Set in the 1970s, pregnant teen Neva Craven - swiftly renamed Fern - is sent to the Wellwood Home for Unwed Mothers in Florida to have her baby and adopt it out in secrecy. She bonds with rebellious Rose, cautious Zinnia, and perceptive Holly over their unfair treatment and powerlessness. When Miss Parcae, the bookmobile librarian, offers them the chance to change their situation by practicing witchcraft, Fern eagerly accepts, unaware of the horrifying consequences it could have for her soul.

Grady Hendrix follows up How to Sell a Haunted House with a highly feminist historical horror novel that is difficult to read, given the political climate in which it will be published. The central horror revolves around how Fern and the other girls - who, as the opening and closing chapters reminds us, were children - are stripped of control over their names, their bodies, their living situations, their daily routines, their medical decisions, their meals, and the futures of their babies. Adults force them into doing what they think is best with little regard for the girls' wishes or feelings. Compared to that, the threat presented by Miss Parcae and her coven of witches falls flat and feels almost trivial. Hendrix doesn't quite manage to mix trauma with horror and reality with the supernatural as well as, say, Tananarive Due's The Reformatory.

Although I am a long-time fan of his work, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls left me feeling queasy and out-of-sorts. Perhaps that is the point in a post-Dobbs world, but trauma and pointed sociopolitical statements have always stripped the fun out of horror for me. On a more personal note, the librarian antagonist was disappointing. We have enough trouble dealing with book bans without also being vilified as witches, thank you.

Grady Hendrix fans will read Witchcraft for Wayward Girls anyway, but only hand this one to readers who want a heaping dose of politics to go with their horror.

CW: Two extremely graphic and one moderately graphic birth scenes, two moderately graphic scenes of self-mutilation, child sexual abuse.

The genius of Grady Hendrix is back! Set in the 1970's Florida. "Wayward" girls were often sent to group homes to await the resolution of their "problem".  The young ladies spent countless hours being worked as hired help, but a night the girls become bored. The girls meet Ms Parcae (a mobile librarian), and the girls boredom and curiosity leads to some hilarious horrors. What starts out as what appears to be a harmless charm leads to more sinister acts.  Delivered only as Grady Hendrix can, this is a wonderfully campy horror novel.  Hendrix also brings to light some of the social injustices of the seventies, including racism and the Vietnam war in a way he can only deliver.

5 stars

Grady Hendrix taught me more about giving birth than I ever thought I would know. His vivid imagery will forever stick in my mind and I will never forget this story.

Hendrix has a way with words and crafts stories that suck you in and make you forget you are reading a story and not living through it. I always think that he can never outdo himself but then he goes and does it.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a strikingly and hauntingly visual story about women who fight with all they have to protect what is theirs no matter the cost. If you’re a fan of Grady Hendrix, Witchcraft, and strong female characters, then this novel is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this amazing ARC and, thank you to Grady Hendrix for blessing us with yet another phenomenal story.

Grady Hendricks has a way of sucking you in! He makes you care about the Characters like they are your friends. The plot was very well thought out and this book had a satisfying ending.

Thank you so very much for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Hendrix's upcoming release. He has been one of my go to authors for years. I was lucky that another one of our staff was able to grab an ARC as well. We had several passionate discussions, as well as google history lessons. This book will definitely inspire conversation, although I didn't feel it was horror like his previous novels. Horror in that fact that the subject matter is horrific, just not in the revenge/get what's coming to you way I wanted.
Overall I enjoyed this book. I was heavily invested in the main characters, was sweating heavily at the descriptions of Florida and the home, and by the second half felt the book was unputdownable. I appreciated that Hendrix spoke of his family's past history with these "homes" and was happily surprised that he got input for some of the female heavy topics. Those labor and delivery scenes were brutal. As a mom of two boys, they were spot on, visceral. I'm so glad this book will be out there, read, and discussed. Sadly its topics are still very relevant.
I only have two less than positive takes from the novel. One, I wish there had been more of a blood-soaked, violent revenge from the girls. I felt quite let down that the priest only had to spew his truths to the congregation later. Although I do see how redeeming it was to have Fern not kill him... Two, I dislike that the librarian had to be so selfish and come across as almost evil. I had high hopes she was giving the girls knowledge and power for good and not for such selfish reasons. Well maybe she wasn't selfish, but scary as hell! We aren't that scary!
All in all, as I mentioned in the beginning I loved this novel and I can't wait to recommend it to my patrons.

This book really hit home. My mother was one of those ‘wayward’ girls who ended up in a home for unwed mothers forced to give her daughter away. Fortunately, we found my sister when I was pregnant with my own daughter, and we have been in relationship with her ever since. But I remember my mother saying to me three days after my daughter was born: “Now imagine having to give her up.” I still cry thinking about it.

Yes, I cried a lot while reading this book because as a woman, it felt very real to me. Also, needless to say, it brought home just how much Roe v. Wade helped change this situation.

So take real girls, hiding from the public eye, in the final months of their pregnancies, in the heat of a Florida summer without air conditioning, and all manner of restrictions on every thing from their diets to their clothing, and you can see where a little desperation might creep in.

And then a book about witchcraft is handed to 15-year-old Fern by a seemingly innocent librarian, and things begin to change. But what is the cost? And how do you balance the good of those suffering against that cost?

Hendrix pulls it all together exceptionally well in his amusing Southern Style and wraps it all up just as well. I really enjoyed getting to know Fern, Rose, Holly, and Zinnia (assumed names, of course, because they weren’t allowed to use their real names) as well as the other characters who were all very well delineated. Not only is this book about witchcraft and the supernatural but it speaks to some very real issues that should have stayed in the past but could well be a real threat again.

I've only read the Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix and not his other books, so I can only compare to that one. The writing style is similar, easy to read and follow, visceral when it needs to be (and sometimes just for shock factor, which I think works in this setting / story.) I do think the story dragged / the pacing was slooow in some places. The witches don't show up until deep into the book (40% in or something like that.) I was enraged a lot when I was reading at how these girls were treated. Grady really captured how messed up our society was (and still is in some places!) I'm actually kind of shocked at the fact that a man tackled this subject matter; I think he did a fantastic job and mostly felt real. Part of me questions why / if a man needed to write a story about pregnant teens, but that didn't stop me from appreciating the book. So overall, mixed feelings but the story was captivating for the most part. 3.5 stars

Grady Hendrix never disappoints. In a way, I love that these girls found a way to pass the time while they were waiting to have their babies! This book came at a perfect time for me because I recently read another book where pregnant girls were shipped off to have their babies in secret. I am going to create a 'read alike' social media post to create them together!

I am absolutely shocked that this iconic feminist manifesto was written by a MAN!! This was visceral and puts you right in the main character's body and brain immediately. The horror is slow to come, but once it comes it is very horrific - major trigger warning for child loss, adoption, traumatic birth, etc!!

The way that the girls banded together against the patriarchy almost brought me to tears and this was truly delightful.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. Below you'll find my honest review.

A witchy book was a perfect "get in the Halloween mood" read! Hendrix is one of my go-to authors for great horror books, and this one was absolutely one of his best ones yet.

The characters developed really well, and the witchy bits were so much fun (for us, the reader, but not always for the MCs!)

I think the best part for me was the setting. He really built up the world perfectly - from the Home, to the staff, to the witchy lady, to the other girls, to the atmosphere of the time - it just all felt so immersive and on point.

And just as importantly, he nailed the connection from actual horror elements with the horrors of reality, per usual, this time in how women, especially girls, are treated in the real world and in the case of pregnancy outside of marriage.

Top notch read, highly HIGHLY recommended.

Grady Hendrix is such a unique, delightful storyteller. This one wasn't quite as humorous or shockingly frightful as some of his other novels, but I still loved it all the same! The witchcraft aspect of the story was interesting, but I was actually way more into the experience and treatment of the "wayward" girls. My only warning is maybe don't read this if you're pregnant...those labor/delivery scenes were horrifying!

This book was good but I felt that sometimes it lacked depth and plot, it was pretty slow and the plot twists could have been harder to figure out.

I haven’t read a Grady Hendrix book that I didn’t at least really enjoy. This one definitely landed in the “love” column. He does such a good job of weaving together accurate portrayals of everyday (but not necessarily typical) life with something super off the wall, and the combination is addicting. And I always love that there’s a strong female protagonist in a frustrating situation, that might stumble, but never quits.

I loved this book and all of Hendrix’s books I’ve read. I loved the setting taking place in a home for pregnant girls in the 60’s. The cast was full of quirky characters and the epilogue tied everything together nicely!

This might be my favorite Grady Hendrix so far. This wasn’t a horror book like I’m used to from him but this was paranormal. The ending was also surprisingly a good ending and I’m still not sure if that’s what I would’ve expected for Grady’s writing. Overall decent book

Thank you, NetGalley, for an ARC of this book!
This book is one of those where I kept reading but the pages never seemed to turn. The first half goes at a snails pace, and it isn’t until everyone is locked into their character arc that it gets good. This was my first Grady Hendrix book and once I got halfway through, I was pretty dialed in. I thought the book was solid, the characters were good, and the ending was all wrapped up. I loved Rose - and was so happy to see her again at the end. I wouldn’t say this is a page-turner, but coming out in January, it may be the perfect winter read for someone that likes the witchy novels!

Set in 1970, the year I was about the age of the teenage characters, so that was interesting. Also set in the rural area around St. Augustine and the St. John‘s River, an area I am fond of. Wellwood House is a home for young girls who are pregnant are sent, dominated by mostly uncaring adults, have their babies, and then are forced to give the baby away. Never said, it is assumed the Home subsists on selling the babies because one of the means of coercion is the young girl has to pay for her stay, care, and birth IF she does not give up her child. The witchcraft comes in the form of the visiting librarian (I have know a couple that are witches), who is looking for new body to carry on her lineage. I like Hendrix’s writing, this one was 3 ⭐️for the first two thirds and then kicked up to 4 ⭐️s. Funny at times, horrific at times, and reminiscent of the pre-Roe times of patriarchal control of young women - even when that comes from women.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly the characters. I kept reading because I cared for them. I did have some issues with the pacing of the novel and certain scenes seeming superfluous to the story.

I'm quickly becoming a Grady Hendrix fan! I see why our patrons love his books so much and will be buying this for our collection. We may even use it for a bookclub read.

I am a huge Grady Hendrix fan already but Witchcraft for Wayward Girls may be one of my top two favorites by him. I adored the characters in this book, Hagar was one of my favorites. There were times I laughed, wanted to cry, was horrified and at one point even scared. This book had it all and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for myself along with some for my store.