Wow! Such a fast read I couldn't put it down. I really need to see a sequel!! Great storyline and a way to wrap it up. Each girl was so different yet alike in one way or another. Great time of the year to read this book! A book for the witch in all of us ;-)

Wow, I had no idea what to expect with this but it was fantastic. Not only is this the perfect spooky, witchy book to read this time of year but the overall premise of the book is so interesting and unique I couldn’t help but be so invested in all of the characters and their lives/stories. Thank you so much to Netgalley for an arc of this book, I’m blown away by it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 from me!

Rated between 3.5 to 4 stars. I really love Grady Hendrix books and the others I have read were 5 star reads. This book had an interesting premise and I loved the girl’s relationships. The overall lesson of the book was so good. I really found the idea of a girls home for pregnant teens to be so fascinating. I just wish the book was a tad shorter.

Grady’s books can be super descriptive so I would recommend checking trigger warnings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Easily the best Grady Hendrix book written! Absolutely fantastic!
Neva is on her way to being dumped off at a home for young, unmarried pregnant girls by her disgraced father. He literally can't drop her off fast enough. Once there she is encouraged to not give any real life details, including her own name, so she is given the name Fern by Miss Wellwood, who runs the home (inherited from her father). There she meets an eclectic bunch of girls just like herself. She gets bored and heads to the book mobile for something new to read and is recommended a New Kind of Book. Things take a very wild turn from there. Not only is this story about wayward girls and witches, but it's so much more. Mostly friendship and the need for their own Coven. It's so well written and I even teared up a bit. We need a sequel!!

When Fern gets pregnant in 1970, her family sends her to a home for other pregnant teens in Florida to live until she gives birth. The baby will be adopted out and Fern will return home without anyone knowing. For the dozen girls living at the home, their days are boring and filled with chores. They don't have a choice of what to eat or what doctor to visit. When a bookmobile visits, Fern is excited to having something to read. The librarian gives her a book about witchcraft. Without much else to do, her and her friends decide to create a spell on their doctor. They are surprised when the spell works. Slowly Fern and her friends delve into witchcraft putting themselves and possibly their unborn children in danger. The stories of these teens, while fictional, are heartbreaking. I know stories like theirs really did happen and still do to this day. Combining the stigma of teen pregnancy with witches makes this a unique horror story.

This was an interesting book. I have read quite a few books by Grady Hendrix and they are at times hit or miss for me. I know that places like this certainly existed and the book bus was an enjoyable diversion. Once you realized that Miss Parcae was a witch and that Fern was the intended victim, things really started to pick up.

It started innocently enough, but when things get out of hand and they are unsure what their antics have done to Miss Wellwood, the girls (including Fern) agree to stop with the witchcraft. But, when the book of spells that was given to Fern gets burned by the cook, Miss Parcae reveals her dark side and tells Fern she won't have a choice to live up to the promise that she made.

I did feel that the ending was a little rushed but overall really enjoyed the story.

Heck yeah! Grady Hendrix always has these books with fabulous titles and super intriguing blurbs, and every single time I give in and pick one up I end up disappointed. This one, though … this one is absolutely fantastic. I've read some of the other reviews and everyone keeps on commenting about how very un-Grady Hendrix-y this particular book is, so maybe it's a fluke but I'll take it. It's feminist and witchy and heartwarming and heartbreaking and unputdownable and did I mention witchy?

I mean, there's a witch that moonlights as a librarian. Or a librarian that moonlights as a witch, I dunno. Probably the first one. But there's a librarian and a bookmobile and a witchy spell book and I am all about books that are about books. Not that this one is just about a book, mind you – it's also about patriarchy and helplessness and power and feminine rage. I was only alive for approximately 6.5 months of the 70s so I have no idea how accurate of a portrayal this book is of how unwed pregnant girls were treated in 1970, but it's absolutely enraging.

Be forewarned that this book includes some very graphic childbirth scenes. Sweet baby kittens on a cracker, I have never been so happy that my son was adopted in all my life. But if you've ever wanted to learn how many layers of muscle a doctor cuts through during an episiotomy, this is your book.

There's not much outright horror to be found here (well, other than the childbirth scenes mentioned above, ha), but there are a few delightfully creepy bits. Most of the “horror” has less to do with anything supernatural and more to do with how the young girls in this book are treated by the people in their lives and by society as a whole.

So, yeah. Great book. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a little creepy and a lot enraging and kind of makes me want to go out and fight the patriarchy. Grady Hendrix might just make a fan out of me yet. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is January 14, 2025.

When people say Hendrix can't write women, I want to throw this book at them. This is a slow burn horror, embedded in the realities of being a woman, a young girl, of being pregnant, of having no rights, freewill, or respect. The type of horror women face every day but rarely does society turn inward to pay attention to it. Hendrix writes this horror so well, so clearly, that it makes my stomach turn and my anxiety bloom. Because this horror isn't about something that doesn't exist, it's not about vampires, haunted houses, or possession. It's about how our society does not give women ownership of her own body, a horror so incredibly real and terrifying. Reading this felt like reading Handmaid's Tale in our current day - it's a fictional tale of the past but one that we are on the knife's edge of in our current day, foretelling our future, illustrating how we are repeating past sins.

Pregnancy and birth horrify me and the subjects are perfect for body horror, but Hendrix does not tread into the fantastical. He doesn't exaggerate the horrors of birth -- nobody births demon babies -- but instead he shows us what giving birth is truly, graphically like. We see different scenarios, from a young girl who is methodically cut apart to allow her child to pass through her tiny birth canal, in a hospital that has no empathy for the girl and does not do anything for her pain; to a home birth, surrounded by her coven, which nearly kills both child and mother. I am in awe of a horror book so masterfully built on what is true. It's not a book for readers who are looking for exciting, fast-paced masculine-based horror, but for ones who like slow, quiet building of tension.

The only criticism I have is that Hagar and Miriam serve as Magical Negros who support and save the (mostly white) girls in their moments of need, and who we know nothing about and do not hear follow up on their future after risking their lives. It's so obviously a Magical Negro trope that I was sincerely hoping Hendrix was going to turn it on its head but he does nothing with it except enforce it. We also do not see Zinnia give birth and do not learn of the horrors she faces as a Black woman giving birth, not only racism from the system but also the statistical reality of Black maternal mortality rates. Maybe Hendrix felt this was not his story to tell and wanted a happier story for Zinnia, I don't know.

I'm sad this is coming out next year, as this was the perfect book for me to kick off the fall season. I couldn't put it down and Rose, Zinnia, Holly, and Fern will be with me for a long time.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was not my favorite Grady Hendrix book, but I do think fans of his previous work will still quite enjoy it.

The book does a great job exploring the social dynamics of unwed mothers before Roe v Wade, which feels especially topical give. Recent Supreme Court decisions. Where it fell a little flat for me was with the witchcraft stuff. It takes a while to actually get there and then it mostly feels inconsequential to the overall plot.

My main criticism, though, is with the climax. There are sort of two climaxes between Fern and Holly having their babies and the conclusion of the plot with the witches. The childbirth portion was quite dramatic and intense but the conclusion to the witch subplot felt underwhelming.

This one is something of a departure for Hendrix. There are still supernatural, traditional "horror" elements with the introduction of a coven of witches, but they are not in the foreground of the story. The heart of the book is the story of a house full of pregnant teenage girls in the early 1970s and the all-too human horrors that they have to endure in a society that looks at them as fallen and treats them as shameful and to be hidden away. Grady has always excelled at mixing sincere emotion into his novels, and he does so to an even higher degree here. The story of Neva/Fern and the friends she makes and the decisions she is pushed into is incredibly powerful. Another outstanding book in a really special bibliography.

Review of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix does it again. He delivers a story that both entertains and makes you slightly uncomfortable, blending horror and social commentary in his signature style. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls isn’t the typical witchcraft tale I expected, but it’s intense, gripping, and kept me hooked from start to finish.

Set in the 1970s at a home for unwed mothers in Florida, the novel follows Neva, a pregnant teen sent to live among other young women in similar circumstances. Each girl is given a fictitious name upon arrival, erasing their former lives to protect their future. Neva, now known as Flora, quickly befriends a group of girls, including one who harbors a disturbing secret. When Flora and her friends seek help from a local librarian aboard the bookmobile, they unwittingly stumble into a dark world of witchcraft. The librarian is no ordinary woman—she’s the leader of a local coven, searching for her replacement.

As the girls pledge their loyalty to the witch, the tension escalates. The looming presence of their pregnancies creates an unsettling backdrop, amplifying the dread with every passing day. Hendrix masterfully builds suspense, and I’ve never felt more on edge about a simple knock on the door!

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is the perfect read to get you in the mood for spooky season. It’s eerie, thought-provoking, and filled with the kind of slow-burn horror that Hendrix excels at. Highly recommend for fans of atmospheric horror with a dark, emotional core.

The Wellwood Home in Florida is full of girls — all deemed wayward and loose during the 1960s — and all knocked up. The home is a place for unwed mothers to go through pregnancy in secret and return to their lives as normal, many forced by their parents to come. But with horrible sickness and conditions, Fern and her friends just want some relief and a better future. When a chance encounter with an elderly librarian’s bookmobile leads them to a book of witchcraft, it seems like nonsense until their spells start making things happen. But the real danger lurks close by. In the woods behind the home and the deeper they get into the book, the more danger they’re in.
While a long read, I loved this take on a very real time that impacted so many women who felt powerless before Roe v Wade, with a fictional twist brought in to put the power back in their hands. While I didn’t quite find the horror like I have with past Hendrix books like How to Sell a Haunted House, this was a great novel sure to be devoured.
Thank you to Berkley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

One of the things I enjoyed about reading “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” was that it had more of a campy, fun energy similar to the remake of “Dark Shadows” that starred Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. It felt more interesting to have a fun read mixed in with the thrills. There are parts of it that are like “Carrie” but with a ton more attitude. The book also captured the fun energy of the Netflix remake of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, so if you liked that vibe, and look for that as a reader, you’ll like this new book from Grady Hendrix.

Loved this! Such a controversial synopsis but this book was amazing! Love all the covers for thsi series

Horror is not a popular genre at the Library but Grady Hendrix is a good introduction to those patrons willing to try it!

A group of girls sent away for getting pregnant in the 70s find the only way they can to survive the place - witchcraft.

Starting a Grady Hendrix title is always bittersweet. I almost don’t want to start because I know I’ll be sad when it ends. The same was true for this one. It’s eye opening to see how girls were treated for getting pregnant outside of marriage. Even at the home they were sent to, they were left in the dark about what was happening to their young bodies and then sent home afterwards to pretend it never happened. We love seeing some strong girls find a way to get revenge.

I received an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Grady Hendrix is a must red for me. He creates vivid characters in fascinating scenarios. It is 1970 and Neva is 15 and pregnant. Her parents send her to a home for wayward girls in Florida, so she can have her baby, give it up and come home and be normal. It’s all a dirty little secret. She meets a group of girls also in challenging situations. When the librarian in the bookmobile gives her a book on witchcraft, their lives are forever changed.

The book cover is stunning, there are some disturbing scenes and Hendrix knows how to create quite an atmosphere inside and outside the walls of this wayward home. Memorable.

The catalog record for this book has horror as a genre category, but I don't think that's correct. Thriller maybe, and paranormal for sure but I wasn't getting horror vibes-- similar to The Final Girl Support Group in that way.

I usually don't read historical fiction from this period, so I don't have much to compare it to. The time setting was pretty vague, as the girls in the facility are intentionally cut off from media; references to social events are pretty limited music and the Vietnam War.

Although all the primary characters are teens-- some as young as 14-- this isn't a YA novel. Teens who find the situations relevant will certainly be able to access and understand the story, but I wouldn't recommend it indiscriminately to high-schoolers.

Magic as a method or analogy for agency, bodily autonomy, and social prejudices give this book plenty of topics for potential conversation-- an unconventional but promising book group selection.

eARC from NetGalley.

Fantastic read! Grady Hendrix’s narrative follows a group of young women residing in a home for unwed pregnant girls during the 1970s. The protagonist, Neva (renamed Fern to keep her anonymity in the home), encounters a mysterious librarian at a visiting bookmobile, and Fern is introduced to a book on witchcraft. Fern, along with the other expectant girls, begins to explore the implications of this discovery and whether they can harness the occult to navigate the challenges leading up to the birth of their babies.

This book masterfully weaves together some of the classic elements of horror, such as the secluded setting, the old house that is almost a character in itself, and the overall sense of discomfort and foreboding. The narrative also heavily focuses on these girls as they grapple with the complexities of their circumstances and the unfairness of their treatment. The story strikes a perfect balance between the eerie allure of witchcraft and the heavy themes of teen pregnancy, forced adoption, sexual assault, and childbirth. A must-read for Grady Hendrix fans, and horror fans in general!

Grady Hendrix is one author whose description of female characters isn't annoying or inaccurate. The way this book weaved the stories of four young women (kids, really) who were left at a home for Wayward girls until they could deliver their babies was impressive. This slow burn is thought-provoking on how women in the 1970's suffered with the boundaries set upon them at that time. This book is not like Grady's others, in that it is spooky, but not the horror or gruesomeness you get used to. Instead, it discusses the trauma unwed and pregnant teen girls go though, and how women didn't have freedom or anyone looking out for them.

I am giving this book 4 stars, even though it isn't as good as the other books by this author, but the writing was beautiful, thought provoking and a sign of the times. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this highly anticipated ARC.