I was expecting more from this book based on the rave reviews. I loved the setting, I've always been fascinated by the time period in our history where females were shamed when they were unwed and pregnant. The challenges of that time period were well depicted here. I liked the comaraderie between the girls, and would have liked to have felt more connection.

I was also disappointed in the ending, but at risk of spoilers, I'll leave it at that.

This is my favorite Grady Hendrix book so far, though I haven’t read many. It’s well thought out, well paced, and absolutely horrifying. Stories about unwed young mothers are so often ignored, purposefully hidden, and considered controversial even by those claiming to be progressive, but this book humanized its white characters well. The Black characters were all racist tropes, like the angry black woman, the mammy, the magical negro. It was disappointing to see in a book that was going so well and stood up so proudly for one disadvantaged group. Unfortunately the good done by the feminism was undone by the racism.

While I enjoyed the story of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, it didn't quite live up to the high bar set by Grady Hendrix's other books. The narrative was engaging, but it lacked the perfect blend of humor and horror that I've come to expect from his writing. It needed more of one or the other, and I think more horror would have fit better with the theme.

Another excellent showing by Hendrix, this dive into the sexism of the recent past was emotional, serious, and seriously scary. Every single character was well-rounded and beautiful in all their flaws and determination, and the supernatural elements were executed perfectly. I could have stayed with these girls way beyond the page.

This is yet another fantastic historical horror novel that blends paranormal themes with real-life issues by the great Grady Hendrix!

This is one of the scarier books I’ve read by Grady Hendrix. I’m not sure if it’s because of the paranormal bits and the gore or because of how this historical horror holds a mirror to current political issues. While set in the 1970s, this book deals with themes that resonate with present day readers. These young “wayward” girls have lost their bodily autonomy. This book is a story of overcoming that oppression, with the girls fighting back and finding themselves despite how little control they have over their lives.

While the story has witches and witchcraft, the true horrors come from how these girls were treated–by their families, by the stewards of the house, and by society in general. I wanted to reach into the book and suckerpunch certain side characters on more than one occasion.

While I adored this book, the one thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the humour in the “How to be a Groovy Witch” book that the girls get from the bookmobile. Humour usually plays a large role in Hendrix’s works. However, in this case, I found it jarring to move from one heartbreaking or tense scene to a humorous, yet frivolous, excerpt from the book.

All in all, this is a fantastic read for fans of Grady Hendrix, while bearing in mind this book is a little heavier than many of his other works.

Grady Hendrix has created another interesting premise blending witchcraft and the themes of home for unwanted girls. I was hoping for more magic but otherwise I enjoyed this read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Grady Hendrix has a gift for writing about the very real things that scare us, flipping them on their heads, adds in a bit of paranormal, and then has the cast of characters take back their own power. I have seen this in several of his books now, when he writes women, he writes what really does scare us, no power over ourselves. 'Wayward Girls' is no different. These young women (note 'Girls' is used throughout the book to belittle them) have been let down by everyone in their lives, instead of support, they are shamed and made to pretend this isn't all very traumatic and that they have any choice in the matter. All of the adults in their lives are pretty terrible, which makes the group's friendship more believable I think my favorite part is that after they've been told how sinful and what a terrible cast if ladies they are, it's not really a push for them to try witchcraft to take back just a smidge of their power.

Things to note: Hendrix has an amount of body horror in all of his novels. This one deals with birth, it's descriptive. I was fine, but others may want to be wary. This is still a horror novel, it gets creepy and Hendrix knows how to create an atmosphere. Damn this was good! Keep freaking us all out like the conductor of horror you are Grady Hendrix!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC for me to review.

As a follow-up to "How to Sell a Haunted House," WWG was good, but not as scary. Although I suppose it was more of a reflection of society and politics of the 70's and perhaps today, mixed in with some scary horror.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix is a wildly fun and wickedly entertaining read. Hendrix blends humor, horror, and heart with his signature style, creating a fast-paced, darkly comedic tale that will keep you laughing and gasping in equal measure. The quirky characters and over-the-top situations make for an irresistibly enjoyable ride, and Hendrix’s sharp wit ensures that the story never loses its edge. A delightfully dark romp for anyone who loves a twist on the supernatural!

Absolutely loved this one! Grady Hendrix has created yet another work where it is simultaneously the most gross and horrific and visceral reading experience but also tender and poignant. The setting of this could make one hesitant to read a book written by a man on an experience so inherently female but it truly feels like Hendrix has done his work. And he definitely has! I really enjoyed reading this title and would definitely recommend!

I struggled to get invested in this book. The first chapter started out very interesting but as I kept reading, I just found myself bored.

I really don't know how to feel about this book. I liked it for what it was, the ambiance was great, as well as the prose, but there were times that I feel like we kinda lost the plot. It took about half the book for us to get to the point, and the book up to that point read more as a historical fiction novel than a horror novel. However, once we got past that point, the book was great, and I will gladly read anything else Grady Hendrix publishes.

Grady Hendrix, the modern master of a genre I would describe as “horror plus,” is back with a creepy, quirky new novel of feminist witchery.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls brings us 15-year-old Neva Craven, whose father delivers her to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, in the sweltering summer of 1970. Neva is pregnant and scared, and she has come to this house for unwed mothers to have her baby in secret and surrender it for adoption. The house’s cruel mistress, Miss Wellwood, insists that none of the girls use their real names, so Neva becomes Fern, and she joins other botanically named residents including Rose, Zinnia and Holly.

Fans of the author’s previous work will appreciate his trademark wry humor and his knack for revealing the darker side of humanity. Wellwood House is a cruel and controlling place, and the girls have no sense of agency until a mysterious librarian arrives in her bookmobile and offers them a volume titled How to Be a Groovy Witch. Armed with the book of spells, Fern and her cohorts explore their power to seek vengeance on the various adults who have done them wrong.

Make no mistake, this is a horror novel with plenty of blood, sweat and gore. (There’s one scene involving fingernails that I won’t soon forget.) Hendrix also offers primal accounts of childbirth and the terrors of sexual assault. The teenage protagonists represent a generation of silenced women, and their journey toward independence makes this book about much more than cauldrons and broomsticks.

The newest release from Grady Hendrix follows young, unwed expecting mothers in a home- sent away to have their children outside of the public eye before Roe v. Wade was enacted.

In desperation, they turn to witchcraft and find that where they had felt powerless, they're more powerful together than they could ever imagine, catching the interest of a powerful witch and her coven who wants one of them to take on her line.

Heartbreaking stories, body horror, quips, and gorgeous imagery as only Hendrix can write them. I cried, I laughed, I covered my face. I loved it.

I did take one star off for something that bothered me which I won't disclose because it may both bother others.

I'm so glad I was introduced to Hendrix's books by a person in a PD session I was running because now he's on my radar as an author with some humor and camp and boatloads of intelligence in writing stories that make a reader think.

This one features a home for unwed teen girls to go to to hide away from society in the 1970s. While there they'd be "cared" for which meant stripping them of their actual identities (being called by garden names like Fern and Lily) with undertones of psychological and physical abuse to atone for their supposed sins. And then they get there hands on a book during a traveling library session that introduces the gals to witchcraft. But there's not a lot of true witchiness in the story as much as the comradery of a group of these girls enduring ridiculous judgement and trying to make it out, but we all know it'll be without their babies. What does that do to a person?

Excellent topic to use his graphic body horror and outrageousness. I just wanted it to be edited to be a little tighter since there was an ebb and flow to the pace that left me putting it down and picking it back up again.

This book was just not for me. I think it had some themes that could spark good conversations but the plot fell flat and drug out to me. It also felt a little disingenuous to be reading about things so intimate to the experience of females knowing it was authored by a man whose lacking that first hand experience.

**3.5-stars**

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was easily one of my most anticipated releases of 2025. In fact, I was so excited for it, I started it a month early; not my normal process. Unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the way I thought it would.

This story, set in the Summer of 1970, follows a group of unwed teen mothers-to-be residing at the Wellwood Home for Girls in St. Augustine, Florida. It's there that the girls will live throughout the full-term of their pregnancy. Once their babies are born, in the majority of cases, they're adopted out, and the girls can return back to their regular lives like nothing ever happened.

For those of you thinking it's probably not as simple as all that, you'd be right.

We meet 15-year old, Fern (not her real name), on her long and silent ride to the Wellwood Home. We follow her as she settles in, makes friends and tries to navigate all going on with her body and her life; neither any longer in her control. As Fern is struggling in these new depths of despair, she meets a traveling librarian with a special occult book about witchcraft, that offers a chance for Fern, and the other girls, to reclaim their power and autonomy.

As we all know, nothing comes for free, but these girls are about to learn that lesson the hard way. Before they know it, they're in the greatest battle of their lives, not just with familial and societal expectations, but with powers much darker and more dangerous than any they've known before.

Y'all, I get it. I do and I'm in the minority opinion here, but I found this so incredibly boring. Around the 65%-point, we started to have some moments where I was fully-engaged, but even those ultimately felt too drawn out. This took me 7-weeks to finish. I read like 30-other books in that same time period. Once I would set it down, there was nothing drawing me back again. It hurts to say this because of how much I love Grady Hendrix, but it's true.

As mentioned above, it did pick up for me in the second-half, when things started to get more dangerous and gruesome, but overall, I just feel like it wasn't the right story for my tastes. The writing itself is fluid and easy to read. Additionally, there is some strong body horror, and the antagonists are disturbing and well-developed, which we love to see.

I also enjoyed the time period and setting that Hendrix chose for this one. I feel like that did add to the overall tone of the story. I also enjoyed the found family elements amongst the girls in the home. Clearly, there were aspects I appreciated, I just couldn't help but walk away feeling disappointed. Maybe it's my own fault for building this one up in my head for so long, IDK.

Regardless, I'm still huge Hendrix fan and will continue to pick up every story he writes. Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This book is about "wayward" teenage girls that are pregnant and sent to an institution to have their babies. Once their babies are born, they are taken away and the girls are supposed to go back into the world and get back to their lives.

What I enjoyed about this book was the friendships that these girls build with each other. Grady really did a good job of writing the found family troupe in this book.

There are a few things I didn't like about the book. First, a whole lot of the book focuses on the details of pregnancy, which not everyone can relate to. Second, I found the main character less interesting than the side characters in the book. Third, I was really wanting more "witchcraft" in the book; the witchcraft aspect fell very short for me.

There’s power in books — and for residents of the Wellwood House (a place where teenage girls who find themselves “in trouble” are sent for a few secretive months) in the summer of 1970, the book in question is an actual spellbook called “How To Be a Groovy Witch.” Grady Hendrix is at his pulpy best with throwbacks to V.C. Andrews and “The Craft,” while the book explores issues of women’s rights and bodily autonomy. (Recommendation will be sent to email subscribers of WordSmarts.com)

A heartbreaking story about what is was like to be unwed and married in 1970. Taking place in a home for wayward girls, the story focuses on 15 year old “Fern” who is sent away after her parents find out she is pregnant. This is the story of her and the friends she made in the home and what they did to try to reclaim some sense of power in their lives, resorting to witchcraft to do so.
This story was so heartbreaking and so moving that I could have honestly done without the witchcraft in it. The supernatural touches were nice but the actual story was what made this book so good. It’s so sad to hear about what girls like that went through … they were the only ones who had to face the consequences of their actions and had to make such difficult decisions at an age they never should have had to.
I definitely recommend this one if you’re interested in witchy historical fiction!