Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix is an incredible book that managed to give me literal chills while reading - and not all of them were caused by the witchcraft.
Set in 1970, the book follows Fern as she moves into Wellwood House, a home in Florida where unwed teens go to have their babies in secret before they are given up for adoption. While there she befriends several of the other girls, Rose, a hippie who is determined to keep her baby, Zinnia a young Black aspiring musician and Fern , a terrified fourteen year old who barely speaks and is terrified of the father of her baby. Life in the home is far from easy with draconian rules, manipulative staff and a brutal and misogynistic doctor, the only comfort the girls find is in each other's company and they all fear what the future holds. When they are given a strange book on occult magic by the local librarian, they treat it as a joke at first, but when they try out some of the spells with rather dramatic consequences they begin to wonder if they can use it to get their freedom back, but it is a slippery slope and the price that they are expected to pay may be far more than any of them are wiling to sacrifice.
This book was absolutely phenomenal, I was gripped from beginning to end. The characters are so well crafted that I found myself worrying about them at times, even when I was not reading the book. Having grown up in a country with a long history of treating unmarried mothers horrifically so many things that were described in the book felt only too real. I'm not sure who I hated more, the doctors or the witches, both were equally terrifying in their own ways. This is not the first book from this author I have read, but it is definitely my favourite and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

AMAZING!
One of the best books I’ve read all year. I couldn’t put this down and was torn between wanting to race through to finish it and know the end but also not wanting it to finish. Such a gripping story and I was hooked from the first page. I’ll be buying the physical version when it’s realised to sit on my bookshelf! Highly recommend.

Hendrix's new book is a horrifying story about witchcraft, wherin the witchcraft is the least horrifying part. It scarred me for life. 4.5/5 ⭐

"Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" is about pregnant girls. In 1970. In Florida. Right there we have a horrorstory in itself. But Hendrix's talent to bring people and places to life makes everything so much worse.

Neva is fifteen and pregnant. The baby's father - who promised to stand by her - is now of course long gone. To solve this oh-so-embarrassing "problem", Neva's family dumps her at a "home for unwed mothers", where she is stripped of everything - including her own name - and is forced to live under labour camp-like conditions until her baby is due. A baby she is then expected to give up for adoption, before she can go home and pretend like nothing ever happened. One day, Neva is given a book on witchcraft and, understandibly, some of the girls use it in order to solve their problems and escape the tyranny of the Home.

Since "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" is reality-based fiction, it stirs up A LOT of emotions. I seriously doubt that it's a coincidence that the book will be published in 2025 - considering a certain other horrorstor--- I MEAN PROJECT that might be put into action next year because of one spray-tanned, demented lunatic. With the current political climate being what it is in certain countries, what we read about in Hendrix's book might very well become reality again in the not-so-distant future - and THAT is the most horrifying part of this story.

I loved this book and the people in it. After the first two pages I realised that this was going to get super dark, and I was hooked. It is impossible not to feel these characters' pain and trauma, and at certain points I wasn't sure whether to cry, scream, or throw my eReader into a wall. The witchcraft is also wonderfully dark and feels real, which is very important to me and made it even easier to get immersed in the plot.

The one thing I did find somewhat annoying is that the majority of the book is written from one character's POV, but in a bunch of seemingly random paragraphs we suddenly get an omniscient POV and are made aware of what other characters think or feel or whisper about without the main character's knowledge. It just kind of broke the fictional bubble for me and I wish Hendrix could have solved these parts in another way. That is basically my one complaint.

This book is dark and traumatizing and my tokophobia (fear of childbirth) is now worse than ever, but I will gladly read it again. It's been a while since I was THIS happy to be childfree and sterilized - not to mention grateful that I have been allowed to make those choices for myself.

In "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls", we are reminded why education, protection, health care, and most of all choice is so very important, and it is - in my opinion - a book that everyone (of all genders) should read.

* * *
Huge thank you to Pan Macmillan for making this book available through NetGalley. An even bigger thank you to Grady Hendrix for writing it.
All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for the ARC and opportunity to review!

This is the fifth book from Grady Hendrix that I’ve read, so at this point I think it’s fair to call me a fan.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls attracted me because not only am I interested in the witchy side of things in general, but I find the topic/history of mother and baby homes fascinating and I don’t feel that they’re given enough attention considering how many girls were sent to them.

With the book’s content focusing on unwed teenage mothers it’s to be expected that female/feminine rage would be a big theme in this book; personally I found it well executed and the author showed the range of rage well through the various women, but one thing I do wish could have been explored more is the witchcraft. You only see a small amount done by the titular “wayward girls” and there are points in the book where it’s difficult to work out whether you as the reader are meant to be pro or anti-witchcraft.

The scenes surrounding childbirth felt too detailed and long. Especially when you consider that these are teenage girls - children even - who are giving birth. It’s expected that there will be childbirth in a book about pregnant girls, but at one point there were paragraphs detailing an episiotomy and the layers of muscle and it just felt too graphic.

Fern as a main character is a bit bland to the point where I couldn’t really understand what the fascination with her was towards the end. I understand that as the main character she needs to be a bit of a blank canvas for the reader, but I found the supporting characters to be a lot more interesting.

I think I wanted to love this one more than I actually did unfortunately. While the premise and plot sounded promising, I feel like the author paid more attention in the wrong places and it just leaves the book feeling a bit unbalanced.

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

Our main character Fern is sent to Wellwood after fingin herself pregnant, there everything is out of her control. Her diet,chores, when she will have her baby and what will happen to it after she does is all decided for her.

During a meeting with a traveling librarian a group of girls discover that maybe they are not as powerless as they have been made to feel and discover witchcraft.

I really loved the first half of this book,it's a slow build up, seeing how powerless the girls feel, unable to make their own decisions and lied to.

I was soooo excited for them to stand up for themselves and take back some of their power. Which they do, to some extent, but it wasn't enough.

There simply wasn't enough witchy stuff for me. Hardly any, in fact.

I also found the lack of character development frustrating and the main characters all quite dull.

Most of the horror in this book is centred around pregnancy and childbirth and I just felt a lot of it wasn't necessary.

I feel like everyone knows labour can be painful and messy and long drawn descriptions weren't needed and felt a bit gratuitous.

I personally would have much preferred for the horror aspects focus on the witchcaft.

I will definitely give this authors books another go but this one wasn't for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishersfor the gifted eCopy.

I received this book as an arc reader from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is my first Grady Hendrix book and I think I set my expectations too high for this. I finished this book being extremely confused. There is quite graphic scenes of childbirth in this. As a girl from Ireland, the ideas of these homes is very close and embedded in Irish history so I feel he approached this subject accurately. But the witchy side of the book just doesn’t make sense to me. No one really got a positive ending and I just felt confused. This is just personal to me but I hope I enjoy further books from this author.

This one unfortunately wasn’t my cuppa tea. I really liked the premise and for the first few chapters this book gave me serious Girl Interrupted vibes. However, getting to the “witchy” part took forever and then it didn’t happen the way I was hoping. So all in all a meh novel that could have done with more editing (like cutting a hundred pages).

So disappointing. This is less about witchcraft and more about young pregnant women having any semblance of their rights taken away. Imagine Baby love by Jaqueline Wilson mixed in with a tiny element of The Craft movie.

Spoilers:






The book contained about 10% witchcraft and 90% pregnancy. The main character Fern never seems able to make up her mind or follow an idea fully through. One of the more interesting characters of Miss Parcae the librarian, one of the only people in these girls lives who is actually giving them a chance to get some power back, ends up being a massive let down and turns into another enemy. She’s also not very well fleshed out for the main witch in the story. Also every time these girls are angry at what is happening to them, which they have every right to be, the anger doesn’t seem to last long. I wanted this to be more like Slewfoot with the revenge aspect, but it seemed like most people got away no real consequences for their actions.

This book was too long for what it was. I wanted more horror elements, more witchcraft. The girls end up performing 2 and a half spells. 3 and a half if you count what happens at the end.

I’m still going to read every Grady Hendrix he releases, but I would like to not be so bored doing so.

Mistreated by their families and the state, young unmarried pregnant girls are sent to a house in the woods to carry out their pregnancies away from society. When Fern and her friends start dabbling in witchcraft, will they be able to deal with the consequences?

I was really excited to read this book as I've enjoyed some of Grady Hendrix's other works. Even though it felt different to my favourite book so far of Hendrix's (The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires), I would definitely recommend it to old and new fans alike.

The first 30% of the book was quite slow, but I didn't find this to be a problem. I was able to gain a heartbreaking insight into the problems faced by young women in the 60s and 70s. This discrimination, along with other societal issues, is present throughout the whole text. I would suggest checking trigger warnings if you need them.

The rest of the story was an interesting blend of horror and historical fiction that I found compelling. There weren't as many witchcraft-based horror elements as I'd expected, but I was pleased instead to read something powerful and thought-provoking. Some of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, but I felt sympathetic overall towards their struggle against the system. This was a great read!

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Tor Nightfire for providing this e-ARC for an honest review.

I for one was instantly swayed by the premise of this book: A home for unwed teenage Mothers AND Witchcraft? As both fall into my special- interests-from-history-and-culture assortment as well as being from the supposed new star author from my new favourite genre, I could not wait to pick this up for the end of October/ Halloween. Unfortunately, I was let down. I was hoping for a mesh of American Horror Story - Asylum, Magdalene Laundries and Feminist Witchcraft Novels. For one, the pacing felt very cluttered and displaced at times. I had a hard time connecting to the characters when was specifically looking forward to a good "girls sticking together"-theme. The book left quite a few questions unanswered that deemed essential to me, and yet I felt the end dragged on quite a bit. Now to the potisives: I'm not a fan of shock-value horror that is just out to be as absurd as possible to earn its name, and Grady Hendrix did a great job in keeping the suspense in the "the real Monster was the patriarchal sociopolitic structure of the time", which is something I'm a huge fan of. The writing kept me hooked from the beginning and the atmospehere was well set. Even though I didn't get what I thought I would from the book, I still enjoyed the reading experience and would recommend for anyone looking for a non-spooky horror book about girlhood in 1970s Florida.

I recently dove into Grady Hendrix's latest offering, "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls," and I’m so glad I did! Having only read "How to Sell a Haunted House" previously—an experience that didn't quite resonate with me—I approached this new novel with some reservations. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging and accessible the story was.

From the very first page, I found myself captivated by the characters and the quirky blend of humor, heart, and supernatural elements. Hendrix's knack for storytelling shines here, making it incredibly easy to get lost in the narrative. I read it quickly, unable to put it down, which is a testament to how well he draws you in.

While I did feel that the book could have benefitted from a tighter edit—at times, it seemed a bit longer than necessary—my overall enjoyment outweighed this minor quibble. The depth of the characters and the intricate plot twists kept me invested throughout.

I wholeheartedly recommend "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" to anyone looking for a fun, witchy read that balances charm and thrills. Whether you're a long-time Hendrix fan or a newcomer, this book is a delightful journey you won't want to miss!

I'm a bit on the fence with this one - I love Grady Hendrix and this book is a really good exploration of the treatment of young unmarried pregnant women in southern America... but it did leave me wanting a bit more. The plot is tightly written and all the girls are written and developed so well, but the ending felt unresolved to me. I would still recommend it as I enjoyed the overall read

Another great adventure into the wild mind of Grady Hendrix. Once again he manages to tackle some huge topics - teenage pregnancy, Homes for Unwed Mothers, societal and medical misogyny, female empowerment - all with his trademark horror and gore. His ability to create wonderful female characters is a rarity in male writers and there's a personal touch here with experience of Homes in his own family. The youth and vulnerability of his protagonists mean that zthis volume is a bit more restrained than his blood-splatter, gore-fest catalogue but it's also profoundly touching in places.

What a fantastic read, perfect blend of fiction and telling real stories. Yes this book has magic, but the root of this book is the lack of womens freedom. 1970s and young pregnant girls placed into homes, shunned by their families. Their every day life controlled, stripped of their rights, coerced through threats and manipulation and ultimately, their babies taken from them. Also known as the Baby Scoop Era in America if you're interested in reading more.

During a time when being unmarried means having a baby will ruin their lives, their families reputation and cast shame on the 'father'. Where getting pregnant is solely the fault and responsibility of the woman, and the man can wash his hands. I say woman because it takes a huge amount of bravery and fortitude but make no mistake, they are as young as 14.

These girls, whether it was their choice or not, are shipped off to a Home by their family, in the hope that when the girls return, their problem is left behind and forgotten about.

This book tackles difficult themes, and its a hard read understanding how they're being treated in the Home and all thats wrong with it. There is a lot of irony in that women play a big role on perpetuating the girls 'sin' and we see a lot of coercion and manuplitaion coming from the women.

Its a tough cycle to break but there is strength in these young women, and its heart warming yet heartbreaking to watch it unfold. Their bravery is admirable, and their desperation for some control over their bodies, leads them down the path of magic.

This is a great read to look out for in 2025. Thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

Set in the 70s, Hendrix did a remarkable job of setting the atmosphere and issues of the time. The relationship between these pregnant teenagers forced to live and work under the same roof was realistic and deep, carrying the book and making this story all the more special.

This book is however way too long. Especially at the beginning and during the birthing scenes which drag on unnecessarily. However, this did not prevent me from being completely hooked on this story. I often found myself thinking about it when I was not reading and when I was, I was devouring the pages.

Even though I had a great time with this book and its characters, I would have hoped for more witchcraft. Especially when the few witchy scenes we got were just perfect and well incorporated into the story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Have you read Grady Hendrix? He’s one of my favourite authors. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is among my all-time favourites, and I also loved The Final Girl Support Group. I’m drawn to the horror, supernatural, and gothic worlds he creates—they take me back to winter vacations in Shillong, watching horror movies with my sister. Since reading The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, I’ve made it a point to read his books.

So, when I came across Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, I had to pick it up. Aren’t his titles brilliant? This story, set in a 1960s home for pregnant teens, explores the harsh realities these girls face, often bearing the consequences of one decision while the boys remain untouched. It’s not horror in the traditional sense, but rather the horror of patriarchal consequences. A witchy librarian arrives, and her intentions are unclear—is she a saviour or something darker? You’ll have to read to find out.

I wouldn’t say it’s his best work, but I enjoyed it and hope to listen to it on Audible one day—that always adds to the experience.

It's not easy to talk about this book. It made me feel old and miserable. The ending left me heartbroken; hopeful, but still: heartbroken. Hope costs too much in this book, so it's best avoided. The theme is unwanted teen pregnancy, at a time when girls out of wedlock had to hide themselves in Homes till they gave birth and then surrendered their baby for adoption. And then forgot everything and left the whole 'mess' behind. That was the 70s for you, before Roe. Family and society against the "wayward girl," ready to humiliate her if she dared to step anywhere with a swollen stomach and no ring on her finger. History, superstition, shame, guilt, even hate, her daily diet. Better find a place to hide her, isolate her, ostracized from church and family. That's what maternity houses were for. To accept (for a price) sinners, i.e., rule-breaking young women, and treat them as such, till they were returned to "ordinary life," after being coerced to give up their babies.

The book features four girls in such a maternity home in Florida, an old house in the middle of the woods. The story has several twists, always respectful, stunning in detail and utterly compelling in its psychological understanding. The plot is immersive and quite addictive. I was worried that things would go sideways when witchcraft would be brought to the scene, but it turned out I had nothing to fear: the book did not turn into dark fantasy or romance or any such drivel, it kept all its horrifying aspects, deepening the themes of guilt, powerlessness, and grief. In fact, there may be too much horror in this book: the realistic scenes of birth shook me , the social indifference shocked me, and I have no idea what the impact might be on female readers.

I recommend the book wholeheartedly. It's the kind of fiction that traumatizes you, but, as with everything important, it's worth it.

Thank you to Grady Hendrix, Pan Macmillan, Tor Nightfire and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Book review || Witchcraft for wayward girls by Grady Hendrix
Edition : ARC
Rating : 5/5⭐️
⚠️Spoiler review⚠️

Quotes :
-For girls like us, down there at the Home, the devil turned out to be our
only friend.
-THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR CHILDREN OR MORONS.
-"Because you're witches?" Fern asked. "Because we're women,"
-"I'd rather burn the library," Periwinkle said, "than build it on bodies."
-This is the world we live in, Diane said. It's not perfect, but it's the only world we’ve got.
-We were never girls. We were witches.

Well well well, I don’t even know where to start.
I DEVORED this book, I had never read anything from this author so I went in 100% blind.
Learning about houses in the states where young unwed girls who got pregnant had to be kept in secret was SO interesting.
I never saw the whole horror - witchy part come, I was so surprised and I loved every part of it.
This book really resonated with me as a single child from a young single mother.
There’s so many quotes and moments that made me put the book down and try not to cry but I’ll be honest and I cried when I finished the book.
This is one of those books where you will think about the characters for the rest of your life and will carry a bit of them with you everywhere you go. I love it when books inspire you to become a better and kinder version of yourself.
The book tackled very deep subjects such as SA, underage pregnancy, medical unwanted modifications. But also with who you become from becoming a mother and what your life becomes after it. It was so beautifully written and I hope that so many people will read it.
In a way it reminds me of the hunger games were everyone is SO young and SO brave. I am always grateful that I live in a very safe environment and accepting family and I would never have to face things like that. Remember, we see you, we hear you and we BELIEVE you. Whoever you are and whoever you want to be. You are NEVER alone.
I felt so close to all the girls since I also have a flower name (Nasturtium) and I like Fern so much, the way she gave up her name reluctantly and claimed it back at the right time. The deshumanization when she became juste « the patient ».
I feel sad that there’s so many girls we won’t know the story of but that’s also exactly the point. There were SO MANY girls that went trough this and they were just forgotten and felt shame all their lives. Trying to forget whatever had happened after everyone turned their backs on them.
Being a girl and becoming a woman is hard and will continue to be as long as we still let patriarchy dominate us and let men decide for us women.
This was SO empowering and eyes opening.
I’m more a vampire girl but I’ve been loving really witchy books were magic has to be earned and is a sacrifice. It inserted itself so well in the book and even if it’s horror/witchy inspired it just feels like it could happen and fern is a reliable narrator. She isn’t at all and that’s amazing. She’s just a scared girl who was pregnant and left all alone.
Thank you again for this amazing opportunity !

In 1970s Florida, teenage ‘Fern’ finds herself shut away in the sweltering heat at the strict Wellwood House, a ‘home’ for pregnant unwed teens.

After being given an occult book by the travelling librarian, Fern and would-be friends Rose, Zinnia, and Holly see the possibility of a tiny bit of freedom in their lives. However, magic comes at a high price.

This is a slow-burning and sad tale, a frightening and empathetic depiction of teenage girls with no choices and no one to rescue them. They are forbidden to talk about their past and they are even renamed after flowers and plants

Nothing is romanticised, from the gory depictions of childbirth to the enforced adoption of the babies.

Whilst the plot feels a little convoluted and slow at times, Hendrix’s story is emotionally and physically visceral, leaving us reeling from the pain of these trapped girls and their bid for some kind of autonomy.

A dark tale of powerless girls grasping for an iota of control.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this as an arc copy
This is a genre that I don't read much of so I would say it's a bit out of my comfort zone but I had no trouble while reading it. The writting was so good and easy to fly through
I would recommend this book if you're getting started in the horror genre and I myself will probably be reading the rest of this authors books