My new favourite Hendrix book!!! I am blown away and I don't even know what to say. A fabulous cast of characters! I loved every single bit of this book!

Thank you, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the title and cover of this book, you’d think this was a story about witches, right? I thought so too when I picked it up. It was marketed as horror, so I was expecting a dark and moody book about witches and witchcraft. That is not what this was at all.

In the summer of 1970, fifteen-year-old Fern is sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, a place where unwed pregnant girls are hidden away until they give birth and are forced to give up their babies. Under the strict eye of Miss Wellwood, Fern and the other girls have their lives controlled down to the smallest detail. Then she’s given an occult book that promises power, but power always comes at a price and it’s usually paid in blood.

I was really looking forward to this book because I thought it was a horror story about witches. But it turned out to be historical fiction about pregnant teenage girls who were forced into maternity homes. That was it. The whole book was just about pregnant teenage girls. Witchcraft and witches were in there, but they made up maybe 5% of the story. And even then, the witchcraft part doesn’t show up until halfway through the book, and it’s still not the main focus.

To say this was a huge disappointment would be a massive understatement. I wanted to put it down within the first chapter when I realized what the story was actually about. But I stuck with it, hoping it would get better but it just didn’t. The pacing was incredibly slow, and for most of the book, we just follow these very bland pregnant girls in the maternity home, going about their lives while waiting to give birth. There really wasn’t much horror, and the little bit that was there felt like an afterthought. It was mostly body horror related to pregnancy and childbirth.

The weird mix of historical fiction and horror didn’t do this story any favors. I feel like it would have worked better as straight historical fiction instead of trying to shove in witchcraft and horror. And that’s exactly what the witchcraft part felt like, forced in just to move the plot along.

Overall, this book was a huge disappointment. I went in expecting a dark and moody horror story about witches, but instead, I got slow-paced historical fiction about pregnant teenage girls with only a tiny hint of witchcraft. The horror elements felt forced, and the story dragged on without much payoff.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰”

This one was such a surprise for me! I’m a huge Grady Hendrix fan but this one just hit different. There was for sure some graphic parts which I always look for in a Hendrix book, but this book had SO much heart. I loved the female empowerment aspect and the underlying message.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews criticizing the main character and how she lacked growth and was unlikable but to me, this was one of the best parts of the story because it was so authentic! Of course a 15 year old girl isn’t going to be brave all the time and is going to make bad choices. I felt like the author gave us a glimpse into the past and what young women had to deal with and it was so heartbreaking.

Overall, read trigger warnings before diving in, but I highly recommend this one and it may just get a spot in my top reads of the year!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐈𝐟…
✨you’re new to the horror genre
✨you don’t mind a slower read
✨you love a badass women moment

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first book by Hendrix. It's about Fern, a fifteen year old girl who is dropped off at a home for unwed mothers in 1970. Fern meets other girls in her situation and a librarian who gives her a book on witchcraft and away we go. I have to say that if this was pared down about 150 pages (it was 500 pages), I think I would've enjoyed it more. There were parts that were quite exciting and then big lulls where I was forcing my way through and got bored at times. I did enjoy seeing how the girls leaned on each other through their trials in the house. You know I don't love the magical stuff so some of the body horror was just a turn off for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is quite different than Grady Hendrix's previous novels. It made me feel so many emotions for these young girls in the 70s who had to hide their "indiscretions" by being shipped off to homes for "loose girls".
There were a few parts that slowed down and I found I was getting bored. And the flip flopping of the FMC kept annoying me. But I also understand that these characters are young girls, going through such traumatic situations with no knowledge of their conditions.
Truly a wild book that makes you think about what young girls may have experienced before there were options and education.

In 1970, Fern arrived at Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida. It is a home for wayward girls where pregnant girls are expected to have their babies in secret and give them up for adoption. Everything the girls do is monitored very closely from what they eat and when to check-ups, sleeping schedule, and when they will have their babies.

They are treated like pariahs with all autonomy removed and are expected to give their babies away and pretend like nothing ever happened. When Fern meets a librarian who gives her a book on witchcraft, everything is about to change. Now the girls try and rebel in the only way they can- with witchcraft.

Trigger Warnings

Statutory rape, rape, child abuse, gore

Why Jackie likes it

The witchcraft in this book is really secondary to the historical fiction part of this story. At times, it was difficult to read because the girls were so helpless. They had no control over any part of their lives. The witchcraft really is a metaphor for the lengths that these young women and girls went through to have control over their own lives. At times, the story was gory and in true Hendrix fashion, not for those who do not like horror.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book felt longer than most of the other books I’ve read by this author and is jam packed with details and characters! I love how he tool real life scenarios that used to actually happen 60+ years ago and added is some witchcraft and magic! I really felt for all the girls in the home, especially since they weren’t bad people, just shunned by society for things that are commonplace now. I would highly recommend if you like your fiction stemming from true events with some magic and horror touches!

I liked this, but I'll say straight away that it was at least 100 pages too long. That said, the author does do a good job creating the environment the story is set in- the miserable, oppressive heat, the simmering rage of the girls in a time period and circumstances that are forcing them to carry, deliver, and surrender their babies. Grady Hendrix's books have generally been solidly horror, but this one does more to capture this time in history than it does as a horror book (for the squeamish, the goriest bits of this are the descriptions of childbirth). It's enraging and saddening often, and I was moved by the ending.

Grady Hendrix seems to be the new IT author when it comes to modern horror. All his new releases generate a good buzz and there are plenty of reviewers that both love and love to hate his works. It has been more of a mixed bag for me. I loved My Best Friend's Exorcism, while I thought Southern Book Club's Guide was just okay. But I decided it was time to give one of his new releases a try while it was still new and let it be the "rubber game" so to speak, to see if Hendrix will become appointment reading for me. Upon completion of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, I think I have my answer.

What this book does right is the slice of life moments and the bonding between the girls at the home. It feels like a perfect marriage of Mike Flanagan's Midnight Club and the 90's cult classic The Craft. I really enjoy watching their reluctant bonds grow into something beyond friendship and into a sisterhood, or dare I say a coven?

What this book did wrong for me was the actual plot. First, Fern is maybe the most boring of the characters introduced. When your lead protagonist is the one you're least interested in, it may have missed the mark. The more interesting characters leave the story way too early. But the big problem here is that the whole witchcraft thing? Yeah, it's mostly absent. This story deals more with making a blood oath and trying to go back on it to protect one of the other girls in the house. It's fine, but not the Black Magic Mojo story a title like this one would lead one to believe.

It seems that Hendrix's flavor of horror is to pick a social issue and take you back in time to see how it was in generations past. The three books of his I've read now have taken place in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and I appreciate that he can show readers how life was on these topics of that time period. Unfortunately, that gets tiresome to me and I want my horror to make me uncomfortable or full of dread and not simply reflecting on the real world. As always, this is something that is going to be subjective to the particular horror reader. So while I can see why Hendrix is so popular, I think I would file him under an author I like and will read again, but he's not going to be someone I anticipate new releases from and devour immediately.

I love Grady Hendrix, but wow I did not expect to be CRYING at the end of his witch book. This book felt different than the others I’ve read by him and I think that’s why it made such an impact. The topic is such a serious one, especially given the overturning of Roe and the current political climate, and I think that’s why this hit me so hard. That being said this is still very much a Grady Hendrix book complete with smart and humorous writing, disgusting imagery, and a scene involving random animals that will completely terrorize you (it was eels. I’ll never look at eels the same way).

The book is a bit slow to start, but looking back I can appreciate that. We spend a lot of time getting to know the “wayward” girls, and that development really fleshed them out and made me care for them. The girls we follow come from completely different backgrounds, yet they still end up in the same place. Money and status truly didn’t make a difference back then and if your teenage daughter got pregnant out of wedlock they were sent away (to an “aunt”), forced to give birth, and then robbed of their baby, whether they wanted to give it up or not.

That alone is enough to sicken you, but then the witchcraft arrives. The girls are given just a taste and that combined with the rage they feel over their situations and stolen babies is enough to tilt the world. I only wish we had seen more.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advance copy.

My first 5 star book of 2025 and I don’t give a 5 star very often!I seriously did not expect to have the emotions I had while reading this or the edge-of-the-seat suspense! It’s not often a book can have my heart beating with nervousness and tension while also making me tear up with the sentiment of a mother and a woman. Bravo to Grady who was able to accomplish this as a male writer! I was already a huge fan but I’m even more so now after reading Witchcraft for Wayward Girls.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

"You can't beg the world to do what you want. You can't ask it nicely. You must force the world. You must bend it to your will."

Overall, I had a good time with this book. Grady Hendrix is one of my favorite horror authors. So I just knew I would enjoy it. My favorite parts of the story were the historical aspect of the book. It definitely felt like Hendrix spent a lot of time researching this topic.

One of my main reasons for not giving it a higher rating was because I think it was too long and sometimes, it was a bit messy. And secondly, I wanted more horror/supernatural elements. By the end of the book, I felt like I read a historical fantasy more than a horror story.

In the end, I still had a good time and will always recommend this author's works to people.

I empathized with Neva/Fern throughout the whole thing. She was a kid, thrown into a bad situation, trying to do what was right and things got messy...literally. Not sure if I needed some of the more gruesome descriptions of natural things. Hagar & Miriam were my favorite characters. Loved that karma bit back at some characters and Neva became a voice for women when she had no one for herself.

Grady Hendrix is amazing at his portrayal of women yet again. A pregnant teenager finds herself left behind her parents at a home for unwed mothers in Florida. The excruciating waiting leads the girls to dabble in witchcraft after a cagey librarian puts a certain book into their hands. A fun ride but beware the hyper realistic childbirth descriptions.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️Please see TW/CWs before consuming: Pregnancy, medical trauma, blood, pedophilia, child abuse, sexual assault, rape, racism, and vomit.

To expand on these warnings above, I would just stay away from this book if anything concerning child birth, pregnancy, or pregnancy loss triggers you. There is SO much about pregnancy in this book, it is on every page!

Could I ever dislike a Hendrix?? Idk if it is possible y’all. I really loved this, it does not top Horrorstor or Southern Book Club for me, but it comes close. It def tops his last two releases for me just cuz I love this subject matter, I love witches!!

I weirdly found this Hendrix more tame, but it certainly gets graphic especially with all the child birth, but it has a slow build of unsettling events. I really loved all the spells and how detailed they got! It was so interesting to read.

I loved the setting in 1970 at a home for unwed mothers, it led to such interesting and such awful conversations on giving up children for adoption. And how these are children having children and they are treated poorly by ALL the adults in their lives…every single one!

If you loved My Best Friends Exorcism, you will love this one too. Just because the young women friendships are so prominent in this book!

My only complaint is the length. I felt there was some repetitive introspection our MC does that could have been cut out. And maybe a few scenes were unnecessary as well, and those things kind of just bogged the plot down to me. I also didn’t love reading from such young characters, but that is on me, not the book.

The American South was a tough place to live in 1970, especially if you were a pregnant, unwed, young woman.

At that time not only would such a woman shame herself, she shamed her entire family. It was easier for that family to ship off the shame to summer camp or Bible camp and when they returned home from the ordeal, they could resume life like nothing happened. Shame averted. I felt for the group of girls in the Wellwood Home. Some were there due to errors in judgement on their part, others were victims of lecherous family members or the clergy. All were ashamed and afraid, and their stories were where this story lived.

That said, the witchcraft was not where this story lived. In fact, there was little of it. I have to admit that I was disappointed on that front. Maybe I was expecting this young coven to take revenge on the mostly awful people at the home and in the nearby town? Maybe I was picturing "The Craft" with young pregnant women? I don't know. I just pictured more magic, more punch on the supernatural front, if that makes any sense.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this historical fiction tale about the plight of young women during this time, especially in the south, but it only had a dash of witchery, when I thought it was going to be the main dish. The horror lives in the treatment of these young women and not the magic in the air. This book was written with a lot of empathy and tenderness and in this way the characters did come alive.

Overall, I enjoyed it and sometimes we need reminding of our history, lest we make the same mistakes again in the future. I just wished there was more witchcraft in the mix.

Recommended!

*ARC from publisher

Dark and witty — this is classic Grady Hendrix that will not disappoint fans in the slightest. I find Southern Book Club Guide to Slaying Vampires is still my favourite but this is a close second. This story was gripping and sent shivers down my spine. Hendrix’s dark wit, I feel, has become a staple in horror.

I think you could love this book if you can enjoy witchy stuff.
I had a really hard time connecting to this book with the current political climate.
If I could read it a few months ago I would have have a completely different experience
I do enjoy Grady Hendrix books so this rating is not my norm.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
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Fifteen year old Fern arrives at Welwood Home in sweltering Florida. It’s 1970 and teenage girls who are pregnant are hidden away until they have their babies. Every aspect of the girls’ lives is controlled, so when a librarian offers them a chance to take some of the power back they say yes.
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What I liked:
-This book surprised me. I was expecting a shocking horror book and while there were shocking and horrific things it was so tastefully done. I was impressed.
-Also this book is almost 500 pages long but it did not feel long, I flew through it.
-These girls and their situations really gutted me. I wanted to protect them. I wanted them to be heard and not controlled.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was so well done. And I loved how it ended. I also love how the horror of the book was not the witches but what “regular” people put these girls through.

A group of pregnant teenagers in 1970, sent by their embarrassed families to a bleak and controlling home for unwed mothers to gestate and give birth in secret, happens across a book of witchcraft. These powerless girls discover a power like they’ve never known – but such power comes at a price.

This book was dark and raw and horrifying and glorious all at once. It’s a hard read but a worthwhile one. I was not sure at first about a male author writing this story, but I felt like he did it and its characters justice. The 1970 setting is perfectly rendered, in terms of social conventions, pop culture, political climate, and most especially in terms of the options that were open to a pregnant 15-year-old in that particular year (i.e. none). The story was compelling from the start and only got more gripping as it went on – never once was I bored. Things get pretty bleak, but while I wouldn’t necessarily class the ending as “happy” per se, it was a satisfying one. I’m calling this one five stars, with a real hankering to read more Grady Hendrix soon.

Representation: POC Characters

CW: Pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, graphic depiction of childbirth, details of medical procedures, vomit, blood and gore, child sexual abuse (past), misogyny and patriarchy