopes to marry the baby’s father and 14 year old Holly who refuses to speak. When a librarian gives them a book of the occult, the four begin to learn spells and magic in the hope of controlling their lives and making choices for themselves. As their power grows, they learn the sacrifices involved in witchcraft and the price they will have to pay.

Hendrix describes the horror and uncertainty these young girls experience when delivering their children. The fear of the unknown is handled with gritty realism. The horror of the novel has a double meaning when the reader realizes the premise is based on history. The girls’ friendships are realistically depicted and their backstories will have the reader understanding their choices.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the advanced readers’ copy.

I'll admit I was a little skeptical about a male writer taking on such a definitively female experience as pregnancy, but this was clearly very (very) well researched. The book leans into the body horror of the experience of pregnancy and birth, and a surprising sense of gritty realism despite including subject matter like magic and witches. The characters felt very individual, with understandable reasoning behind their decisions.

Truly remarkable. It's rare for a book to leave me speechless but that's what Grady Hendrix did here. It took me a while to even gather my thoughts enough after finishing it to write a review. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is different from his prior works. It is not any less good but it has more of a serious tone than his prior works that contain dark humor.

This story made me grateful to be alive in this day and time. To be a girl cast out from all of your family while you're in such a vulnerable state and not to be allowed to make any decisions is just unthinkable. Grady Hendrix gives these girls a voice with his remarkable storytelling talent. I enjoyed getting to know all of the ‘wayward’ girls, especially our main character Fern. Even though the book is 496 pages long, I flew through it in no time.

As far as the horror, it's there. The witch element added a chilling side but there is a birthing scene that im sure will terrify most male readers. However, the most terrifying part of the story is the fact that it is based on history and pregnant teenage girls were sent away to have their babies only to have them ripped away from them.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix will be available on January 14, 2025. A massive thanks to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

3.5 stars

Not my favorite from Grady Hendrix! The story line was really fun to follow but I think we lost the plot a couple times along the way. It also wasn’t as horror-y as I’ve come to expect from his work. The only parts that were really gory were around pregnancy & child birth… which kind of rubs me the wrong way a little.

The book wasn’t bad, I really liked the characters & following their lives within the home, but it was long and I was expecting more spooky vibes than I got.

A good book but one that found me at a very hard time.

Finding out you’re pregnant is hard enough, but to be an unmarried teen on top of that finds Fern on the front steps of a home for wayward girls waiting out the clock to have her baby and return to the life she left behind. When a mysterious book offers relief to their troubles they have to weigh the cost of the devils at the door or the witches in the woods.

This book was hard for me to read because like Fern we started this journey pregnant and by the end I had lost my baby which made some of the conversations around pregnancy and what comes after a bit hard to get through as they hit very close to home but nevertheless I think it is a book that I will hold closer because of this personal connection I now have with it.

I enjoyed our characters so much with each of the girls having unique personalities that grounded them in this moment of camaraderie which ultimately became synonymous with coven as we dipped our toes into more of the supernatural elements. There is a lot of hard topics here relating to pregnancy and the womanhood that comes from act of giving birth and seeing it paralleled with the witches was done well. I think part of me wished for more violence against those who were using these girls as means to an end for whatever cause they supported but the subtly of time will heal and karma takes time works too.

This is a very strong book and one I do recommend especially as a fan of the author who does a great job with these kinds of symbolistic horror novels and I look forward to seeing what’s next.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Another great read from Grady Hendrix!! I absolutely loved the witchy and feminist vibes throughout this book. The depiction of sisterhood and the evolving relationships among the characters added so much depth and made their journeys feel completely authentic–you can definitely tell this book was thoroughly researched. The ambiguity of certain characters and their intentions literally kept me guessing who could or couldn't be trusted the entire time. The narrative kept me engaged from start to finish, and I appreciated how it intertwined themes of empowerment and resilience among women and girls!
I will say that this book felt unlike any other Grady Hendrix title I've encountered. I expected it to be scarier, so it fell a bit flat in that regard, but there were still plenty of disturbing and shocking moments that made me think, "Oh my god, that's insane." I should also warn those with emetophobia, there's a scene that you might want to skip and there's also some pretty graphic birthing scenes later on. Despite this, it was a very captivating read, and I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"It is only by failing that magic works. The alchemists knew they were unlikely to turn lead into gold, but they also knew that in their attempts they would make profound discoveries. Nothing in magic is gained by aiming straight for it. As in life, it is the failures that prove to be most valuable because it is in failure that you learn anything useful, about the world or about yourself. "

This is one of those books that show that sometimes the scariest things are those that are based in real life. This story follows a group of pregnant unwed girls in a home, where they are waiting to give birth and give up their children for adoption. This story is less about the witchcraft and more about what it means to be a woman struggling under patriarchy.
Also I appreciate the librarian being the coven leader although in this story the witches are the bad guys and she turns out to be a bit evil.

This book was nothing like I thought it was going to be. Which was not a bad thing. I felt this was more categorized as a historical fiction than a sci-fi suspense. This book is a slow-burn, thought-provoking young adult fiction with horror and supernatural elements. I ended up feeling so bad for these girls. These girls are trapped in this house by circumstances adults forced upon them. A lot of the horror was from the graphic telling of their childbirth experiences. Be forewarned that this book includes some very graphic childbirth scenes.

I rated this novel 3.5 stars. I think what dropped it down for me was the fact that I was expecting something else. It was not necessarily a bad book. I wanted more horror and witchcraft. I think the most horrifying part of the book was the descriptions of birth, more so than the witch attacks. The birth is told realistically; the description of the pain the young women endure makes you shiver, reminding you of your own birth experiences. It's really shaking you to the core.

Yes yes!! Grady is an insta-read author for me, and this book did not disappoint. I can honestly say this is the first book I have read with 4 pregnant teenagers are the main characters and I was worried I wouldn't relate to the characters but I was wrong there. Such a great book, masterful. Can't wait to see him tour this one!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

This is by far his greatest book to date. I loved everything about it and was so glad that I was approved for the ARC. I couldn't put it down, but Hendrix novels are just like that for me. They are considered horror but there is always a bit of humor to lighten the story up a bit. So let's get in it. (I will give a warning some of the book is quite graphic especially during the birthing.)

The Wellwood Home is for girls that are considered loose, wayward, or girls that were pushed into adulthood before they were ready, these girls are unwed mothers that are sent away to hid while they have their babies and give them up for adoption in the swampland of St. Augustine, Florida.
Fern is sent there in the summer of 1970 when she is only fifteen years old and pregnant. Miss Wellwood is in charge of the home for unwed mothers and they have strict rules. Everything the girls eat, every moment of their day is accounted for, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them... There are other girls there who are expecting including Rose, a hippie, Zinnia, a musician, and Holly, a mute who is barely fourteen years old.
Fern then meets the librarian, Ms Parcae. She gives Fern a book about witchcraft and now the girls have the power to punish those that have mistreated them, but there is a price to be paid for witchcraft and they may have gotten more than they bargained for.

*Magical Negro Alert!*

I enjoy the author so much usually. I was so ready to love this – the vibes from The Craft, the way we treat teen mothers and women in general, the dark, witchy vibes.

But man, I wish the author had just…not…when it came to his Black characters.

We have:
• One non-entity teen
• One barely there sister of our Magical Negro
• A Stepin Fetchit Driver
• And our Magical Negro who serves up warm food, magical advice and saves white lives – all with a touch of grumpy Black sass.

So. Freaking. Unnecessary.

I really thought we had moved past this. I just wanted to enjoy our horror – both human and other. Instead, I was feeling like, just like our characters, I was living in the past.

Just do better.

*ARC via Publisher
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Grady Hendrix's new book is a bloody good time. He has this gift for writing such bad ass women with accuracy. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls goes into how unwed, teenage girls were treated in the 70s. It is about feeling hopeless and lonely but also about female bonds and turning away from the patriarchy. This book doesn't feel as much horror as his previous books, but don't be fooled; there are moments of creepiness. I am also once again hit in the feels with how these girls were treated and what they went through with their babies. This story will stick with me for awhile.

_Witchcraft for Wayward Girls_ by Grady Hendrix is an unputdownable and disturbing horror read with authentic characters. Teenage Fern is pregnant in the summer of 1970 when her father drops her off at the Wellwood Home for unwed mothers in Florida. Girls sent to the home must adhere to a regimented routine as well as give birth, give up their babies, and return to their normal lives like nothing happened. When the scheduled bookmobile visits the home, Fern and her close friends meet a local witch and discover a way to gain power back in their lives, but they soon learn that there is a cost to that power. Hendrix creates a wonderfully descriptive atmosphere of real and paranormal horror.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Press, and Grady Hendrix for this ARC!

This would was pleasantly nothing like I expected it to be. I kept trying to predict the plot but was unable to follow the next move. It was a unique telling of witches and feminism, which I thought was brave for a male author to tackle. Grady Hendrix is one of my favorite authors ever, and I was so delighted to get this ARC.

STOP READING TO AVOID SPOILERS!

Rose was my favorite character in this book. She was so funny, brash, and full of life. I expected her to come back and save Holly but I loved her ending, it was very fitting. The setting was very sad and Holly’s story made me sick to my stomach. Overall it was a gorgeous journey of sisterhood between girls who didn’t even know one another’s names. The descriptions of birth were horrific and beautiful, as were the gory descriptions. I will be recommending this book to many friends!

Nobody, I mean nobody, gets me to power through a “horror” genre book like Grady Hendrix. The whole time I was reading this book, as a new mom, unwed, but in my thirties I am so grateful to live in this day and age. My heart felt for these girls, and I was so invested in this book from the very beginning. I mostly read this during my baby’s night feedings and found myself staying awake for way longer than I should have, but I just couldn’t stop.

I LOVE GRADY HENDRIX! I seriously love everything he writes! This was the most original storyline I have read in years. So many stories are the same basic plot points presented in different ways, but this was unlike anything I’ve ever read. It handled serious and heartbreaking subject matter but was also fast paced and intriguing. I loved the character growth and thought it was beautifully written.

The sheer amount of research and care put into Hendrix's works are why I constantly return to them.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is poignant and brutal.

When I had first heard about this book in its early stages from Hendrix himself at the National Book fair, I had a feeling that this one would be up there in my ranking of his work.

There are sections of this text that are so stylistically unlike anything that Hendrix has done before and it is really a wonder.

I think that readers who expect horror like he has written before are going to find themselves at a loss. This is more emotional horror- of course there are some gross out and winceworthy moments in this but they are not the point. They're fleeting moments of the expected genre, what lasts in the text is the strong historical foundation paired with characters whose dialogue is written accurately for the time and whose careful construction adds to the many working layers of the narrative.

Is it clear that I like this book? I should hope so. It's a five star read in that I have literally no notes for things I would have improved upon or nitpicks. I

Last side note: I miss the era when Hendrix had the covers of his books styled to look like other objects/books, i.e. the Rolling Stone cover of We Sold our Souls and Horrorstor. No spoilers but if they ever release an alt cover of this one based on a certain description in here it's an immediate buy.

I really love Hendrix’s writing style and this story’s plot is extremely compelling, but the graphic scenes were a bit too much for me and I could not finish. I will definitely try and come back to this, maybe as an audiobook, but right now it’s a bit much for me

Another hit from Grady Hendrix. Here’s another story with complex characters, social commentary (particularly about women) and a unique twist on one of horror’s favorite topics: witches. I’m constantly astounded by how much research Hendrix does to put himself in the heads of his characters and to accurately depict the scenes and situations. I mean, check this out: The characters are pregnant teens in the 70’s who get sent to a wayward girls home in Florida. Overall, it’s an emotional ride that will thrill you, scare you and leave you with a new spot on your heart. Another great entry in Hendrix’s works, which now includes witches.

Dang. I did not expect to end this book in tears--I spent most of it in horror! How did a man write this book, a beautiful testament to the goddess that is woman, a potent raging against the evils of patriarchy, a terrifying portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth?

Grady Hendrix might, himself, be a witch. He's definitely a wordsmith, and his style and craft create the perfect horror books for me. They're scary, yes, even gory, but the metaphors of his monsters carry truth and resonate in my soul. This book was not a sensational read, but a transformational reading experience.

From the book: "...this little girl that they had pulled out of [her] body together and she knew that all the magic the witches had ever done was only a pale imitation of what had happened here tonight."

I don't want to give context for that quote to avoid spoilers, but the juxtaposition of witchcraft and the creative powers of a mother cast a spell on me. The witches are powerful, but a mother's power comes from nature more pure and powerful than any enchantment. Hendrix's story went straight to my heart without any sentimentality, and this book is perfect. Horror fans must read this!

Thank you @berkleypub for the advance copy of the ebook. I'm going to buy a physical copy as soon as it publishes in January.