About the Book

Witchcraft For Wayward Girls is the story of young girls confined to a home for unwed mothers until they give birth akin to waiting out a prison sentence. There is the promise that once their “shame” is over and their baby handed off to a deserving couple, they can simply go back to their normal life as if none of this ever happened. Every day is regimented, each calorie counted, they track anything and everything to insure that the babies these girls are carrying are delivered in the most ideal circumstance. It is clear where the priorities lie and the girls are led to believe that once they have atoned for their “sin” they get a second chance to be the good girls they should.

The story follows Fern and the girls she has befriended while staying at the home in 1970’s Florida. Each girl has her own set of circumstances that has lead her to their present but when Fern and her friends learn what will happen to one of the girls once she’s given birth and sent back home they start to seek out a desperate intervention. All too conveniently a book that promises solutions to their problems finds its way into Fern’s hands. Could witchcraft really be the answer to their prayers?

My Thoughts

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was one of the new releases I was most anticipating for 2025. The premise interested me and I was very curious to see how Grady Hendrix was going to tackle deeply personal women’s issues in this story. I think he captured the essence of the guilt, shame, and social stigma in a way that felt real and I think it’s clear that he spoke to a lot of women in preparation to write about this heavy topic. I have seen some question whether or not a man should write a story like this, but I believe if it is well informed and done with care, a man who has a large platform and uses it to amplify women’s issues is a good use of that power. I also think it’s up to the reader to determine if Hendrix hit those points for them.

This read a lot more like a historical fiction than Grady Hendrix’s other books that I have read. The tone of this novel is more serious and emotional, which to me makes sense given the subject matter. The first half of the book focuses on our main character, Fern, and life at the home. While it’s not horror, it does become distressing as you see these young girls stripped of their agency. They don’t discuss what is happening to their bodies or what will happen when they give birth. All these girls are told is that they will “go downtown” the baby will be born and sent off with its new parents to live a wonderful life and that they will go back to their life as if this was nothing but a bad dream. They aren’t prepared for the reality or the aftermath of giving birth. The majority of the adults in this story are horrific villains no matter how much they insist that they are helping these young women. It was tough to read but harder still to think that this scenario was commonplace not too long ago.

As for the witchcraft and horror I wish there had been more of it. I did enjoy what was sprinkled in to the book and the idea of the legacy of women the witchcraft represented. I do, however, wish that the witchcraft could have been something that truly bonded the girls together à la 1996’s The Craft. I think the narrative that witchcraft could be used for good or for ill could have been pushed more than what Hendrix offered.

I think what kept this from being a full four star read for me was the handling of Hagar and Miriam, the home’s only two black employees. I wanted Hagar especially to have more depth so that we could understand her background and position when it came to her knowledge of witchcraft. I appreciated her fire, but I wanted Hendrix to give us more so that we as the reader didn’t feel like Hagar was just another character of color who has to save the white characters from themselves. I feel like I could see what he was doing to subvert that trope into something else, but I think it could have landed more successfully if we had more direct point of view chapters from Hagar and Miriam, so that we could know their thoughts firsthand.

There was a lot about this book that I enjoyed and I think really worked for me. I was curious how he would tell this kind of story and I think Grady Hendrix made some pretty smart choices in how he chose to present a lot of the darker parts of this story. I think the book gives you a lot to ruminate on does what it set out to do. I always enjoy the way in which Grady Hendrix writes and I’m always curious what kind of story he will set out to tell next.