This is another excellent read from Grady Hendrix. It is a bit different from his earlier work, with less of the rapid fire wit and monstrous terror that his readers are used to. In place of those things, you will find a ton of heart and a lot more terror of a different kind. This group of Wayward Girls is so desperate for freedom that they are forced to make terrible decisions. This excellent book is a telling reminder of the horrors that can ensue when we decide to rob women of their basic rights, Hendrix deals with these women with compassion while fully exposing the horror they endure. Set in 1970 when options were non existent and the moral culture was so patriarchal this one held me breathless. Anyone triggered by traumatic birthing scenes should proceed with caution as this book delivers some of the most startling, horrible and just plain sad ones that I have ever read. This seems more social horror than his other work but believe me there were still times when I had to look away and take a break. An excellent read and my sincere thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me take an early look.

A great read! I loved the historical elements meeting the supernatural. I also really enjoyed the present day epilogue.

Grady Hendrix has written four very young pregnant girls into life in Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. The novel takes place in 1970. The girls bond together while faced with rotten situations during their stay at a poorly run home for unwed mothers in the Deep South. The story follows their struggles in a way sure to keep readers riveted.

They were girls. That's what they called them in their articles and their speeches and their files: bad girls, neurotic girls, needy girls, wayward girls, selfish girls, girls with Electra complexes, girls trying to fill a void, girls who needed attention, girls with pasts, girls from broken homes, girls who needed discipline, girls desperate to fit in, girls in trouble, girls who couldn't say no.

They’d been thought the devil was the worst thing in the world, but they were to young to understand there were worst things than the devil. For girls like them, down there at the Home, the devil turned out to be their only friend.
This is the tragic, heart-wrenching, epic, bleak, angsty story of Wayward Girls who decide to try witchcraft as a means to save themselves from a life where they have no choice, where everything is taken from them without being asked, and where they're only shunned, outcasted, and humiliated for the choices they've made without getting any support from their loved ones. They carry not only a child but a years-long traumatic burden throughout their lifetimes.

There is a house for underage pregnant girls called Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where they are driven by their families, left there like dirty laundry to be cleaned. After the birth process resolves, they're reloaded into the car to drive back home, expected to move on with their lives as if nothing happened - as if birthing a baby and giving them to strangers, erasing the identity they created during their stay at Wellwood House, forgetting the other young mothers they connected with, were insignificant events.

Everything they consume is strictly controlled by doctors. Salt is forbidden, which pushes them to steal snacks. Smoking, on the other hand, is not forbidden, which helps the girls socialize during breaks.

We're introduced to Neva, only fifteen, who gets dropped off at the house by her father who fails to say goodbye. She meets the straight-laced, disciplined, mid-fifties Ms. Wellwood (probably never married), Nurse Kent (a slightly more approachable person watching the girls' every move), and Dr. Vincent, who puts the girls on harsh diets "for their own good" and advises them that when they feel pain, it's all in their heads.
Neva is advised not to share her real life, changing her name to Fern and concealing her hometown, pretending she's someone else to ease forgetting the time she'll spend in this house. She's told she'll never see her baby or the girls she shares the place with again.
She meets eccentric, rebellious, hippie Rose who is not even eighteen, sold out by her lover she'd planned to travel the world with for a high amount check. Zinnia, a colored, fifteen-year-old piano prodigy, plans to marry her baby's father. Holly, who prefers not to talk, bathe, or style her hair, is only fourteen, looking even younger than her age, and might have been raped at age 8 by their congregation's reverend, who is also the father of the child she's carrying.

These girls are trapped in this house by circumstances adults forced upon them. When they meet an eccentric librarian who shares a book about witchcraft, they see this as a solution for salvation and start planning to run away, live as a commune, and raise their children without being forced to build a family. They only want freedom, but everything comes with a price and punishment. The librarian lady, Ms. Parcae, is adamant about collecting their debts, starting with Fern. Nowhere is safe now!

Overall: This book is a slow-burn, thought-provoking young adult fiction with horror and supernatural elements, but compared to the author's previous works, this one is less scary and creepy. It's mostly about the journey of young mothers, the emotional and physical aspects they deal with, and the social boundaries they face in 1970s America, where the political climate changes during the Vietnam War, protests, house invasions, and crimes in LA, in the aftermath of the Nixon administration.

I loved the engaging storytelling about the misery of these young girls and their powerful stories. 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.
I enjoyed reading Fern, Holly, Rose, and Zinnia's stories. But I'm deducting one star because when I read about witchcraft, I was expecting more horrifying paranormal chapters that make you scream, but those parts are a little soft for my taste. Still, I enjoyed being part of the journey of these young mothers and the sentimental conclusion. I give it four stars, believing in the freedom of women who should decide what to do with their own bodies!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this epic novel's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Another great book from Grady Hendrix. This one isn't as supernaturally frightening as some of his others, but it is morally terrifying. Powerless women fighting against oppressive women, just for the right to exist without judgement is a battle that will not end well for either side.

I didn’t expect to like this but I loved it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

DNF -- I didn't know that Grady Hendrix was a man! This was the first book of his I've tried reading and I don't think I'm into his style.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was not what I was expecting, and maybe that's the reason for the review! The main character was just hard to sit through, and the plot beats felt repetitive. I felt like it really could have leaned into the witch angle, but it was just a story about trauma? Unsure, didn't hit the right note for me.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Grady Hendrix does it again; his ability to document grief and loss in some of the most difficult moments of life and harness them into absolutely beautiful horror is such a gift to us all. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls starts off unassumingly like one of my many beautifully written historical fiction books and turns on a dime in one absolutely stomach dropping, heart pounding moment that pivots the mood and ushers in the horror.

There is no doubt that evil exists in this world and Hendrix explores its depths, both in humanity and beyond, while immersed in the pop culture and history of 1970. Certainly following on the heels of the summer of helter skelter, dabbling in the occult is a risky move that comes with a hefty price. The story weaves together perfectly, building at the perfect pace to keep your heart rate accelerated. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls pairs the heartbreaking nature of adoption and maternity homes with Hendrix’s signature horror style to create yet another masterpiece.

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on instagram closer to publication date and on Amazon when published!