This book is one that'll stay with me for a while I'm sure. This is my first book from this author - but there are more of his I now need to read!
This isn't a "typical" horror - I'd of course suggest checking any potential triggers - and I'd also suggest you may want to wait a while and give it a wide birth (pun intended) if you're pregnant!
The true horror of this tale lies in the way young girls were treated at this time - I honestly had to check that the author was actually a man and it wasn't a pseudonym used by a woman! As it captures the feelings of these girls so well.
It's a hard subject matter to read about, the author doesn't shy away from very gory and graphic scenes. I enjoyed the witchy element of the tale - but also liked that it wasn't the full focus of the book.
The biggest surprise for me was I wasn't expecting it to make me cry!
Huge thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

A slight change of tone for Grady Hendrix in comparison to his previous books. A gothic, witchy, horrifying tale that really makes you think about female autonomy.

Wow. I don’t remember the last time I binged a book in 24 hours like I did with this one.
This wasn’t what I was expecting from Hendrix and unlike the other books that I’ve read of his, but by FAR my favourite so far.

If I didn’t know this was a male author going in, I would have been gobsmacked after finishing. Meaning no offence, but this tackled so many issues that a lot of male authors may feel nervous to approach. Whilst I was expecting an all-out horror, with flying witches and monsters in the woods from the *awesome* title, the terrors that the girls endure in this novel are no less terrifying. I’ve recently felt a bit tired of witchy tales, after reading so many recently, but this truly stood out from the crowd and I just couldn’t tear myself away from the pages.

A huge thank you for allowing me to read this early- I will be steering customers towards this for sure!

This is a stunner of a book! It's my first by Grady Hendrix so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I now have a big list of his fiction (called "lies" on his website!) on my TBR.
It's witchy and feminist and addictive. It was an excellent read in a dark and stormy November, but honestly, I would pick it up any night of the year.
Set in Florida in the 1970, "Fern" is a pregnant teen who has been given a fake name at a home for wayward girls. I love the setting of the hot, humid and atmospheric setting of Florida's swamps already, and the oppressed teen girls just adds to this vibe. Then you get a witch. Yep, that's right! A mobile librarian seduces the girls into witchcraft which they readily accept in an attempt to free themselves from the situations they've found themselves in.
I absolutely sped through this, it was addictive. I'm not the biggest fan of the childbirth portions (pregnant women, especially if it's your first, please don't read this!) because they're depicted as something entirely different from my own experiences - one of which was amazing, the other not so much, but wasn't anything like this. But they're also wonderfully graphic (in the best way!) and show the terror that the teenage girls would have felt. I'm personally just not a fan of the way that the media depicts birth as a screaming, world-ending kind of experience when it usually isn't!
This is an excellent read though and I would highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

In terms of genre, the novel “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” by Grady Hendrix is classified as 'feminist horror', but I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. Or only in a very broad conception of horror. More on that later.
It's 1970 and the fifteen-year-old protagonist Neva (love that name btw) is stupidly pregnant, making her part of the dregs of society. Thankfully, no one has noticed yet, so her parents send her to a home for unmarried mothers for the last few months. There she lives with ten girls who are in the same situation as her. The plan is simple: finish your pregnancy, have your babies, give them up for adoption and go back to your old life as if nothing had ever happened. Only no one has reckoned with the wandering coven of witches currently living in the nearby woods and looking for newborns for the coven.
The book is hard to read in more ways than one. It's just over 400 pages long and it still took me a good two weeks. On the one hand, it was because it is WAY too slowpaced for my taste (but tbf, so was Mistborn from Sandarson was for me and for the rest of the world... not). On the other hand, because of what the girls have to go through.
Readers are mercilessly shown what women had to endure at the time - and not just minors. As far as I know, it is a realistic portrayal of the patriarchy of the time with the tone of today's enlightenment. Abuse of various kinds is highlighted; both by men towards women, because they are men and can get away with anything, and by women towards women, because they are so strongly conditioned to please the male world that it simply hurts.
The opposite pole to the society of the time is, of course, the coven of witches, who repeatedly talk about wanting to break away from the world of men. But even in their world, everything has its price and when the protagonist reaches for the saving straw of witchcraft, she suddenly finds herself confronted by another party that wants to exert power over her.
Unfortunately, the magic itself plays such a subordinate role that I was somewhat disappointed. It only comes into play at all after almost a third of the book and even then it hardly takes up any space. Especially for a title that already contains the word “Witchcraft”, I found this very unintuitive.
Let's come back to my statement that I see it as a very broad concept of horror. Because it is not, as you might think at first, caused by witchcraft. No, apart from the various abuses, it is above all the act of birth that leads to the unpleasant part that is inherent to horror.
We experience four of these in the course of the story, three of them very explicitly, all of which are disturbing in different ways. (I missed the depiction of caesarean sections, which was hinted at in a non-descript birth, but remained rather unnoticed in comparison to the four described vaginal births). Disturbing, because births are a brutal thing and Hendrix is not afraid to start with the powerlessness in the face of labor and only stop when the child is torn from the mother's arms. Tears, ruptures and cuts are also described in detail where they occur.
I found Hendrix's achievement as a man born into the intense and understandable emotional world of a distraught teenage mother quite impressive. Whether in the face of social pressure or in the face of the physical changes that pregnancy brings with it. And even though I probably won't read the book a second time (which admittedly doesn't mean that much), I will probably think about it for a long time to come.

It’s a gutsy move for a privileged male author to dive headfirst into a story about unwed teen pregnancies and the systemic oppression of women, a topic as charged as it is deeply gendered. But Hendrix handles Witchcraft for Wayward Girls with a surprising allyship that feels genuine, even if you side-eye him going in.

Firstly, let’s get one thing straight: this book doesn’t just scare you with witchcraft, gore and graphic body horror—TW: Graphic pregnancy, labour and childbirth scenes (I am SO relieved and delighted to be childfree!)—it infuriates.

Depicting unwed teen mothers being shipped off to “homes,” stripped of their rights and autonomy, and treated like criminals by creepy doctors and Nurse Ratched types is hard to stomach and not just in a historical sense. It feels even heavier when you realise these institutions weren’t just relics of a backward past. Their echoes are loud and clear in today’s world, from debates about bodily autonomy to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade to the underlying causes of the #MeToo movement, plus the ongoing intersectionality in current wars and crimes against humanity, not to mention homelessness and abuse. Same song, different decade.

Hendrix writing this as a dude is risky, sure. But he gets it. He centres the trauma, the injustice, and the rage of women throughout history and no doubt, of today. Because it is set in 1970 in a pre-Roe vs. Wade era, Hendrix bypasses the pro-choice vs. pro-life minefield and instead forces us to face the raw, unfiltered horror of denying women agency. He’s not preachy about it, so don’t worry, if that is a concern of yours.

This book won’t be for everyone. It’s going to ruffle feathers, trigger a few incels and misogynists, and will probably land on some banned-book lists, faster than you can say The Handmaid’s Tale/The Color Purple (and yes, the irony that it’s a privileged male). But hey, that’s the kind of résumé you want as an author tackling these topics.

Additionally, I've seen a few criticisms that there isn't enough witchcraft in this book and I agree. It does read more like historical fiction with visceral pregnancy & birth-related body horror elements and splashes of witchcraft, so adjust your expectations if you're looking for tonnes of supernatural horror right from the get-go. Because the real horror isn’t otherworldly. It’s what we’ve permitted and continue to permit to happen in plain sight.

Be that as it may, this story is also a reckoning. Beneath the witchy vibes lies a defiant reminder: women have always been powerful, even when systems tried to dismiss, control or snuff them out. Hendrix doesn’t just ask us to rage, he reminds us to rise.

Oh, and if you wanted a plot summary, read the blurb. Or better yet... the book. 4.5 stars, happy to round up. A more fleshed-out and nuanced character arc for Hagar and Miriam could’ve earned this a full five stars.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan | Tor Nightfire for the arc in exchange for an honest review—this was one of my most anticipated for 2025 and it delivered!

First off, I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC

At first I found all the different names confusing, it was much easier once the focus narrowed down to 5 of the girls. It did emphasize how lonely and confusing it must have been for them in the home.

I found the use of floral names very interesting, as they are symbolic of friendships and new beginnings. But without having their real names the characters have no power, no agency.

It was as witchy as I thought it would be. It was a device used to exaggerate the girls going against expectations. It added to the female rage elements. Without giving spoilers, the second to last chapter when it all kicked off filled me with so much female rage and empowerment.

I felt it was a bit slow in places, but I guess this is used to show how boring and monotonous the girls lifes are. How they are in limbo before they're able to go home and forget everything (or will they?)

I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction style books, but maybe because of when I've been reading it, the feminism, the reproductive rights stuff happening in the states, etc, this book was impactful.

If you enjoyed the Grace Year by Kim Lidgett or Femlandia by Christina Dalcher, this might be another great read for you

Wow, what a book! A rollercoaster of emotions and a gripping read. It put a supernatural twist on a terrible situation. I loved all the characters, and the supernatural twist seemed a logical response to the situation those girls found themselves in.

I feel kinda annoyed and disappointed by this one because of the high expectations I had for it. If you get into the book looking for a historical novel set in a scorching hot USA summer in 1970, with very little supernatural elements (that only come 30% into the novel... see witchcraft in the title), but lots of real world horror regarding society's customary sexism and bigotry in the guise of emotional and physical violence towards women and literal children, then you might end up enjoying it more than I did. For me, the story definitely relied too much on the accuracy of the setting to exacerbate any tension or strong emotion out of its readers, which is something I find cheap and an easy way out of actually building a well fleshed out horror novel, especially for the man of campy horror himself. The actual plot was weak and underwhelming, the pacing odd, and the characters motives and overall development weren't strong enough to compensate for the lack of substance of the story. I can't really praise the book for its strong moments when they all come from a place of reality, you know. Great job real world for being horrifying!

Rated 2.75 stars.

Man. I love Grady Hendrix.

It’s the 70’s. Pregnant teens are sent away to birth their babies, with the promise that they will return to their old lives. However, Fern and the other girls soon realise that their lives will never be the same again...

It’s feminist and witchy and a whole lot of fuck the patriarchy - the perfect blend of supernatural horror and real horror that us women face in our everyday lives.

Trigger warnings
There are graphic depictions of childbirth and extreme childbirth trauma. Also wouldn’t recommend if you are currently pregnant.

I love how Hendrix writes - it’s very slow to start but the build up is so worth it. The sense of desperation and dread is unmatched. Genuinely scary moments make the build up worth the commitment. No cheap thrills or popcorn horror here - it’s true classic horror.

Overall… Slow start - yes, but it’s also heartbreaking, empowering and hard to put down - I read this in 24 hours, and stayed up way too late to try and finish it.

One for the Grady Hendrix fan club. Me included.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Witchcraft for wayward girls
Author: Grady Hendrix
Pages: 496
Rating: 3/5

"They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened."

I never thought that I really had any trigger issues when it came to books. Until I read this. Should you be suffering from birth trauma, I strongly suggest you rethink this as a read. There is also an off page description of child SA and r***.

The book was well written. The story was based in 1970s and the treatment of unwed pregnant girls. From control, blame, loss of rights and autonomy. The writing style was emotive and I found myself crying in some parts of the story. Especially when forced to sign their babies away.

There were some extremely gory and graphic writing, but there was nothing frightening. The scary part is the fact that history is repeating itself in regards to the reproductive rights for women in America (and the quotes at the beginning were as late as 2005)
The book makes you angry at the female oppression and for a male writer to write about it shows balls!?

You'll love this book if you like
- Southern American horror
- female empowerment and friendship
- knowledge is power
- 70s early 80s era, morals and values
- the darker side of witchcraft
- a wtf "I can't believe they did that"

The book was slow to get going; it was interesting to read about all of the girls and their lives at the home which was clearly the point, but it took a while for it to pick up the pace.
Once Fern received the book, I became massively invested in the story of all the girls. The book was heartbreaking, from Holly’s story to the babies they had no choice but to give up, it was honestly one of the most emotionally wrenching books I have read.
It made me rage against a system which allowed children and women no autonomy over their own lives and bodies; surprisingly it is written by a man, but it is written so brilliantly and accurately I genuinely can find no fault with his portrayal of the girls and their harrowing experiences.
I thoroughly recommend this book.

A very popular contemporary horror author, I find Grady Hendrix hit and miss. Much like Riley Sager, some I love and some I really dislike, so I'm always a bit apprehensive.

This one was really unique, and not a topic I've seen discussed outside of Ireland.

I didn't know before this year, when we read Ann Patchett's "Patron Saint of Liars" for Banned Books Club, that there were mother and baby homes in the U.S. - but there were.

In this, his seventh novel since 2014's hit "Horrorstör", Hendrix takes us to 1970's Florida. Fifteen year old Neva is pregnant, and her father is taking her to Wellwood House, a home for "wayward girls".

Given a new name by Miss Wellwood, Neva (now Fern) is left with other young pregnant women to try and figure out what to do.

Four of the girls become close, and discover something strange about a mobile library that visits the home. This could be the answer to their prayers - but what will they have to sacrifice in order to escape? (not the babies, don't worry, it's not THAT kind of horror book 😅).

The girls get involved with witchcraft, but they're soon in over their heads - have they made a huge mistake? And if so, where can they turn for help?

This is so gory, lads. Full-on graphic, gory, body horror. Childbirth scenes that made my stomach turn. But, I really enjoyed it. The story was well crafted and for a book written by a man, I really felt the female rage.

Neva/Fern and the others were brilliant characters, and I loved how their stories progressed. I also loved the side characters, especially Hagar, who worked at Wellwood House.

For a book that spent a good chunk of itself turning my stomach, I did end up crying at the ending. I just thought it was really well written and it's definitely my favourite of the books I've read by this author.

Thank you to @panmacmillan for granting me approval to read the ARC via @netgalley. Witchcraft For Wayward Girls will be published on January 16th.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the female power and friendships that were explored. It was quite a deep topic but written with such beauty and sensitivity.
I did find it a bit slower than other Gradi Hendrix books I've read but loved the uneasy sinister feelings throughout.
I would definitely recommend!

The story is set in 1979 when 15 year old pregnant Neva is taken to a home for “wayward girls” to deliver her baby, have it adopted and then return home as if nothing has happened.
The home is run by an authoritarian who takes away their names, clothes and any references to their normal life. The girls get a weekly mobile library service and the are thrilled when a book on witchcraft is recommended.
In an effort to prevent Holly, the youngest of the girls at 13, returning to the arms of the minister that molested her and who wants to adopt her baby, the girls take to witchcraft with devastating consequences.
I was super excited to read a Grady Hendrix book as I’ve heard so much about his gothic/ horror style that it sounded right up my alley. However this book read more like a YA novel than the noir book I was expecting. I still enjoyed it but it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I’d give it 3.5 but have rounded down to a 3 star. Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

Fern is an unforgettable protagonist—her vulnerability and determination draw you in as she navigates a world designed to silence her and the other girls. Hendrix’s vivid portrayal of the 1970s, with its stifling societal expectations, adds a rich layer of realism that makes the supernatural elements feel all the more unsettling.

The introduction of witchcraft and the occult is brilliantly executed, giving the girls a taste of power in a world where they’ve had none. But as the story spirals into darker territory, the true horror isn’t just the supernatural—it’s the monstrous truths hidden behind Wellwood’s walls.

Hendrix masterfully blends spine-tingling terror with poignant social commentary, making Wayward Girls a must-read for fans of gothic horror and gripping storytelling. This is a book that will leave you thinking—and shivering—long after the final page.

That’s a really good read, heartbreaking reality of so many women in the 70s. Some scenes were so graphic my body hurts, the childbirth scenes were also greatly executed.
People will, without a doubt, LOVE this book.

thank you netgalley for the early copy

Although it was a bit slow in parts, I really enjoyed this. Not as ‘horror’ as I would expect from Grady Hendrix but the girls are going through some ‘horrific’ things.
I loved the girls power aspect from the group of girls, and cried a bit at the end as it wrapped up.

I must confess Witchcraft for Wayward girls by Grady Hendrix is the first book from the author that I have read. But I have heard such good things about this author that I was excited to receive this copy.
Fifteen-year-old Neva Craven lives in Alabama in the 1970’s. She is also an unwed and pregnant. Her father is ashamed of his daughter like any teenager in them times so Neva is sent to her ‘Aunt’ for the summer until the baby comes. But after the long journey she finds herself instead sent to a home for Wayward mothers/ teenage pregnancies until the baby is born. The children are then forcibly adopted, and the girls are sent home as if nothing has happened. The mothers never see their children ever again.
When she gets their Neve is given a new name and told never use her own. Her new name is Fern. The other girls have been given new names too. The girls fill their day doing housework and smoking until the days when their children are born. The girls get bored until a travelling library arrives at the home and the girls are given a Spell book, which they use to try and right the wrongs that they have been dealt with and try and break free. But things don’t always go they way they want them too.
This is a fantastic read. Not only because of the supernatural and engaging storyline. But it is a thought provoking read. How pregnant teenagers were sent away, shamed by their families and worse still their babies forcibly taken away. But certain circumstances it was a product of children being abused by others. It is also journey of empowerment and trying to break free from the ills that they see themselves in. I can’t wait to read the backlog from this author 5 stars from me.

I love Grady’s writing and story telling ability. This book took me by surprise with less “horror” aspects and more feminists themes.
Initially I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to palate the topic of pregnancy and horror - particularly pregnancy written by a man - however, Grady managed to represent what was a reality for girls/women exceptionally well and elicited a range of emotions from me, particularly anger and rage for how women were treated, especially from loved ones during one of the most challenging times of an individuals life. I can’t fathom how places like this truely existed.
The witchy element of this book was great- not overdone and I loved the fact the Librarian is a witch was an automatic love for me.
Overall this was a great feminist read and Grady continues to solidify himself as one of my favourite authors