This one was horrifying in many ways. It wasn’t exactly what I expected going into it, but overall I did enjoy it. I loved the dark, witchy theme which is a lot of the reason I requested this book.

I loved how Hendrix used the topic of treatment of unwed, young mothers to craft a story mixed with witchcraft and the injustices that occurred back in the day. One thing I wish it had was more of the witchcraft and a little less of the pregnancies. Sometimes I felt like the witchcraft was mostly in the background compared to the story of the girls and their changing bodies. I can see how he wanted to use real life examples to create a lifelike horror though. This book definitely made me fear child birth more than I already did

I devoured this book! Hendrix blends the very real horrors girls have experienced in these Homes for Unwed Mothers with the horror elements of the story. There are a lot of tough topics involved so readers should check TW/CWs.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
by Grady Hendrix
Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This one comes out in January, and I recommend you get as soon as you can!
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).
Triggers galore: Language, teenage pregnancy, use of slut, toxic family relationships, abortion (attempt), physical abuse, child sexual abuse, abusive family, gaslighting, grooming, cancer, depression, anxiety, racism, sexism, misogamy
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…
I liked: What I Liked: the writing, the story, the characters were well flushed out and it reads fast. However, I did feel like the book was too long. The graphic birthing scenes were too much for me and in general some parts were very disturbing.
You decide what works for you. This is truly a horror book.

Thanks to Berkely & NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Am I the only one missing the OLD Grady Hendrix? The one who was scary but also really funny? The last few books have been really really really dark and un-fun. This one is no exception.

The premise is a good one: teenage unwed mothers in 1970 are housed in a private home for "girls in trouble," and ruled by Miss Wellwood, an uptight spinster who regulates their lives with an iron fist, assisted by a trying-to-be-cool "social worker" and a creepy OB/GYN who loves to restrict the girls from the evils of salt and sugar at mealtimes. When the Bookmobile comes, it's a lifeline to Fern (all the girls are given temporary, flower-based names while at Wellwood House), and she finds herself caught up in witchcraft. But this is no fun, sexy, "Practical Magic" style trip! It's not long before things get very serious, and while Hendrix does a good job of drawing comparisons between choices of bodily autonomy in the realm of witches vs. the real world, the scenes depicting the "big ending" feel overblown and a bit trite (and they go ON and ON, not dissimilar to the treatment of How To Sell a Haunted House, in which I felt like I was no longer entertained, but being put through a mill of head-destroying violence and hallucinations.

This book isn't bad, exactly, it's just kind of difficult to take. I enjoyed the historical parts about what it was like to be a pregnant teen in the pre-Roe era (not fun), but I would ask Grady to please ease off the gas pedal when writing his denouements. Bring back some of the laffs pls.

As usual, Grady Hendrix does not disappoint. If this novel is quieter than many of his others, it's only because it's slowly digging deeper under your skin. The horror here is sharp and raw, and ruthlessly real, which makes it all the more potent.

I may have squealed jumped and double checked when the publisher approved my request for the newest Grady Hendrix. I love how bizarrely weird and spooky his books can get and wondered how he would take something so horribly sad in our past (Weyward Girls) and make it into a spooky (or witchy) type of book.

Well, for me, it never did take that darker turn into magic or witchery. It was light on that part and heavy on the emotional lives of these teenage pregnant women.

It would be hard to not be affected by sharing this history even if it’s a fictionalized account of one such house. But I was slightly disappointed that it didn’t get “more weird” and creepy. (I know I know, I’m weird lol) .

Bottom line, it was the girls stories that kept me reading not the thrilleresque storyline that never came to be. Perhaps that’s me being silly going into it thinking it was darker than it would be.

The darkness was in the horror that happened to these girls. Ugh. My heart.

One thing about me, if it’s witchy, I will read it. I was immediately drawn to this book based on the title and that amazing cover, add that with the fact that I’ve loved a lot of this authors previous work and I was sold.

This is probably my fave book by this author yet! It’s a longer book IMO but it doesn’t really feel like it, it’s so fast paced and I found myself flying through the pages.

4*

Grady Hendrix is a staple of his genre and for good reason. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls brought the perfect blend of eerie supernatural elements against the evils of the world we know and blurred the lines between them masterfully.

Following Fern and her new friends in a home for unwed mothers in Florida, the girls must face the consequences of their actions and the actions that others have forced upon them.

'Witchcraft for Wayward Girls' takes readers into a setting that's all the more horrific for proximity to real, historical events. 15-year-old pregnant Neva is left at a home for unwed mothers until her condition has passed. While there, Neva - now going by the moniker of 'Fern' - goes on to meet other girls in similar situations to her. Despite the strict conditions, Neva is able to forge bonds with some of the other residents of the house, and when the friends are given a book of magic, their situation spirals out of control.

The essential hallmarks of a Hendrix book are certainly present - mundane horrors mixed with something more otherworldly, strong bonds of friendship between the major characters, and a certain wry humor that helps balance some of the darker moments. While somewhat less horrific overall than some of his previous titles, Hendrix still spins a frightening, tense book, particularly as the story hurdles towards the end. The compelling setting and characters will pull readers in long before any of the witchcraft starts to take effect.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for an advanced copy to review.

This was sadly not the book for me. I was super excited for a new Grady Hendrix title and it sounded like perfection however, it just fell flat.

Thoroughly disappointed by this read.

What I expected to be a clever, spooky read of wayward girls getting their power back in a sense was ultimately an over simplified, drawn out read that leaves much to be desired.

In the beginning. I empathized with the characters and wanted somehow for their presumed endings to end happily. And while they had each other, this quickly became trauma after trauma. The first half of the book was compelling in a sense, but plots changed, character's personalities & motives change, and we come out with a confusing execution despite an interesting premise.

I can't understand Fern's decisions (which I get, she's 15 and overwhelmed, so give her some grace), but the use of token black characters and the Magical Negro Trope made her decisions and their outcomes 10X worse.

I don't think we leave these characters better than we find them. While I can commend the author's themes of choice and the need for women and girls' to have it, that message gets lost somewhere along the way with hysterical librarians, problematic caregivers, and characters of colors having to pick up the pieces.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

As someone who is afraid of childbirth, this book was true horror for me. It feels particularly terrifying to read about pre-Roe America in the era of post-Roe America. I loved and hated the characters. Sometimes their choices and inner monologues made me want to SCREAM, but I also could see how they made the best choices they could under absolutely impossible circumstances. The way they were ignored and overlooked and ridiculed at every turn for something none of them knew a single thing about broke my heart and again made me understand why they thought the way they did. It starts off a little slow, but this gives you a chance to really get to know the characters and feel their helplessness. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it as long as you don’t get too squeamish over descriptions of childbirth.

This is pretty light on the horror. I would probably even count it as YA, since the protagonist is a teen.

A teen is sent to a home for unwed mothers where she meets a group of other girls that have an assortment of issues. The girls turn to witchcraft to deal with their "caretakers" and attempt to sort out their lives. The time period is Vietnam War era pre-Roe v. Wade. This is right before women started getting reproductive rights. And in a backhanded way, it shows what could happen when those rights are rescinded. Plus witchcraft. This would not be Grady Hendrix without anything supernatural. I was actually sort of impressed with this, but maybe his message was just less subtle than normal.

I definitely recommend this. I was sucked into the girls' story. This is also acceptable for horror weenies. This book should not be able to keep you awake at night. At least not with the supernatural elements.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley and Berkley Publishing Group for the complimentary copy to read and review.

I was so thrilled to be accepted for this one as Grady Hendrix is one of my favorite authors. I devoured this in a little over a day, which is kind of insane considering the length. The beginning is a little slow, but you really learn to connect to the characters through it. I felt like the depiction of teen pregnancy and abuse was unfortunately startingly accurate (there were several points where I felt myself tearing up at the injustices these girls faced).

I was a bit nervous about the horror aspect of this novel as I typically don't like witchy stories but this didn't feel like one. The depictions of magic were super creepy and unsettling. The real horror definitely lies in the way childbirth is described and as realistic as it is, I was a bit nauseous by the end of it.

I loved these characters, I loved this story. The entire time I was rooting for the girls to win out and I felt like it was resolved so beautifully. I cried when it was finished. Pick this one up as soon as you can.

I was not prepared for this book. I don't think I'll ever find the right words to describe my thoughts and feelings. There's so much that can be argued and analyzed in this. The story is about a home for unwed girls to deliver and give away their babies. With crazy witches in the woods and small minds everywhere else. Thank goodness for women like Hagar and Miriam. I can't think of what else to say--I feel like a deer in headlights. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

My biggest takeaway immediately after finishing this book: Wow, those were some very graphic birth scenes. Disturbing to read, but stellar birth control.

I love witch-y stories and I love Grady Hendrix, so I was especially excited for this. It was enjoyable, but fell a bit flat. I give it 3.5 stars, rounded up.

If I hadn’t already made my decision to be childfree, then this book would have done it for me. It has some seriously upsetting content. I’ve been pretty vocal about my dislike of the pregnancy trope, and this wasn’t an exception, but I think the fact that the story takes place in a “home for unwed mothers” setting, as opposed to a pregnancy to further a romance, definitely helped. There were parts of this book that were well done and I enjoyed, I really wanted to love it, but it mostly just left a bad taste in my mouth. Too much pregnancy, not enough witchcraft. It frustrated me, and rubbed me the wrong way. It will certainly have its fans, I’m sure, but I’m not one of them.

This is the first time I have read a book from this author, Hendrix. I had heard about her before, and I was looking forward to reading it. From what I had heard, this book was so far removed from what I was expecting. This was a emotional book. It covered some darker material involving teenage pregnancy in the 70s. I do believe that it could have used some trigger warnings because some of the material was really hard to get through. I will admit this was a tough read, but it was well written. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you Net Galley and Berkely Publishing ARC.

Trust me, no one was more surprised than me when I received an acceptance email for an ARC of Witchcraft For Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix! Obviously, the only possible thing to do was to start reading the book immediately!

After finishing, I sat there crying, feeling as though my heart had been ripped out, fondled (lovingly!?) and put back inside me. I was left bewildered in the best possible way, wondering how this book is so messed up, yet so truthful that it cut right to my core!

How does one come up with a plot like this? A plot that is raw, real and emotional, yet disturbing, cutting edge and of course, horrific.

This is a tough book and it is not for the faint of heart. I'm not sure it would be good to read it if you were expecting a baby, or in those hazy post-partum days... but then again, I am now only slightly more than five years past those times, and really, what do I know!?

It's a slow burn about a gang of wayward misfit girls, who do the unthinkable... and come out the other side so much stronger than they ever were before.

That's all you're getting from me! If you're a Hendrix fan, just trust that feeling and go into this one a little blind!

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley and Berkley Publishing Group for the complimentary copy to read and review.

This really captured the time well and the nuances of what women were dealing with. That running away with witches and witchcraft as a distraction for dealing with an unwanted pregnancy made sense. Well written and engaging