**Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for the eARC of this title!**

Unfortunately I am having to come to terms with the fact that Grady Hendrix may just not be for me. I loved Horrorstor, but everything else I’ve tried has fallen flat for me. I find myself feeling the buzz for his books and getting super excited, only to find that I don’t connect with his writing.

At almost 500 pages, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls didn’t have much going on for the entire first 70% of the book. I appreciated some of the character development and I definitely felt the desolation and grief of the girls at the home for wayward girls. I loved the anti-patriarchy commentary as well. My appreciation ended there though, as this couldn’t make up for the pacing of the story and the subtle plot.

I’m not writing this author off completely yet, I will just go into my next read of his with lowered expectations and the understanding that this may just not be an author for me.

Young pregnant women (girls, really) are hidden away in a home until they give birth, at which point their babies are taken and they return to their old lives. Grounded in history and steeped in current fears, Grady Hendrix's latest book follows one cohort at the Wellwood House, where they're controlled and shamed within an inch of their lives. One day, a book changes everything...and the girls gain both hope and a dangerous new enemy. Hendrix does a bang-up job writing female characters, but this is a hard read. The characters face painful injustices, and often, any hope for their future is taken away. Strong writing, unfortunately current themes, and good plotting make this another win for Grady Hendrix.

Grady Hendrix’s books tend to be hit or miss for me. Unfortunately, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was a miss. The book was mis-marketed and didn’t align with my expectations. It was bold choice of Grady to tackle the topic of unwed pregnant girls in the 1970s especially since he’s a well-known, privileged male author. Though I give Hendrix credit for his thorough research, the book felt more like historical fiction with a touch of magical realism which wasn’t what I was expecting. The pacing was extremely slow and the story felt overly long making it hard to stay engaged. Additionally, Fern, the main character, was super boring. There are some graphic scenes so I strongly recommend checking trigger warnings before diving in. The story dragged too much for me to stay invested. Ultimately, I ended up not finishing this.

A home where parents hide away their daughters who get pregnant out of wedlock has some of those girls explore witchcraft. Because of this, they get into things they don't understand and cannot handle on their own. Supernatural and twisty this one gets off to a slow start that speeds up along the way.

I always enjoy Grady Hendrixs writing style. It’s so unique and captivating. The story too was unique and so good! The horror and TWs shook me to my core in such a wild way, overall very good book!

I was expecting a bit more from this one. It was good overall, but it was lacking the oomph I was hoping for (though that did pick up near the end). The book got off to a strong start, but quickly slowed down and stayed quite slow through most of the rest of the work. I wanted so much more from the witchcraft, especially given the title of the work. It was sprinkled here and there and finally picked up at the very end, but it wasn’t soon enough. The ending also felt quite rushed, which was a shame after the somewhat slow and repetitive journey to get there.

Honestly, I was also quite surprised that the author was able to write such good characters for a work of this nature. But he did an excellent job depicting the injustice, trauma, and lack of agency surrounding pregnancies for unwed women. I did want a bit more from Miriam and Hagar, their development and addition were a little flat overall. Fern was also a bit bland for a protagonist.

This was an okay read that was more historical fiction than magical realism or horror (though there were some truly gross moments included). My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for allowing me to read this work, which will be published January 14, 2025. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a personal opinion, but I've never bought into the narrative that pregnancy is a magical experience where ultimately all the horrific things that happen to you throughout it (and what might have led you to that state) will feel worth it as soon as you hold that baby in your arms - and this book really needs you to believe that for it to work. Unfortunately the first of Hendrix's books to be a straight "no" for me.

Grady Hendrix is an autoread and a household name. And this one is about witches?? Home run.

The only thing that was a bit icky was reading about all the body horror around pregnancy and that the pregnant people were teenagers. The copy was suuuuper clear about this and did a great job, but even still it was a bit hard to read at times. That’s why it was amazing when it got to the witchcraft part.

I had a difficult time getting into this book and actually finishing it. While it was a slow start, it does pick up and eventually I really enjoyed it.

The world is changing in 1970 but not for unwed pregnant teenage girls. It is still pretty grim for them. This is the story of a group of such girls sent to a home to await the births of their babies. The babies will be given up for adoption and the girls will return to their former lives. It will be as if nothing happened or will it? When one of the girls is given a book of magic things begin to change.

Okay, I wanted to love this one, but I couldn't get past the gore. Admittedly, I'm a newbie when it comes to the horror genre, but the premise of this sounded so good that I was willing to try it. If you're big into horror I think this will be a mild book for you, but I just couldn't do it. I want to be a fan of Grady Hendrix, but I'm starting to think it's not going to work.

This was not my first by Grady Hendrix and it definitely lived up to the others I’ve read! Grady Hendrix does an excellent job showcasing teen pregnancy as it has existed in the past and how it could look again in the not so distant future. This book is about power, what it feels like to lack it, what girls will do for some crumbs of it, and how there are always strings attached. The girls in this book are all enduring terrible situations and in it their personhood, right down to their names, have been stripped away for them to only be viewed as unwed pregnant teenagers, with the blame of the situation entirely placed on them. The girls who ended up at Wellwood House came from a variety of different backgrounds and yet they all are hidden away by their families in the same place. A lot of the characters in this book made me really angry because the hypocrisy they expressed felt so incredibly real. I would definitely recommend this book, but it is incredibly important for those who could possibly be triggered to fully take the content warnings under consideration before reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the digital ARC!

Grady Hendrix always knocks it out of the park, but his take on witchcraft is next level. This book is more than a horror novel, it's an exploration of patriarchy and power in the 70s and is especially meaningful in today's post-Roe v Wade world. Fans of the genre and fans of feminist lit alike will thoroughly enjoy this story.

I think I’m leaning to 4.5 stars, this was good but definitely make sure to check TWs!! Especially if you are currently pregnant or recently gave birth, I’m 8.5 months PP and it was a little much at times. It doesn’t hold back in graphic descriptions of childbirth/pregnancy.

Seriously impressed a male author was able to have such a profound and nuanced take on pregnancy. I can’t wait to have a physical copy to read the acknowledgments and see who/what he credits.

This book really shines in its characters and their connections. Our core group of girls were deeply tied to one another and watching the world abandon them and abuse them time after time was so devastating. Hendrix doesn’t hold back on the very real things that were happened to girls during this time period before Roe and show the potential that we could see again in a post-Roe world.

The witchcraft doesn’t play center stage in this, so if you are hoping for a fully supernatural story, you won’t get it here. Instead it is a vehicle to masterfully move different points through the plot. It shows the very real give and take that women went through with the lens of witchcraft.

I found the ending to be really satisfying as well, wrapping up in a way that didn’t feel overly convenient but very real and touching in many ways.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the digital advance reader copy.

Let me preface this with the fact that I am a big Grady Hendrix fan. I loved <i>My Best Friend's Exorcism</i>, <i>How to Sell a Haunted House</i>, and <i>Paperbacks from Hell </i>. His other works I didn't love as much, but still enjoyed.

So, I'm not an unbiased reader here.

This one drew me in on the first page with the historical quotes about teen pregnancies.

It's 1970, and 15 year-old Fern has been sent to Wellwood House to have her baby, give the baby up to a "better" family, and then return home to pretend that she never had a baby and that this summer never happened.

However, Fern will never forget this summer, and neither will her roommates, Rose, Holly, and Zinnia (upon arrival the girl's names are immediately replaced with fake names).

During this time when they each seem to have no choices and no autonomy left in their lives, not even their own names, the bookmobile librarian gives them a book of witchcraft, and it works.

Now maybe they have power again, but, as the librarian tells them, power comes with a price.

Although, as Fern looks at her life, she starts to recognize this isn't always true. After all, what price are the men in each of these young women's life paying? None. Perhaps it's time to make them pay.

As the foursome explores the limits of their newfound power, they discover that magic can't solve everything and maybe power is a slippery, demanding thing when you aren't sure who has it.

There's so much to unpack in this novel about the hierarchy of power, bodily autonomy, and the treatment of women, and I was genuinely on edge for much of it. I cared about all of these characters (not you, Rev. Jimmy) and I wanted better for them.

Here's what I found potentially problematic:<spoiler>Are Hagar and her daughter, Miriam, part of a "magical Negro trope" ("the Magical Negro is a supporting stock character who comes to the aid of the (usually white) protagonists in a film.[1] Magical Negro characters, often possessing special insight or mystical powers, have long been a tradition in American fiction.[2] The old-fashioned word "Negro" is used to imply that a "magical black character" who devotes himself to selflessly helping whites is a throwback to racist stereotypes" - Wikipedia)?

I think there's room for discussion on this one, and I am not knowledgeable enough to know which way to lean.

We receive very little background about Hagar. She does have magical knowledge. She does sacrifice her livelihood to help Holly and girls, one of whom is also Black. We never find out what happens to Hagar or Miriam after the police arrive. Were these two characters included in the book only to help the young white women fight the witches and survive Holly's childbirth experience?

. . . OR because the two women do speak their mind about the horrors of the house, they are in charge of the girls at the house doing their daily work, they show the girls the stupidity of trusting the witches, and they choose to help Holly when they could have turned her away, and they ultimately choose to leave their jobs at the house, are they more fully-realized characters?

I can see it both ways, but I think it's worth mentioning. Someone better versed in exploring texts thoughtfully will know better than I will. </spoiler>

All in all, a horror novel that explores the horrors of being a young woman.

*language, child abuse, birthing trauma, violence, adult situations

Pre-warning there are a lot of triggers in this book. I enjoyed the writing (per usual with Grady Hendrix and the unique takes he has). The story was unique, good, and quick to read. However, it was drawn out and some scenes were very graphic and disturbing (to be expected)

This is...a lot. I feel like there is an aspect missing for the ending, but I'm not sure what it is. But powerful and poignant, especially considering these new times.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC! Once again, Grady Hendrix blends horror, humor and social commentary with his latest book, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. Fern is fifteen and pregnant. Sent to Wellwood House where wayward girls are sent to have their babies in secret and put them up for adoption, she is given the name Fern and meets the other residents of Wellwood House. Each girl has their own story (though they are encouraged not to share it). When the bookmobile librarian slips Fern a very particular (and forbidden) book of witchcraft, the girls form a coven, desperate to capture some of their lost control, but is the cost of such power more than they're willing to pay?

Oh how I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I read it in 2 days, and only because life was life-ing and I couldn’t read it in one sitting. I’m in my witchy book era and this is everything I wanted and more.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls has it all: controversial but truthful historical references, beautiful bonds between girls forced into impossible situations, witch covens, magic to undermine an oppressive system…oh and a seemingly all-powerful witch moonlighting as a sweet elderly librarian? I’m here for it!

I want to write more, but you really just have to read it. The story progresses beautifully and the suspense just keeps on building.

I am amazed by the author’s ability to capture feminine rage, and feminism in general, in all of its glory. Each character has depth and is uniquely themselves. There are no cliches to be found about any character, in my opinion. I am often skeptical about men writing about subjects like the ones addressed in this book, but dang did Grady Hendrix do an amazing job. This is my first book by him and it will not be the last!

A warning - please take the content warnings into consideration before reading. It wasn’t all graphic, but these topics are mentioned, very heavy, and difficult to read about.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the gifted eARC!

Grady Hendrix's Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a darkly whimsical tale that masterfully combines his signature sharp wit with a deeply unsettling exploration of friendship, betrayal, and the eerie power of long-forgotten rituals. The story’s pacing is brisk, pulling readers into a web of sinister nostalgia as its flawed, compelling characters confront the secrets buried in their past. Hendrix excels at weaving humor into horror, though some twists feel more predictable than others. While the narrative occasionally sacrifices depth for speed, the evocative writing and clever commentary on the nature of teenage alliances make this a thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking read. A solid 4-star spellbinding delight!