Witchcraft for Wayward Girls resonates as another deliciously horrifying entry to the Grady Hendrix canon. Both historical and disturbingly apt in the post-Roe landscape, the novel finds 15 year old Fern (not her real name) in the southern gothic nightmare of a home for unwed mothers in Florida in the 1970s. Faced with unimaginable decisions, Fern and her friends take an unorthodox approach to surviving their pregnancies... with some help from a local librarian.

Witchcraft For Wayward Girls is a love song for women's rights and what it means to have the freedom to choose your own path in life. The book was hilarious, sad, thrilling as hell and even had some pretty grotesque body horror thrown in. I think it could have been fifty pages shorter and there should have been Waaaay more witchy scenes, but it was a great fun and original read with a stellar message 😁 ✨ 🔮

Ann Patchett's Patron Saint of Liars mixed with The Craft: this book is an overall good read with a few very graphic scenes and a theme of oppression and neglect throughout.

The descriptions of the horrors of teenage pregnancy before Roe v. Wade were heartbreaking. The families send the girls (some as young as 13) away to wait out the pregnancy and give birth to immediately surrender the baby.

No one talks about the fathers - it is the girls' fault for getting themselves into this situation, which they are constantly reminded of by the very people who are supposed to care for them. At times, I thought there is no way the hospital staff was that brutal to them. Then I realized it is still the case in many countries, like my native Russia, where punitive gynecology is very much a reality, no matter the marital status of the woman (but probably much worse for unwed young mothers).

The witchy parts left me a bit confused. I thought the magic would be an escape for the girls who seem to have so very few ways to protect themselves and advocate for their health and future. There are some moments where that's the case, but then, for pages and pages, the witches seemed like just another awful power the main characters had to fight against. I guess it goes with the logic that nothing is inherently good or evil, and everything is a tool that can heal or harm depending on the hand that wields it.

What made me rate the book as I did:
- the motivations of the girls are not always clear, which made it hard to root for them at times
- the plot lags in some spots, with pointless or repetitive scenes, which slowed the pace
- the ending seemed rushed

Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it one of the better witchy novels I've read recently.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is out on January 14.

I received an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. This new Grady Hendrix book is a must read.

With his intense characters and captivating scenes, he hooks you right from the start. In this book, it is 1970 and a young 15 girl, Neva is pregnant. Due to the times, her parents send her to a home for wayward girls in Florida, so she can have her baby and give it up. Here she meets a group of girls also in this situation, which is a dirty little secret to cover up. However, when the librarian of the bookmobile gives Neva a book on witchcraft, Things start to really take off. The girls stay at the home becomes more interesting and powerful. Emotions are high and Hendrix knows just how to create the perfect scenes making this book unforgettable.

This was just what I needed. Women full of rage against the patriarchal society? Yes please. I’ve read multiple Grady Hendrix books and they have all been fantastic. This is no exception. It is set in 1970s, so the time period is a lot different than now. There are some uncomfortable and gruesome moments in the book, so be prepared. I do think the pacing could have been better and sometimes I felt lost while reading, but it’s an uncorrected proof, so hopefully stuff like that will be fixed up.

Fern’s dad drops her off at the home in the summer of 1970. She is pregnant and feels completely alone. The home is for unwed mothers. They can stay in the home and work for room and board, as long as they sign away their rights to their baby once it’s born. And let’s be real, if they don’t sign away their rights, they will find a way to force them to. When someone comes into he life that can give her a say in her own life, it is super enticing. However, there is always a price to be paid…

Ok so the first quarter of this book I was like…hmmm this was written by Grady Hendrix? It didn’t seem like his type of book, and it sort of just felt like several other books I have read about homes for young pregnant girls in the 1970’s where they are forced to give away their babies. And then. Then this book took a hard core turn, and I was like ahhhh yes, now this is Grady Hendrix! I was so rooting for these young girls as I read, and I just wanted to scream at all the horrible things they were put through. It was so insane but I don’t want to say much more than that and spoil anything!

Thank you to @berkleypub for my gifted copy of this book!

This book is slow, this book has shiver-inducing gore and imagery, and this book is unlike anything Grady Hendrix has written before.

It’s hard to even categorize this as horror. It’s horror in the way that Mike Flannagan does horror... with love. He gives the reader a slice of life of pre-Roe limitations faced by young mothers, the complex emotions surrounding adoption, and a heavy dose of magic gone wrong.

This book wrenched my heart. It honestly left me speechless.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
By Grady Hendrix
OMG! I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this amazing book! It touched on so many emotions, and all are relevant today in this political atmosphere. The year in the book was 1969 to 1970.
Wayward girls, girls made to feel shamed because they become pregnant out of wedlock. They are not allowed to get an abortion back then but sent out of state, deep in the country, and hidden until they give birth. Then, the baby is taken from them. No choice.
The only person they see is the librarian and her book mobile every two weeks. One day, the librarian has a special book for Fern, our main character. It's a book of witchcraft. Things begin to change.
Exceptional book! Loved it from the beginning to the very end!

This book is so important for the times we are currently living in! Women always have to pay the price of patriarchy and this story is no different. This is a beautiful story of loss, friendship, and witchcraft.

Thank you so much to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Wow, I don't know where to begin. This is the best Grady book I have read (I have enjoyed a few of his). Wow, wow, wow. This is also a very important time for this book to be released give the crisis of women losing their rights and autonomy to their body all around the world. I said throughout this book, Grady much have consulted with many women while writing this, if you read it you will understand why. He is able to describe childbirth and pregnancy in an in-depth and nuanced why. There is a lot of commentary on unmarried pregnant women being hidden from and useless in, society.

This is a tough review to write because I feel like there is so much to say and I really want you to read it. I actually didn't know what it was about when I picked it up, and I couldn't put it down. We meet a cast of very strong, intelligent, and resilient young women. This book can be gut wrenching at times and tackles a lot dated (though still occurring) ideas and stereotypes about young pregnant women. This story takes place in Florida in 1970. It has a very strong sense of place and also a historical feel to it. As I write this, I'm just bumping up against not knowing how to really portray this story and how it made me feel... plz read it.

There is also a magical book, a traveling library on a bus and witchcraft. If you're looking for a fast paced story this isn't it. This is a slow burn, character study about young people banning together when the rest of the world won't take care of them. At times, there is a Lord of Flies feeling because these young women are in survival mode trying to care for one another. We get a diverse and vast cast of characters from one who is determined to overturn the system and fight for justice to another who is almost non-verbal and in a very scary situation.

If you are going in just for the witchcraft you may be disappointed. Grady takes time to build up to those aspects but once we get there, they are very strong. I can see some feeling frustrated that it's not really until the last half of the book. However, to understand the importance of the magic and witchcraft you must first honor and respect the situation these young women are in and the desperation that drives them.

This was just an all around amazing story, I hope you will give it a chance.

Good and interesting themes, and I particularly enjoyed the natural processes of pregnancy and childbirth feeling so supernatural; however, the characters felt a lot flatter than I'm used to with this author. I love Grady Hendrix but this story was less dark and the characters had a lot less depth than I'd like, so I think the story lost a lot of it's power

“For girls like us, down there at the Home, the devil turned out to be our only friend. “

This cover absolutely drew me in first. I mean, look how awesome it is!?
Set in the 1970’s at a home for unwed mothers. It was absolutely horrific to read about how terrible these pregnant teens were treated. They had no choices in any matter. After they give birth, they are expected to give the baby away, go home and act like nothing happened.
We are introduced to young teens under alias, Fern, Rose, Holly and Zinnia. Who are tired of it all. Until they meet a librarian who gives a book on witchcraft. They are desperate and think casting spells is the only way to help. But magic always comes with a price.

Unfortunately this was a DNF at 40% for me. This far in, things should be happening and the things that were fell flat for me. The characters and their personal experiences were horrific, but their story in the book was boring and the conflict was taking too long to get going. I've tried to read several other books by Grady Hendrix and felt similarly, so if you like his other books this might still be a good fit for you.

I've read a few of Hendrix's novels, but this has to be one of my favorites. It's a complex story about a group of "loose" girls who are powerless due to society's view of how girls SHOULD act and be, trapped in a house for unwed mothers, regaining their power and realizing that power comes at a cost.
This was an exceptional read and though the pacing could have been better during some sequences of the book, the plot was tight and the characters were so well-written that I either detested them or was rooting for them all the way through. This book will surely delight horror readers and those interested in feminist fiction.

Grady Hendrix is always quite good, though this one wasn't quite as much of a gut punch to me as his earlier novels. It's a very sharp indictment of reproductive violence in the 1970s, and portrays a strong picture of that time.

WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS may be my new favorite Grady Hendrix book. Grady is a go-to, auto buy author for me - his writing is impeccable and smart. Grady’s ability to write horror with both heart and humor is unparalleled. The amount of care and research Grady put into WITCHCRAFT is reflected on every page. WITCHCRAFT is both heartbreaking and empowering. Releasing on January 14, 2025 this is a must read for every kind of reader.

Thank you to Berkley for the advance copy.

"Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" is perhaps my favorite Grady Hendrix book so far. Which unfortunately, is not much of a compliment coming from me. I really want to like Hendrix, if I had to actually pick a favorite title of theirs it would be "Paperbacks from Hell". He clearly has a lot of passion for classic horror and creep out stories. However similar to "My Best Friend's Exorcism" I find his attempt at writing in the POV of a teenage girl to be annoying at best and problematic at worst. While there is nothing inherently wrong or poorly written with the main character or the accompanying band of pregnant girls in this particular title (besides the smallest, quietest character with a tragic backstory) they do not inspire a lot of connection or empathy. Each girl is stripped of their names when entering the home which again, is a common trope and not one I immediately dislike, but combined with their lack of development or the pattern of falling into stereotypes it's impossible to gain a real sense of who these characters are. "Wayward Girls" does have some of the creepier imagery when compared to other Hendrix books. Plus there are some real moments of tension and revulsion mostly centering around these characters giving birth (yikes). It takes the story too long to reach the emotional climax and while some of the revelations are interesting on paper, this particular story takes too long to get there and doesn't leave enough of a trace or a lasting impression to matter to the reader. If you enjoyed other Hendrix books I would warn you that this one takes itself more seriously than most of the other titles, which could be a downside for loyal fans. I will say this book has still not turned me off enough from Grady Hendrix and I cross my fingers that his next title will finally resonate with me,

This is my third Hendrix book, and I think I’m just not a fan. There’s nothing wrong with this story, but there’s also nothing remarkable about it. I’ll buy it for my library, but I prob won’t be highlighting it.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

| Thank you @berkleypub @gradyhendrix for the early #Gifted e-copy! | 📱

𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚢: 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚡
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙹𝚊𝚗𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝟷𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻

ˀqotd: do you believe in magic? 🪄

Ｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ

📖:
𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 • 𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘 • 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙘 • 𝙢𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 • 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 • 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 • 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 • 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 • 𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙨 • 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 • 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙠𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚 • 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 • 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 • 𝙢𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚 • 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 •

💭:
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it did not disappoint. 👏

Reading this book only proves that I need to get started on his backlist asap, thankfully I already own most of them!

📖:
There was a time when if a young woman becomes pregnant out of wedlock she is sent away. Usually the young woman is sent to live with another family member or a school for unwed mothers.

Once the child is born the baby is given up for adoption and the young lady returns home. All this to avoid embarrassment for the family.

Society in those times is obviously different from today but I couldn’t help but feel my heart breaking 💔 reading about the “wayward” girls in Hendrix’s book.

💭:
This story has it all - horror, suspense, drama, and lots of layers to unpack. The writing was great, the plot thick and uniquely crafted! Oh and did I mention magic?

We don’t get much of a backstory except for how a few of the girl’s ended up there. However, what lacks in character development at the start is made up for throughout.

📝:
𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘐 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥/𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦. 🤣

𝘿𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙-𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.

#️⃣: #bookreview #bookrecommendations

There's a slow build to this story about pregnant teenage girls quarantined away from society, not for their own well-being but to conceal their disgrace from the rest of the world. A houseful of female teen outcasts leads us naturally to witchcraft. (As does librarianship.) The stakes are real as the girls swear complete obedience and commitment to their burgeoning witchy powers, such that the reader wants to tell them not to do it but is also very curious as to what will happen with all of this. I never quite knew what direction we were going in with this particular plot, and while I sometimes liked having to make or revise those judgements along the way, there was also a bit of muddiness in the message. Hendrix doesn't say just one thing about witchcraft, about living as an outsider, about adoption or innately loving mothers. These are all complicated choices and while I don't need an answer, I might've liked some clarity.

He revels in the time period and setting details, capturing the spirit of what teenage girls in 1970 might concern themselves with: the specific products, the celebrity lore, their dreams for the future which are in some ways limited by what society allows, and in other ways push against the restrictions that oppress them. His mention of the Ohio shootings brought me back to that classic protest song and made me wish that there was more room today for music that asks us to make a difference.

Images that stick with me will be a particular birthing scene and all the skyclad women in the trees.

This was my first time properly reading Hendrix, who has been on my radar for quite a long time, so I can't say how it lands in comparison with his other works, but I think other new readers would be able to contentedly start here.