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.

What a concept! Unmarried “mothers”, Deep South, witches, and the need to be seen. Grady’s writing style and emotions displayed drew me along until the finish. Historical facts brought to life with magical realism.

This is the fourth Grady Hendrix I have read, with various ratings, and I loved this story. While I’ve read different reviews so far, this one worked for me. I’m okay with slower burns & immersing myself in the journey. Thank you so much Berkley & NetGalley for the ARC. Please give this book a read when it publishes January 14, 2025.

I have been highly anticipating the release of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix with an outstanding premise and cover art. However, in the end I feel like this novel just wasn't for me.

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid...and it’s usually paid in blood.

Grady Hendrix crafts a unique premise set against the backdrop of Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida—a place shrouded in secrecy and societal judgment. Additionally, he weaves in acts of witchcraft. This, plus the name Grady Hendrix, was enough to pull me into reading Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. However, Hendrix left me wanting more from this much anticipated book.

While I didn't hate the book, I was hoping for a different book than I was presented with and that is typically the fault of the reader and not the author. So, as in any review this is coming from my place in society and such and not the ability for Hendrix to craft a story. Hendrix is known for telling tales with unique plots and characters and this is no different here.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is classified as a horror novel and while the horrors within are not what typically is expected, they are horrors indeed. Hendrix was able to mix slight supernatural horror (a dab of witchcraft) with the real life horrors of child birth and what women (especially unwed pregnant women) have to deal with in the 1970s. This balance brings a different feel to the book. While I would've preferred more of the witchcraft horror, it didn't take away from the overall story at hand.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls' strength lies within the exploration of real-life terrors—those encountered by unwed mothers navigating shame-inflicted societies and grappling with impending childbirth's physicality and emotional weight. Despite my expectations set by its title and initial premise, this novel successfully shines light on these more personal experiences rather than indulging heavily in fantastical elements.

Hendrix succeeds at establishing a strong sense of time and place; immersing us into the constricting realities faced by these women during the 1970s—a time when autonomy over one's body was still fervently contested. This is a typical strength for the author as his locations tend to take on a role of almost being another character in his stories.

While location and setting were tremendously written, Hendrix seems to have stumbled at character development with the slow burn of this book. What does emerge is the authentic depiction of camaraderie amongst these young women who initially find themselves isolated both physically within Wellwood House's confines—and emotionally due to society's judgment on them.

With a unique premise and Grady Hendrix's signature writing style, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls holds a mirror to the past while echoing themes relevant even today. While not without criticism, this latest outing for Hendrix gives us a blend of history, power dynamics, sisterhood, and a dash of witchcraft. In the end, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was just not for me (and I might be in the minority on this one).

hendrix continues to be one of the best in the biz.

i always have a great time reading a grady hendrix book, and this one is no different. following a group of “wayward girls” in the home they’ve been hidden in as they await giving birth? plus witchcraft? and set in the 70s? i mean come on now.

i loved each of the main girls we got to know. the tension and the things they experience are palpable. i found myself cringing or gasping multiple times and i never wanted to put the book down.

hendrix really knows how to captivate you and make you root for his characters and this was just such a joy to read.

please check content warnings before reading as there are some visceral scenes depicting pregnancy and birth.

I was expecting this one to scare me, but as a mother of 3 and former RN who has spent time working in Labor and Delivery, this one made me sad instead. Birth doesn't scare me, but the way these young teens were treated bummed me out. This book also has some surprisingly tender moments. Hendrix has a talent for writing really tense, visceral scenes and interesting characters. I liked it, overall even if it wasn't quite what I was expecting!

Grady Hendrix is a master at his craft. Thick with historical and modern relevance, this is a witch story for any woman angry about their bodily autonomy.

This was an interesting experience for me. Teenaged unwed expecting mothers are sent to a home to ride out their pregnancies and deliver their babies. Afterwards, they are to give their babies up for adoption and go home to pretend like nothing happened. One day, a group of these girls come across a book of witchcraft and decide to try it out. What happens changes their lives forever.
Here's what worked for me and what didn't:

What worked: I really liked the storyline. The whole premise was interesting and I enjoyed where the story went and how it unfolded. The characters were also great. The girls were strong and built true friendships. The villains in the story (there were many) were written really well. You truly feel the helpless situations they are in.

What didn't work: I felt it was too long in length. It took a long time to get to the parts that really propelled the story forward. I never felt the "I can't put this book down" feeling the entire time I was reading it. Some of the descriptions were so descriptive, I found myself skimming paragraphs because I felt it was unnecessary to have so much description of certain scenes. It felt like it was dragged out.

This made me realized that while I want to read and will continue to buy all of Grady Hendrix's books, they all won't be hits for me. But I still want to read them all because I love his concepts and when they hit, they hit big for me.

Content warnings: multiple graphic scenes of childbirth, child molestation storyline

"Every price must be paid.

So why do the same people pay it, over and over again? Why do the same people always bleed?"

why is this man so good at writing female rage, like??

i have to admit, i was not the biggest fan of How to Sell a Haunted House (that book felt very For Grady lol. which is fine!) so i'm excited to like this one so much. there were some truly scary imagery involving the witches but maybe the most unsettling scene for me wasn't supernatural at all. when one of the girls (view spoiler)

an infuriating read (especially after the election) but a great one.

An interesting and impactful historical fiction looking at the treatment of girls in the mid-20th century, with some witchcraft and paranormal phenomenon mixed in. This book was much heavier tonally then most of the other books I have read from this author. Hard to read at times but definitely enthralling.

Grady Hendrix's Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a haunting exploration of autonomy, social judgment, and rebellion situated amidst an auspicious 1970s America. Seamlessly balancing feminist social commentary with supernatural elements, the novel masterfully weaves an intellectually stimulating and emotionally poignant tale that continues long past the final page.

The story centers around Wellwood House, a grim institution to which young, unwed pregnant girls are banished to suffer their pregnancies in secrecy and shame. Robbed of identity and forced to give their babies away, the girls-Neva, now named Fern, feisty Rose, talented Zinnia, and shy Holly-develop a strong attachment to one another in this repressive setting. The poignancy of their plights smacks one in the face with raw and harrowing depictions of childbirth, the emotional weight of societal judgment, and physical and psychic tolls. Hendrix does indeed paint a vivid picture of systemic control: starting from their strictly monitored diets, right to the cold and clinical detachment from the staff.

Things become darker when the mysterious librarian, Ms. Parcae, introduces the girls to a spellbook. What seemed initially to be a promising preview of freedom via witchcraft soon turned darker. The attempts to grasp some control of their lives with the use of supernatural methods have consequences that test the boundaries of their courage and bonding.

The novel is one of those slow-burning kinds, taking much time to establish the relationships among the characters. This may frustrate readers in the beginning; the depth and authenticity of these connections ultimately carry the story. Gut-wrenching and deeply empathetic, Hendrix captures the trauma and resilience of the girls in the novel and exposes the human cost of living in a world that devalues girls' agency.

While this book is a major work of horror, much of the terror in Witchcraft for Wayward Girls actually comes from the realistic 'treatment' of the girls rather than in over-the-top supernatural frights. The moments of witchcraft are poignant and symbolic, although perhaps not as intense as some readers might expect. According to Hendrix, what's really horrid is not the devil but the oppressive systems and societal norms that take away young women's choices.

The novel does not fail to draw invidious parallels between the struggles of its 1970s setting and ongoing battles over women's rights, making its themes heartbreakingly resonant. Hendrix's evocative prose catches the bleakness of the girls' circumstances, allowing room for hope, rebellion, and bittersweet triumph.

While at times the supernatural elements felt a bit underdeveloped, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls truly shines as a story of sisterhood and defiance. It's a powerful and emotional reading, entertaining one moment, then challenging every female's nemesis-systematic injustices-fascinatingly. Hendrix crafts a compelling narrative of rage, heartache, and resilience; instead of assuaging the readers, it leaves them unnerved and inspired.

This wasn't for me. I keep trying to like Grady Hendrix, but I just can't seem to get past the slow parts, or really ever connect with the protagonists.

I know some people who will love it. But I found it to be just sort of okay.

This is a difficult book for me to review. There were a lot of things that I enjoyed, but also some things that left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. It had the typical "camp" feel of the rest of his books (which I do enjoy in my horror novels), however, I think this one could have focused on the "real life" horror on its own, without bringing in the witchcraft element. Yes, the witchcraft made it fun (and at times, gross) and that is what makes it a Grady Hendrix book, but I found the reality of what was being done to young pregnant girls to be horrific enough.

The first half of this book read almost as a coming-of-age novel, and then turned into an interesting combination of witchcraft, gory imagery, and a bunch of pregnant teenage girls making poor decisions. I found myself disliking our MC for a majority of the book, as she lacked any real character development until the end, but it also did help to highlight how young these characters truly were, and that at the end of the day, they just wanted to be kids.

Overall, I still think this was an enjoyable read, and it made me wish I never sold my childhood lava lamp!

I’ve been a reluctant fan of Grady Hendrix for a long time (his books are fantastic but can be very intense for my wispy heart) but this one was awesome!

I won’t lie, this wasn’t my favorite Grady Hendrix. I find myself struggling to want to read a book written by a male about teen pregnancies. Especially in this political climate we are in. I also find some points of it to be boring. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. Though again, it could be my bias behind it. Thank you for though for the arc!

In case you needed another reason to smash the patriarchy, here is a story about pregnant teens in the 70s, just before Roe v Wade. Also, witches. Well written, great character development, and makes you think hard about whether or not you'd actually want to be a witch.

4.5 stars. Would not put this as a horror genre, unless highly detailed birth scenes freak you out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It’s the 1970s in St. Augustine, Florida, and the desperate parents of wayward girls are shipping their daughters off to the Wellwood Home to conceal their unplanned pregnancies. Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives frightened and alone, joining a community of girls, each with their own plans and struggles. Under the strict control of Miss Wellwood and the other adults, they have little autonomy—until Fern encounters a librarian who introduces her to a book on witchcraft. For the first time, the girls feel a sense of power, but with power comes danger, and soon they learn that such power demands a costly price.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a haunting and evocative tale that explores the complex lives of young women cast aside by society in the 1970s. Girls labeled as “loose” for exploring their sexuality while their male counterparts continued to walk about the world without consequence. Conceptually I thought this was fantastic, and it was delivered in Hendrix’s classic atmospheric prose. Somewhere around the 60% - 70% mark the plot stalled a bit, but picked back up for an exciting ending. Overall a great read, but could have afforded to be shorter.

Fern, Rose, Holly and Zinnia are part of the “garden” of wayward young girls sent to a maternity home in Florida in 1970. They might all have different stories as to how they’ve found themselves at the maternity home, but share in the struggle of having all of their freedoms taken from them; parents have sent them here to have their babies, the maternity home staff tell them when to perform chores, when to eat, even when to go to the hospital to have their babies. One day, Fern is given a book on witchcraft, from the librarian who runs the bookmobile. Will witchcraft give them the freedom they so desperately crave?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While not an in-your face horror, Grady has a knack for building up tension and keeping the reader in suspense until the very end.

A little slow to start, but overall I enjoyed this novel. I liked the ending as well. I wish it had more horror elements

I love everything Grady Hendrix writes, and WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS just might be my new favorite novel from this author! This was also an excellent book to read during spooky season -- definitely pick this one up!