Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC, and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

I thought this book was boring. It wasn’t for me. It has many of the archetypal Grady Hendrix imprints, but lacked the charm of his other books I love. I do appreciate the care with which he handled a difficult set of issues. I think he demonstrated a willingness that most male authors wouldn’t to take on an empathetic and authentically female perspective. This is to be commended.

But, this book was not fun in any way, and that’s what I come to Grady Hendrix books for. I want to feel that indescribable, campy, preposterous, funkiness that his stories bring to me

I give props to a man who felt the courage to take on pregnancy, birth, and witches. Most of the time it felt authentic although I have some small quibbles about the portrayals of labor. This story shows the emotional turmoil and abuse these girls went through, and I wasn’t expecting the horror-esque turn this took.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this e-ARC!

I may be biased, but Grady Hendrix grew to be my absolute favorite horror author, beating even Stephen King himself. Book after book he proves that the supernatural is not that scary and the real terror lays in people and their relationships. „Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” is definitely not for the faint of heart, but its gory scenes don't hit the regular horror genre undertones - not witches, not monsters, but giving birth is what's the scariest in this book. And not knowing. The level of micro abuses and keeping pregnant girls in the dark in this story gave me chills and serves as a reminder that Hendrix is a genius when it comes to writing believable characters and emotions. I felt for those girls, I cried for them and was repeatedly reminded that there is nothing more anguishing than giving birth in the USA of the 70s when you're an unmarried teenage girl.
I loved that every character stood on their own and how they worked as en ensemble. Superb book, will recommend it to everyone.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a chilling novel about a group of unmarried pregnant teenage girls who begin to dabble with witchcraft and magic in order to save themselves from their fate. It has elements of horror and gore and is strangely addictive. I really enjoyed the friendship between the girls and the humour they shared with one another even in desperate times. Towards the end, the story did feel drawn out and the pacing could have been better to keep you fully engaged, but the ending was excellent in my opinion and I loved how it tied everything together.

Set in a sticky Florida summer, our main character finds herself in a home for wayward girls to wait out her pregnancy. This is a gripping story of a group of girls finding their way through life-changing times, full of adventure and friendship, with a few twists thrown in along the way.

Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for my advanced reading copy!

Darkly hilarious, creepy, and full of heart, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is Grady Hendrix at his absolute best. With a perfect mix of nostalgia, occult chills, and razor-sharp wit, this book dives deep into the messy bonds of teenage friendship and the ghosts—both literal and figurative—that haunt us. The story is fast-paced, the horror is chilling without losing its fun, and the characters are so flawed and real that you can’t help but root for them. It’s an eerie, emotional rollercoaster that’s impossible to put down—witchy, weird, and absolutely wonderful!

I absolutely loved this book from the first page I was hooked and I couldn't put it down
if you get the chance to read it you should jump at the chance. Much like Gradys other
Books they are so well written and beautifully imaginative

i've read a few grady hendrix books now and still can't decide how i feel about them. i liked the premise and set up for this but wasn't motivated to finish it

Grady Hendrix books are usually a bit hit or miss for me but when I tell you this was a HIT! I absolutely flew through it and was rooting for those poor girls all the way through. There were some spooky, edge of your seat moments, but mostly I was invested in the plot and the girls in the Home.

I do have to say, I would NOT advise reading this if you’re currently pregnant as it’s quite graphic about labour!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review!

I mean, this is definitely going in one of my favourite reads of 2025 so far! I was expecting to feel that way, given how much I've always enjoyed Grady Hendrix's books. I don't even know the words to describe just how much I enjoyed WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS, but it's equally horrifying as much as it's heartwarming, but also infuriating (in a good way) and viscerally gross (also in a good way). I feel like this book takes a supernatural occurrence or the existence of the supernatural and uses it to highlight the very human horrors and injustices lying underneath — in this case, the brutal and skin-crawling subjugation of these literal children, who are being taken advantage by all the adults around them, as though by virtue of being pregnant, they are denied even the remotest of compassion. It's a story of reclaiming power, but also an acknowledgment of how reality can be an inescapable force, which feels equally frightening as a concept. It is intense and vicious and hungry, but so satisfying and made me shudder in the best of ways! 1000% would recommend this book!

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was definitely a great introduction for me to the writing of Grady Hendrix.

A chilling horror set in a 70's home for unmarried mothers, this had tones reminiscent of The Craft which ironically took me back to my own teen years. Upon receiving the witches handbook, the girls soon found they were out of their depth and everything comes with a price. Sometimes the price is more than you are prepared to pay...

I found there to be lots of dark, graphic imagery in the story but it had it's place and wasn't superfluous. The writing was well paced and, although it didn't throw any real surprises my way, was still an enjoyable read.

Would I recommend? Yes if you like your horror but be warned there are some elements of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls that might be triggering for some.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC

Another hit from Grady Hendrix! I love his combination of humor and horror. I'm always entertained reading his books and this was no less. I'm also very fond of how he writes female characters. A man who actually portrays them good. This topic was also deeper than his prior novels I felt, which impressed me. A great novel.

Disclaimer: e-Arc provided by Pan MacMillan, Tor Nightfire via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Pan MacMillan, for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is set in a home for unmarried teenage girls in 1970. When one of the girls is given a book about witches, the group of girls start dabbling in magic.

Thoughts
Rating: 3.5 Stars

This was good. I liked the setting of the mother and baby home, and the dynamic between the girls in the home as well as their adult caretakers. I felt it was a bit too long winded towards the end, I thought it was almost over, only to realise I was only 80% through.

4.5 stars ⋆˙⟡

ahhhh this book!!!
im genuinely at such a loss for words for this review.

grady hendrix did an amazing job on this novel and im blown away at the impact its had on me.

this story had me so intrigued and invested in every character.
i felt for all these girls put in such terrible places all because of a childlike mistake or because they were taken advantage of.

“𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢, 𝘙𝘰𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵.
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘛𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.”

nothing i love more than a great feminist piece with magical elements.

Fifteen year old Fern is unmarried and pregnant and frightened as her family leave her at a home for wayward girls to sort out her "problem". Fern soon bonds with the other girls and before long a librarian presents them with a book that opens up a whole new world to them. The book offers escapism, but at what price? Can the girls really escape their fate? Or will the world get its way and tear their babies from their arms and thrust into adoption before sending them home to get on with their original lives? A mix of Hendrix' horror underpins this heartbreaking tale of underage pregnancy and baby homes. #witchcraftforwaywardgirls #gradyhendrix #netgalley

I’ve enjoyed Grady Hendrix’s books in the past, although I have found his focus only on groups of female protagonists to be a little overdone and odd, but this was just far too long and slow to hold my attention so unfortunately I couldn’t finish it.

I gave Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix two stars because, unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. While the premise seemed intriguing — a group of pregnant teens in a mysterious house discovering witchcraft and trying to reclaim their power — the execution left me completely bored.

The pacing was incredibly slow, and I found myself losing interest long before any action or plot really picked up. When the story finally did start to get intense, it veered into disturbing territory with an overwhelming focus on childbirth and the strange, unsettling ways of getting pregnant. This triggered a strong negative reaction in me, especially since I was hoping for a more magical, less graphic experience.

The elements of witchcraft and power were certainly intriguing, but the heaviness of the content combined with the slow pace made it difficult to stay engaged. I ended up not finishing the book because it felt like more of a slog than a captivating read. If you’re sensitive to topics around childbirth and pregnancy, this might not be the book for you. For me, it wasn’t the right mix of spooky or fun; it was just too dark and off-putting.

I found the book's theme very interesting, especially because I had no idea there were houses for unwed girls to have their babies and then move on. This is not a conventional horror book about witches; it does have some gore, and the horror revolves around the theme—the dark reality these girls lived in. There were parts quite hard to read; I could feel the desperation of these young mothers. Very sad book!
I really liked the final chapters! It was quite slow to reach a satisfactory resolution, though.

3.5/5 stars

I went into this book pretty much blind so I didn’t expect a lot of it.

This book made me sad, it made me angry. But it’s also a good reminder (not that we really need it, let’s be honest) of how quick the world can turn against girls and women. And it’s also a reminder of how strong we can be, how strong we are.

3.5 Stars. A really interesting premise. This is my first Hendrix book, and whilst this didn't blow me away I'd be keen to read more of their work. I think I mostly struggled with the slow pace. We're almost a third of the way through the book before we reach any witchy/unusual goings on. The pacing suffered as a result. Clearly a well researched book in terms of homes for 'wayward women' and the treatment of them. The mirroring of their persecution with that of witches was cleverly done and I really felt for our protagonist and her friends. The horror elements were engaging; I read and listened in tandem, and there's a particular moment with nails that I still can't think about without wincing...