Grady Hendrix prefers his scares to have substance. More specifically, the author tends to give a unique, witty, and poignant spin on classic monster archetypes and horror subgenres in his novels. My Best Friend’s Exorcism put a lighthearted, charming ’80s spin on demonic possession, The Final Girl Support Group envisioned forged friendships born of slasher trauma, and How to Sell a Haunted House captured a deeply Southern family learning to reconnect amidst a pesky poltergeist problem, for a few examples.

Hendrix’s latest, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, offers the author’s take on witches but with a far meatier and more mature story grounding it. Here, witchcraft is rarely as scary as the historically based horrors tormenting a handful of terrified teens shunned by society.

The 1970-set novel Witchcraft for Wayward Girls introduces 15-year-old Neva Craven, left scared and confused as her irate father coldly drives her across state lines and unceremoniously deposits her in Florida’s Wellwood House, a strict and controlling place for people like Neva: unwed pregnant teens. Neva doesn’t learn until she’s abandoned by her family that she’s there to give birth in secrecy, far from her town’s prying eyes, and surrender the baby for adoption.

The idea, of course, is that life will resume as normal for Neva and her disgraced family once the evidence of her transgression has been thoroughly resolved. The arduous, painful process begins the day Neva arrives, where she’s renamed Fern and given a fake background, joining similarly renamed pregnant teens Rose, Zinnia, and Holly, among others. The girls bond over Wellwood House’s cruelty and oppressive lack of agency, commiserating over the powerlessness of their situation. That’s precisely when Fern comes upon How To Be A Groovy Witch, a cryptic, worn paperback that offers the girls power like they’ve never experienced before.

By the time the book lands in Fern’s possession, Wayward Girls has already painted Wellwood House as a grim house of horrors of its own merit. It’s less a boarding school and more of a prison for its unlucky tenants, many too young to even understand what changes their bodies are undergoing, let alone the physical horrors of giving birth. There’s rarely a trace of empathy to be found within the creaking, groaning walls of the Floridian home, either, as the adults treat them as incarcerated felons unworthy of kindness. Wayward girls are, after all, a blight on polite society, a dirty secret to be kept hidden away under lock and key.

The House’s callous and grim proprietor, condescending doctor, and prickly staff all feel deserving of comeuppance in some form so that by the time a magical book lands in Fern’s hands, it brings an initial sigh of relief and hope that the power imbalance can be restored in some way. So much so that it falsely sets up the expectation that Hendrix might borrow from The Craft; Fern and her three friends deserve to call up the four corners to smite this rotten bunch of adults, surely.

Yet that would be too tidy and easy. Hendrix isn’t interested in retreading that familiar story, nor rewrite history. Instead, Wayward Girls maintains an unflinching eye on the horrific treatment of these girls and sometimes the even more heartbreaking reasons they wind up in places like Wellwood House. Witchcraft dangles exhilarating relief, only to violently rip it away with harrowing new consequences that further plunge Fern and friends into darkness. What begins as the start of a vengeance story through supernatural means instead slowly transforms into a harrowing tale of survival.

Driving home the girls’ relentless plight is the constant body horror. Witchcraft demands a price, often through blood and self-harm, yet it pales in comparison to the physical horrors of giving birth; Hendrix dedicates pages to demonstrating the gory, painful details of childbearing from ill-prepared mothers. Stephen King famously captured the abject terror of young Carrie White experiencing her first period, and Hendrix stretches that acute feeling over the course of an entire novel on a much larger scale. Of course, the body horror here isn’t exclusively pregnancy-related; expect to wince in sympathy over grotesquely broken fingernails, eviscerated tongues, and more.

There’s a solemn maturity to Wayward Girls matching its primal horror. While its witchcraft plotline feels a bit too neatly wrapped up by the novel’s end and one supporting character comes perilously close to a tired trope, though perhaps befitting of the era, Hendrix gives precedence and utmost weight to giving a voice to a specific generation of silence women. Levity doesn’t come in the form of Hendrix’s usual lighthearted wit but in the tender friendships formed by teens trapped in an unthinkable nightmare. It’s those friendships and the immediacy of their loss of agency that drives Wayward Girls, giving it rich complexity right through to its emotionally satisfying conclusion. It’s an affecting journey that casts a harrowing spotlight on a more insidious corner of history and immerses with its powerful portrayal of rebellion.

Thank you so much for an ARC of this book! Grady Hendrix has done it again! Is there nothing he can’t write well?? This book had me angry and happy and sad and scared and hopeful, and sometimes all at once! All the stars and rave reviews for this one! We will definitely be buying this for our library and telling all my friends and coworkers about it. Now.. because I am so obsessed with this book.. im on my way to listen to the audiobook, which I know is going to be amazing! Also.. I ordered a hard copy for myself because I gotta have all the hard copies of Grady’s books! 😂

Grady Hendrix took a very controversial social theme and made it into a very scary book ( I felt for those girls) and also a very fun witchy book about taking back the power they lost. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks for this early copy, it made me think, it was fun, it was sad, overall a great book to start 2025.

Here is my full review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4Hw2OP9Q2I

My work is not review based, since I talk with authors directly on my podcast, but for the purposes of this site, here are some thoughts:

Hendrix is a favorite author and an automatic purchase for me, so I was so pleased to be able to read this prior to publication. This feels like a departure. Much of the horror of what happens to these "wayward" girls is not based in the supernatural elements of the book but in the dark hearts of the humans who are tasked with caring for these literal children. In this way, it makes me think of Tananarive Due's recent instant-classic, The Reformatory.

Hendrix's research into birthing, midwifing, witchcraft, and root magic is deep and impressive. The characters are rich and relatable, if not always likeable, which is never a problem for me. This is not the scariest of Hendrix's books, which is also fine, because it's ultimately super entertaining and compulsively readable.

I would NOT recommend reading this book if you are pregnant, gave your baby up for adoption, or have recently given birth (especially if that birth was a traumatic one). As I was reading it I thought, "wow; I'm glad I didn't have to go through all of that at the hospital!" But, truthfully, some of those practices still exist fifty years after this book was set; the patriarchy is alive and well.

Regarding the book itself: I couldn't stop reading it, even though there are pacing issues (some parts are MADDENINGLY slow). Grady Hendrix continues to craft brilliantly eerie scenes and forever makes me wonder how a white man writes within these spheres and utilizes these tropes as well as he does (not that white men need any more praise, but...it's warranted here).

It’s the late 1960’s/early ‘70’s and unmarried pregnant girls are sent away and hidden until they give birth. Afterward, the baby is taken from them and they go home. It’s the same for all the girls who pass through Wellwood house. Except there is this particular group of wayward girls - Fern, Rose, Holly and Zinnia who bond together to right a few wrongs. Things start to change when the bookmobile librarian hands Fern a special book.

I really liked how this story spent time at the beginning giving us a chance to meet all of the characters. They drew me in and kept me reading. The witchcraft aspect wasn’t too crazy, but just enough to keep things.. well… witchy! If you’re looking for great characters and a unique storytelling experience you’ll want to pick this one up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for this ARC!

I'm a big fan of Grady's books and Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was a highly anticipated 2025 release for me. Hendrix did NOT disappoint and I can't speak highly enough about this novel. I loved everything about it and I truly didn't want the story to ever end. Grady pulls you into the late sixties in the first few pages of Wayward Girls and by the end you're deeply immersed in the early seventies.

I can't say much more without spoiling the plot, but it's safe to say this is my new favorite Grady book! I would give it all the stars and more!

Hendrix has achieved cult status with bookish folks across genre preferences with wildly inventive twists on tropes in the mystery, horror, and fiction world, and his latest will only add to his reputation for crafting complex yet propulsive stories. This will join the growing number of post-Roe vs. Wade Make-Atwood-Fiction-Again novels that address reproductive freedom, with a little magic and a lot of systems-based critique that never feels too monologic.

Fern is fifteen, pregnant, and scared. She has been sent to a home for unwed mothers. They will have their babies, give them up for adoption, and return to their homes like nothing happened. The girls are closely monitored with the diet and activities. They do have a mobile library occasionally visit, and the eccentric librarian gives Fern a book about witchcraft.

The story is told from Fern's point of view. Fern is young, lonely, and confused. She feels abandoned by her family, and she's unsure about what to do. Once the witchcraft part comes along, she and the other girls start to learn about power.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is historical fiction that eventually adds supernatural elements to the story. This is a slow burning, character driven novel.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It is my first Grady Hendrix. Check your content warnings. 4.5 stars. This book should be viewed as historical fiction with some magic. Neva is our FMC, she is 15 years old and pregnant when her father drops her off at a home for unwed mothers. There she is assigned the name Fern, and told not to share her real name, where she is from, or anything about the baby’s father. Fern becomes fast friends with Rose, Zinnia, and Holly. The girls make a plan to get books from the mobile library that they can share. The librarian ends up giving Fern a book about a Groovy Witch. Fern is disappointed but begins to read the book. Zinnia suffers from horrible morning sickness- she is sick all the time. Fern finds a spell that will transfer her sickness to someone else and they decide to transfer her morning sickness to the doctor. They sneak out of the house one night and perform the spell and it works. These girls are such well drawn characters and you are completely invested in what happens to them. It is 1970. Pre-Roe. These girls have no rights and no agency. It is their body but they are not afforded a choice. This is a feminist story. Am I surprised to find such a strong feminist story written by a man? Yes. Yes I am. There is one negative - two women, sisters, Hagar and Miriam are not given the time and character development their story deserves. I would read an entire book telling the story of Hagar and Miriam. This trope you will recognize when you read it and it is why this story is 4.5 stars and not more. Thank you to #netgalley and Berkley Publishing, Penguin Random House for my e-ARC.

I really tried with this one but it was a DNF at 35%. It was a very slow burn to witchcraft & then it just got a little weird for me. Naked in the woods, the bloody bathroom. Thank you for the opportunity for me to read this early. 3-stars because it clearly is a book that someone will enjoy, the writing is good & clearly very well researched.

I've read every new Grady Hendrix book for the last several years. I've like them all but honestly some are better than others. This one gripped me from the beginning pages. The little details like Neva's father using saliva to remove his wedding ring, so she could wear it while walking the parking lot of a gas station on their road trip made the world Neva lived in ominous. These people were strangers -- never to be seen again. Yet, he felt compelled to keep up appearances. It brought Neva's predicament and the societal pressure front and center. There's Grady's trademark humor and some gnarly body horror -- not surprising when the characters are pregnant. This one was right up my alley. I can't wait to read it again.

Hendrix has a knack of writing about horrific circumstances that seem to be both unbelievable and totally accurate. It's 1970 and a home for pregnant teenagers is the backdrop. The group of girls rely on each other as their families have shunned them and most adults in the story treat them as fallen women. The horror comes in the package of a bookmobile librarian who offers reading materials to the pregnant girls but is actually a witch looking for recruits to her coven. The witchy scenes bring to mind Stephen King's writing but the gruesome scenes are what happens to the girls during childbirth. Since it's 1970, abortion is not an option and the girls must give the baby up for adoption, usually without even seeing the child. Although Hendrix has a horror writer's reputation, I feel he has authored a warning editorial about what can happen if abortion rights are denied to young women.

I loved the history and magical realism elements of this book. The witches were just the right level of spooky., but not cheesy or corny. I would have loved more information on Hagar and her sister, and how they knew so much about witches. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and will definitely purchase it for my store!

3.5 ⭐️ Rounded-up

~

💉 F*ck the Patriarchy
🩸 An Important Message
💉 Devastating
🩸 Historical Fiction Vibe
💉 Slow-Building


I'll be honest, I really wasn't sure about this one for a long time. It's a very slow-building story. However - and this is a big - however - by the end, I felt such a profound mix of heartache and undeniable burning rage.

We start out in the year 1970 with the story following Neva, who is brought to a home for pregnant teenage girls, where she can hide from the public eye, have her baby and then return to a "normal" life. We quickly see the injustice of this situation. The manipulation, lies, and deceit that they used on these children is horrific.

Then, there is the witchcraft. I'm still confused about how Grady Hendrix used witchcraft as a plot device because he uses a lot of stereotypical explanations of witches - which is rooted in misogyny - and the witches are meant to help, but they are also deceitful. This portion of the story didn't feel refined, and while ultimately playing a part, it wasn't the part I was anticipating.

Which brings me to: I'm not sure if this story was a story that should've been told through the words of a man. While Hendrix does a wonderful job of delicately handling the actual injustices that these girls faced, I'm still hung up on the witchcraft. The witchcraft is the only part of this story that is supernatural and horrific, so it feels like it's used to keep the story under the horror umbrella vs. historical fiction... and it misses the mark.

The last 20% or so? Brilliant. I'm getting personal here - but as someone who became a young(er) mom (at 22), there is still SO MUCH misogyny in the labour & delivery ward. A lot of the treatment our FMC experiences is very authentic to how I was treated, and it made me rage. It also brings about this important message: that we can NOT go backward. The trauma and heartache that was thrust upon these young girls, who were often victims already, is devastating.

Overall, this was an important story, but I did find the delivery a little bit murky.

~

This is definitely NOT the story for anyone squeamish about pregnancy, medical intervention, labour, delivery, and loss. ⚠️

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓸 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓰𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓑𝓮𝓻𝓴𝓵𝓮𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓪𝓷 𝓐𝓡𝓒 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓲𝓷 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀.

‘Witchcraft for Wayward Girls’ may be in my top three favorite Hendrix books. Well paced, socially relevant and terrifying, and some body horror moments that made me wince.

Fern is whisked away to a home to deal with her “situation;” that situation being she is pregnant and an unwed high school girl who clearly can’t make any decisions on her own. (Sarcasm.) But when she is taken to Wellwood Home, in St Augustine, FL, she meets other girls who have also wound up in the same type of situation. While there, she meets a number of girls who are curious about challenging authority, going against the norms of society, and wanting to reclaim their body autonomy. Set in 1970, you can feel the shame weaponized by the adults like the sticky, humid Florida air - inescapable and heavy. But, when the girls are given a book about witchcraft, they decide to try their hand at making their own paths forward and learn that certain choices will have severe consequences.

This is my first Grady Hendrix book and I was a skeptical to read a story about pregnant girls on the 70s written by a MAN, but I really really enjoyed it! I felt connected to so many of the characters and my heart with sit with them FOREVER! I will definitely be adding more books from this author to my tbr!

Read If You Like:
- Historical fiction
- Supernatural/ Magical Realism Elements
- Feminist horror narratives
- Stories set in the 1970s
- Tales of female empowerment and rebellion
- Atmospheric Reads
- Some Gore

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is my first by Grady Hendrix and it was such an unexpected and easy 5⭐️ read for me! It is a compelling blend of historical fiction and supernatural horror that delves into the lives of teenage girls confined in a 1970s Floridian home for unwed mothers. The novel centers around Fern & her account of her time at the home as a 15-year-old girl navigating the oppressive environment of Wellwood Home, where societal expectations and personal freedoms clash heavily & brutally.

Fern, Rose, Zinnia, and Holly—the four young girls we spend the most time with are forced to confront the harsh realities of their situation as the clock ticks down closer and closer to their due dates— especially as they question do they want to give up their babies and go back to the lives they were living as if nothing happened here at the home.

Then introduction of a mysterious spell book, provided by a traveling librarian, offers them a means to reclaim their power through spells and witchcraft, as they push back at the social pressures and expectations of them to give up their babies and forget.

The descriptions throughout the story are so atmospheric making you feel you are right then with their girls as they race against the clocks of their due dates and dabble in magic and try to decide what will they do, especially when the magic is much darker than they initially thought. The Immersive aspect truly sucks you in, especially with the narrative around the societal norms and challenges of the 1970’s era.

The horror elements are subtle at times, and others very much punch you in the face with the descriptions. This element intertwines the real-life horrors faced by the girls with the dark allure of witchcraft.

. This story a must-read for those that love feminist narratives, horror, and historical timelines that somehow don’t feel far off from where we are now…

Thank you so much to Berkley for my gifted ARC and Finished Copy! & to PRHA for my gifted audiobook copy too!

🧿 𝔸𝕣𝕔 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 🧿

Title: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
Author: @gradyhendrix
Pub Date: January 14, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️

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

"𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓳𝓲𝓰 𝓼𝓪𝔀 𝓹𝓾𝔃𝔃𝓵𝓮𝓼? 𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓳𝓲𝓰 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓪𝔀 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔂 𝓲𝓷 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮."

"𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭, 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓭 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓷𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮, 𝔀𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓷'𝓽 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵𝓼. 𝓦𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵𝓼. 𝓦𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓼. 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓘'𝓶 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓮."

Thank you so much to @gradyhendrix, @berkleypub, and @netgalley for the eARC copy of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls.

Wow. Just wow. This book was incredible! From start to finish, I was hooked! This book had me in its grasp ! I had to stop reading at night at one point as I got a tad scared, lol.

I went through such a range of emotions during this read. Grady Hendrix can honestly do no wrong, and I am addicted to his writing. Absolutely mesmerizing.

This story is gut-wrenching, incredibly raw, absolutely horrifying, and perfection. Add this to your tbr, stat! You will not regret it.

Yet another book about girls and women having their bodily autonomy taken away from them and their babies being torn from their arms against their wills. This was good on audio and if at times a bit gory, will appeal to fans of books like Heather Marshall's Looking for Jane or Bianca Marais's The witches of Moonshyne Manor. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!