A fantastic new novel from Grady Hendrix. They have a way of writing such well-rounded realistic characters put in horrible circumstances. One of the best books I've read in a while.

Not really sure how I feel about this. I think I'm going with 3 stars. It felt longer than it needed to be and the beginning was really slow to me. I wanted more intensity, more witchcraft. I guess because it was Grady Hendrix I was expecting more on page horror, I don't really know. The intense parts of the book were really good - everything from Holly's birth after - but it took too long to get to that point for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. Grady Hendrix continues to have a magical Negro problem in some of his writing, but the rest of the setting was done really well.

Grady Hendrix has done it again. Just when you think he can't top his last book he does. I was leery about a man writing about not only pregnancy but teenage pregnancy in the 70's. Not only does this book dive into the horrors that teenage girls had to go through being unwed and pregnant but the supernatural element made this read magic. My first 5 ⭐️ of 2025. The magic, anger, frustration and perseverance the girls all go through and the way Hendrix writes each girl is 👩‍🍳 💋. This is a must read!

This was super interesting and I really enjoyed it! I haven’t read any of his books so I didn’t know what to expect. My friend said that she expected more of a thriller so she was disappointed. But because I didn’t know what to except, I really liked it! The magical aspects were cool and not over the top!

Hendrix has become such a reliable author, and this one is no exception - he writes women very well, in my opinion. My only quibble with this one is that there's a bit of a "magical Negro" business going on, subverted partially by the specificity of the characters but still there just a little bit.

LOVED!!! It's such a perfect mix of action-packed historical fiction and supernatural spookiness. I wanted it to be a bit scarier, but overall, great!

This book is perfect for any fan of Grady Hendrix who loves witchcraft. It was the perfect mix of horror, fun and exploring important topics

Grady Hendrix is my favorite *Historical Fiction* author I said what I said 🖤💅🏻. (Ok, Kristin Hannah is up there too 😊.)
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“But wait?! Hendrix writes horror, thrillers, suspense, supernatural fiction!”
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Ok, yes. And this book has all of that. But after this book set in the 70s, and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires set in the 90s, you cannot deny that the man is also an amazing historical fiction author.
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His masterful descriptions totally embody an era. You feel like you’re there. He also highlights major social justice issues of the time. (Also, if you’ve ever been to a Grady Hendrix author talk, you know he researches his books like no other.)
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This is a feminist book. It’s a book about pregnant teenage girls who have been fed the message that they are a shameful disgrace. They are carted off to a home for unwed mothers, where they are stripped of their power and bodily autonomy, shoved into this crevice of society. The adults who run the house strictly control every facet of the girls’ daily lives.
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The girls have no power. That is, until it’s offered up to one of them in a book of spells and a witch willing to help. A group of girls begin to cast and turn the tables on the adults “in power.”
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Unfortunately, the help of a witch is never free. There’s always a price to pay. But what lengths will the girls go to in order to protect each other?
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I laughed, I cried, I cheered. This book broke me down and built me back up. It gave me all the feels 🥹🖤.
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This is going to be in my top 10 of 2025! Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for the eARC!
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Witchcraft for Wayward Girls - Grady Hendrix
5/5⭐️
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TWs: talk of past SA; descriptions of childbirth.

From the publisher:
There’s power in a book…

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.

In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master” (NPR).

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix was published January 21, 2025 by Berkley.

My Thoughts: I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. After reading a few reviews prior to reading the book, I wasn't at all sure that I was going to like this book, but I did. I liked the girls and felt for them. They were united by the way that their families had treated them when they found out they were pregnant. Also living at the home united them. They all had the same experiences and the same close supervision.

The magic system was different. Magic always has a price in order for it to succeed. What the price in this case was, is interesting. I hadn't seen this cost quite this way before. And there were some clever bits related to this. In particular, the girls use the magic against some adults. This held consequences both for the adults and the girls, but afterwards, it was like the adults forgot about what happened.

The book had a slow beginning. This was mostly because of what was needed to set the scene. Still, I would have liked the magic to start sooner. After that. things move faster. And there are twists and surprises. I liked that it was not totally predictable nor was it preachy. I would have preferred a tad more humor as in his other books, But considering everything - the weightiness of the topic, the timeliness, it makes total sense. I also was not a fan of the graphic birthing scenes.

I would recommend this book to people who have enjoyed Hendrix's other books. And I would also recommend this book for people who enjoy magical realism in a historical setting.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinions nor my review.

Grady Hendrix always gives the casual horror reader a little more than expected. This was a great story, the setting for the witchcraft at the school for pregnant girls was spot-on. I liked the slow burn, knowing something magical was going to happen but taking the time to lay out the characters and the struggles at the school first.

I absolutely loved this! Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is not your typical Grady Hendrix story. While it still touches on supernatural elements, the focus is more on the real-life horrors these women face. It’s a difficult read, but that’s what makes it stand out. This book doesn’t dwell on witchcraft, instead confronting the struggles and oppression faced by unwed mothers in a way that’s raw and unsettling, yet incredibly compelling.

The story follows young, unwed mothers sent to “homes” to have their babies far from their families and friends, forced to deal with their "sin" in isolation. These girls are teenagers, grappling with societal condemnation and their own personal struggles. The horrors they face don’t come from supernatural forces, but from the oppressive, judgmental world they live in. As the book progresses, it’s clear that the horrors of reality are just as terrifying, if not more so, than any witchcraft.

I had some initial worries about how a white male author would handle this subject matter, but Hendrix does it justice. This book isn’t just horror—it’s infuriating. The central focus is on the women and their oppression, and you truly feel that. The quote, “The Homes were for poor girls, trashy girls, fast girls. They were for sluts,” captures the essence of the cruel judgments they face. You get a sense of how society views them as disposable, and Hendrix doesn’t shy away from showing how deep that goes. It’s powerful and frustrating in all the right ways.
This book won’t be for everyone, and I can see how some might be put off by the lack of a heavier focus on witchcraft. For me, though, it wasn’t necessary to enjoy the story. It starts off more historical, digging into the realities these girls face before delving into supernatural horror, which felt like an interesting choice. But for others who are hoping for more witchcraft, that element may not feel as satisfying. Still, it was exactly what I needed.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings: pregnancy, blood, gore, self-harm, graphic description of birth, mental abuse, and mentions of rape.

A mix of horror and historical fiction with political and social commentary all wrapped up into one.

Grady Hendrix does not disappoint with this new book. I've been a fan of his for years and I just love how well he writes for female characters that have gotten themselves in some kind of mess. This title is no exception as he dives right into the experience of a teenage girl that finds herself driven to a Home for Wayward Girls in Florida. The girls terror when she realizes what's happening is palpable and it's easy to see that her father's treatment of her just feeds the fear that she has for her predicament. She's lost in the expectations of others, the grief of what she thought was going to be acceptance from the boy that got her pregnant, and then the idea that she would be able to just hand over her baby and never look back. Of course, she's just one girl in a house full of them and each has their own story. Some are more gruesome than others. Then the bookmobile shows up and it's all over from there. Will they take their power back? Maybe punish a few people along the way? If you like magic, revenge, and women's stories, this one's for you.

“We were girls. That’s what they called us in their articles and their speeches and their files: bad girls, neurotic girls, needy girls, wayward girls…for girls like us, down there at the Home, the devil turned out to be our only friend.”

I had mixed feelings about Witchcraft for Wayward Girls when I first finished it, but I couldn’t get it off my mind, which is a pretty solid sign that it’s a good book. The ending initially left me feeling a bit unsatisfied; for a book about breaking the rules, it seemed almost…tame. However, the more I talked about it and thought about it, the more I realized that the discomfort I felt was intentional or, at the very least, a hint that I had some soul-searching to do.
Hendrix’s latest work is still horror, but of a very different kind than he normally writes. This kind is subtle and realistic. While there are some pretty graphic childbirth scenes, the scariest thing about Witchcraft for Wayward Girls isn’t the witches—it’s the 1970s Florida setting that feels like it could take place today. In an era where women still have to fight for bodily autonomy and their right to be heard, to be believed, this novel is all-too-appropriate.
At its heart, the message of this book is actually hopeful; in a world that refuses to make space for women, we will make our own way. If the powers that be won’t work for us, we will change the rules. This story is a protest, an insistence that women cannot be hidden or controlled. We will be heard.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC!

Wonderful. Hands down fantastic as always. Never read a Grady Hendrix book that I didn't love. His characters are amazing and I will forever read anything he's written

This book was really long. I enjoyed some aspects of it but it really dragged for me ad the suffering?? I think I was not the target audience for this one,

I love Grady Hendrix, but was unsure starting this one. It took awhile to get into, and there are so many characters at the beginning that it's a little difficult to keep track. However, you eventually find that a few of the girls are the main characters and you get to know them well. I loved the witchy-ness of this book. All the spells and descriptions. This book has a lot to say about how women have been treated throughout history, and there is much seriousness and body horror, but at the same time, it's a lot of fun, as Grady's books usually are. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for the e-read copy! I liked this more than I expected. Definitely has some triggering content for some, but for me, it was informative, enraging, and also just a good story that helps gives some insight into what women and girls of this time period, in this unique position would have and did experience. I liked the inclusion of fantasy and magic that were incorporated that broke up some of the more intense aspects of the book. Satisfying ending and had me rooting for the characters throughout the novel. I didn't expect a male author to pull this off authentically, but he did! Emotional and engaging read.

I received an eARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, as I expected to. I enjoy Grady Hendrix's writing style and I enjoy books about women and witchcraft. This book felt like a departure from the typical Grady Hendrix horror/comedy though. I can tell that he did a lot of research about the medical practice side of childbirth in this time period, and it seems like he may have read or received some first hand testimonials about these homes for girls that he was able to pull from for this book. I truly felt like I was experiencing this home for wayward girls along with Fern, Zinnia, Holly and Rose. The dehumanization of these girls at this institution was mind boggling to me but the most upsetting part was when the girls almost justified it in their minds as a way of protecting and distancing themselves from what was happening to them. I could only imagine the future psychological damage a stay at one of these institutes would cause for the rest of these girls lives. As usual for me, I immediately sided with and wanted the witches to be the heroes. I wanted them to save the girls. I love how Grady Hendrix was able to show that the witches weren't all good or all evil but neither were the employees of the home. I understood the character motivations for the owner/employer of the home, the nurse, the cook, etc. They also weren't inherently bad people and all of them seemed to have the best of intentions for the girls. There were some clear villains such as the Reverend (and he got nothing more than he deserved, honestly should have gotten worse) but a lot of what happened in this book is due to misguided altruism of people. I will never stop believing that Ms. Wellwood truly believed she was helping these girls and doing what was best for them. I also believe that a lot of what she was doing was wrong and psychologically damaging but I think she had the best of intentions. I also believe that the elder witch intended to help the girls. Granted she had ulterior motives to pass on her line but I don't think this was rooted in evilness either. She didn't want her people to lose their history. This book is best summed up with the old proverb "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". I enjoyed this book as both a story about the power and struggle of women but also as a brief glimpse into the history of the treatment of women and young girls in the 1970's.