“They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House 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.

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

Every moment of their waking day 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.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was published by Pan Macmillan last week (on Thursday 16th January 2025) and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow. I chose to read a free eARC of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls but that has in no way influenced my review.

A new Grady Hendrix book is a wonderful thing! I own the majority of this author’s back catalogue, which I’m slowly making my way through (there aren’t enough hours in the day for us slower readers!) so when this beauty popped up on the socials, I did everything in my power to get hold of a copy. I mean, look at that stunning cover (the US cover is worth a look too!). I was excited to get stuck into Witchcraft for Wayward Girls.

It’s 1970, Neva is fifteen years old and nearly 6 months pregnant. Her father, who radiates nothing but disappointment, drives her in near silence to Florida. Neva has no idea of where they are going but she’s smart enough to know something about the trip doesn’t feel quite right. Their destination is Wellwood House, a home for young, unwed mothers. Whilst Neva is shown around the house, completely out of sorts and in utter dismay, her father signs the paperwork and leaves without saying goodbye. Neva is told she needs to leave her old life back in Alabama behind. She can’t talk about her past, she can’t share any personal details and she can’t tell anyone her real name. She’s now Fern and her days will be spent carrying out chores and waiting for the inevitable, the arrival of her baby. Fern begins to make friends whilst hating every moment away from her family. The days are long, the food is awful and the healthcare provision is very old and very fusty. The only thing which brings joy is the arrival of the travelling library, staffed by the ancient Miss Parcae. Miss Parcae takes an interest in Fern, one day slipping her a book from behind the counter titled ‘How to be a Groovy Witch’. Suddenly the girls have something else to occupy their minds. Out for revenge towards the adults who dictate and dominate their days, they try a simple spell — and suddenly the power balance shifts. But in exchange for the book, Fern and her friends made a blood promise, albeit in haste. And promises must be kept no matter what the consequences…

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a beautifully written, witchy horror novel. Hendrix’s characters are once again divine. The author spends a lot of quality time shaping and moulding the main players, so the reader really gets to know the bones of them. Life is pretty miserable for these young women, the youngest being fourteen. Being fed lies by the adults responsible for them, promises of pain-free, easy labour that they won’t even be awake for. When Fern witnesses the gory truth in the bathroom, she begins to question everything the girls have been told. So when a new power enters their lives in exchange for the ultimate sacrifice, how can they say no? After all, it’s only words. It doesn’t really MEAN anything.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a character-driven, coming of age tale that I found both compelling and enthralling. There is quite a big build up to anything witchy actually happening but this is the readers’ chance to get to know the teens at the heart of this story. Alongside Fern there are a small group of girls who together make a promise they probably shouldn’t have and are dragged kicking and screaming into the melee. I believed in all of these characters. They were all strong personalities, a bonded group of friends thrown together due to their circumstance. Unlikely to have met otherwise. I became invested in their lives and wanted to see their story through to the end. The way the teens are treated, the now outdated views held by the adults in the book and the vivid, eerie setting of the isolated home was handled masterfully by the author. Bloody brave of a male author to take on a story like this but again, handled like the pro Hendrix is! If you’re a horror fan then you need Witchcraft for Wayward Girls in your life. And if you’re not, then this is a fantastic choice to cut your teeth on! With dark themes, beautifully written characters and a slow, escalating horror from start to finish, I very much enjoyed the time I spent with this fabulous, dark novel. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix was published in the UK by Tor Nightfire on 16th January 2025 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Grady Hendrix is the author of the novels Horrorstör, about a haunted IKEA, and My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which is like Beaches meets The Exorcist, only it’s set in the Eighties. He’s also the author of We Sold Our Souls, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, and Final Girl Support Group!

He’s also the jerk behind the Stoker award-winning Paperbacks from Hell, a history of the 70’s and 80’s horror paperback boom, which contains more information about Nazi leprechauns, killer babies, and evil cats than you probably need.

And he’s the screenwriter behind Mohawk, which is probably the only horror movie about the War of 1812 and Satanic Panic.