Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

By: Grady Hendrix

Narrated by: Leslie Howard, Hillary Huber, Sara Morsey

"Superb ... a perfect horror for our imperfect age.”–The New York Times

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

There’s power in a book…

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

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

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...and it’s usually paid in blood.

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).

©2024 Grady Hendrix (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Hendrix’s genius as a horror writer is his ability to develop complex, human-scale emotional arcs...Never before has one of his books so aptly met the moment…at turns frightening, anxiety-producing, infuriating, beautiful and sad.”– The New York Times

“Fantastic … Hendrix is a wizard at mixing together tropes of terror in thought-provoking ways.”–Minnesota Star Tribune

"There's spells, there's witches, and then there's the magic Grady Hendrix conjures up in this amazing novel."–Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of I Was a Teenage Slasher

I’m not crying! It is just the witchcraft!

Damn Grady! This book broke me, it was so powerful and so overwhelming and so unflinching a look into the horrors of obstetric violence.

This is not a regular Grady Hendrix book! Was there engrossing atmosphere? Complex characters your heart connects with? Was the humor laced with absurdities and horror? YES! So in those ways it was a traditional Grady Hendrix book, however THIS BOOK was also raw, gritty, heart wrenching, disturbing, traumatic and at times sickening. But all of that made for a powerful story of the horrors of womanhood, sisterhood, the banality routine of cultural and patriarchal evil. There were a few times it felt like Grady Hendrix left the page and Nick Cutter stepped in to write a few scenes, because that is how unbelievably traumatizing vivid and accurate these unflinching looks at what it is like to give birth were. I am also so amazed by Hendrix’s ability to flawlessly write from the perspective of a girl, a teenager, a woman, a mother, this fact is also traditional in all his other books.

There were a few times I had to set this one down because of how raw it was it was overwhelming. I literally scream cried my way through one part. “You are a wolf! And you are destroying everything and no one can catch you!”

But if you are anything like me, you spend your life looking for books that make you feel THIS HARD. When you finish reading this review please just read this book!

Also 3 of the best narrators in the audiobook game bring this story and all of its characters to life! They we were not just narrations they were full on visceral performances!(Seriously when I pre ordered this forever ago I saw Hilary Huber, Leslie Howard and Sara Morsey listed as narrators and thought “well if these 3 are involved this will definitely be amazing …and spoiler alert! It was!)

Such a powerful story

I cried so many times listening to this book. it's probably the most powerful book I've ever read. Grady Hendrix is a true master of horror.

This is horror.

This story caused visceral reactions, physical, emotional, mental. The narration was good and the whole thing kept me engaged. Just, wow.

Great book!

This is a fantastic story. I could not stop listening! This book just might be one of the best I’ve listened to in the last year.

Masterful

I was crying by the end of this book.
Grady Hendrix tells stories about women with empathy, understanding, and genuine care. This story is no exception. Rather, it is the pinnacle of those qualities. He tells a story of witch craft in the same way. There is no demonic force or devil here. There are women doing the best they can when no option is a good one.
The narrators capture the characters' emotions without feeling forced. The performances were captivating and heartfelt.
All around, this is worth every second.

A Groovy Book

Grady Hendrix at his best. And Leslie Howard perfectly captured the spirit of the book.

I thought I loved Grady Hendrix before, but…

This is my new favorite Hendrix book. He just writes women so well! I wanted to punch some of the male characters in this book (and a couple of the women as well). I could relate to the feeling of not having control over your own body, mind and future. It feels pretty apt considering the current political leanings regarding women’s issues.
I love that all of the endings don’t have to be happy but it’s still satisfying.

The last chapter had me sobbing.

Grady's best book yet

My favorite Grady Hendricks book so far. I was enthralled from beginning to the very end and am feeling heart broken that it is over and I can never read it for the first time again. The characters were well developed and I immediately liked the main girls. There were so many layers of horror, from the horror of the times to the horror of the situations I was left with my jaw dropped many times. I gasped, I cried, I left different. I can't recommend this book enough.

Such a beautiful, raw, angry book!

Do not expect this to be a quick fix, where magic does not cost a thing. This is a book about women, power, birth and friendship. About the cultural prisons built for women since, well, always.
Grady Hendrix, and this is a heartfelt compliment, has written an open eyed book about the sufferings of teenage pregnant girls in the seventies. About male privilege. About race. No condescension, no sugar coating.
I read a review in Goodreads, and the reader complained that this was not Harry Potter. She was very mean about it. I am a Potterhead myself. and no, this is harder and meant for more astute and mature readers; for people that can handle hard to swallow truth with their magic. There is no Hogwarts here, just the American South.
I always found a slanted feminism in the other books by Grady Hendrix, but always softened a little by jokes. Here, his feminism comes back and bites your ass, it is so sharp. Also, there a beautifully written parts.
It is always exciting to read how a writer comes into his powers. (And I didn't like How to sell a Haunted House at all; I am not an easy customer).

Great Story

I’m a huge Hendrix fan. This story did not disappoint. Loved the characters, story, humor, empathy, anger, grief. It’s another great one.