What I'm Reading: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Today I have one of the most hotly anticipated books of the new year, and it does not disappoint. This book is stellar and damn good.

The official review appears in the October 15, 2024 issue of Booklist. Below is my draft review and bonus appeal content. 

STAR

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

By Grady Hendrix

Jan. 2025. 432p. Berkley, $30 (9780593548981); paper, $19 (9780593818183). 
First published October 15, 2024 (Booklist).

Neva, fifteen and pregnant in 1970, is brought in secrecy to Florida and the Wellwood House, a maternity home by name, but a prison in practice, a stand-in for such homes that proliferated across the US and Canada between 1945 and 1973. Once admitted Neva is renamed Fern, to protect her from the shame she is reassured, ends after she gives birth. Abandoned, alone, and struggling to access information about what is happening to their bodies, angry at being told they alone must pay for their sins, Fern and her roommates– Zinnia, the only black girl, Rose, a hippie, and Holly, a molested 14 year old– are given a copy of “How to Be a Groovy Witch” by the bookmobile librarian and their lives are changed forever. Told from Fern’s perspective, this is an original and nuanced addition to the witch cannon. However, it is the clear, accurate, and intensely visceral body horror of pregnancy and birth laid bare, that may catch readers off guard. Another stellar novel from Hendrix, a story that has a strong emotional core, compelling plot, unforgettable characters, and 360 degrees of terror. For fans of Horror that empowers the powerless as written by Gwendolyn Kiste, Gabino Iglesias and The Reformatory by Tananarive Due.

YA Statement: Teen horror readers will be invested in Fern, Holly, Zinnia, and Rose’s story which, despite taking place in 1970, is unfortunately still relevant today.

Three Words That Describe This Book: visceral, empowerment, intense

Further Appeal: You all, Hendrix is a DAMN GOOD writer. 

Let's start with the fact that he is a man and it is about pregnant teens. As someone who has been pregnant twice and lived as a young woman in a world that thinks we are all "wayward"-- I am mad that Grady got it all so perfectly correctly. I mean not really mad, but damn, he got it all right. I know this book is based on real experiences from people in his own family and history, but still. I can't wait for men to read this book and be "shocked" and horrified" by the 2 giving birth scenes. They are visceral, intense and also 100% accurate.

I already see people warning others about the graphic birthing scenes; even lowering the star ratings because of it. Giving birth is supposed to be natural and a part of life. It also happens to be body horror by definition. You grow another human and must expel it. There should not have to be a warning. The fact that people feel the need-- this is why the book had to be written and by a man because a woman would be called extra or hysterical for doing it. I cannot wait for the first 1 star review by man who says it is "too much." I will cackle at the moon under the stars. 

But seriously, I also hope that reading this book gives male readers a lot more respect for the women in their lives. It is unfortunate, but I know that many men need a man to write a book to see it. Hendrix has added content in the book (afterward) that explains his personal connection to this story. He also talks at length about the history of the homes for pregnant teens to give readers even more horrifying context.

The work Hendrix put in to researching these homes, whose existence ends after Roe passes, is remarkable. I didn't even know they were a thing. It adds another level of real life horror to the book. And because we know they end with Roe and yet we also know Roe was recently rescinded-- that adds an entirely new level of fear. It also reminds you that this is not a story from the past– this is a horror that is still happening.

The setting's time is important though, because it is a moment of huge turmoil and change in America as a country, and these girls are locked away yet understand that they need more power in their own lives. They have none. And yet, they are carrying new life.

The witch part itself is original, surprising, and terrifying but also uplifting. Often witches are used in Horror novels about powerless women in similar ways. I do not want to give anything away here but in this tumultuous time, even the old ways of the witches are changing. They are not there to help to girls because they are nice friendly witches. I will leave it at that.

There are excerpts from the "How to be a Groovy Witch" book within this book as well. That was cool.

I just can't stress enough how much this is a perfectly constructed book from the details to the pacing to the characters to the setting. It has an intensity that unsettles you coming at the reader from every angle that allowed the Horror to infiltrate every page and the reader. And, the ending wrecked me.

Readalikes: The readalike authors above are a great place to begin. Of course, readers new to Hendrix should read everything he has written and use this link to find more readalikes for each of his books from me. Also the Jade Daniels trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones is a great readalike here, especially My Heart is a Chainsaw which can be read as a standalone.