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This was an interesting read. Neva Craven is a 15 yo who gets pregnant. Her family can‘t fathom it, so they send her to the Home which is a place for unwed pregnant teens. There we meet an array of girls that have sad backstories, and they‘re all fed up with people telling them what to do. They get their hands on a book about witchcraft, and start casting spells for life to work in their favor. This was just an okay read for me.

6-15-25: My 40th finished book of 2025! I like Hendrix‘s books. They are weird and fun usually. This one was weird but also very sad. A 15 year old girl named Neva is brought to a home for pregnant unwed girls. Stick there for 3 months she must give birth and give up her child for adoption. It‘s the rule. In between that sorrow are witches. A book given to Neva and her friends turns deadly when they decide to use it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣4️⃣0️⃣

Such an energetic & informative dive into the history of witches & witchcraft from Hendrix. Plus he complimented my Fright Night long sleeve. I‘ll take that!

That was horrifying. 😲
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eta: last book of April
I read 21 books this month. ❤📚

3.5⭐Mostly A Pick but also So-So.
•This started great, and I was fully invested, but eventually, the witchcraft elements got a bit out of hand, which I feel is typical for Hendrix. It got to the point that I couldn‘t follow what was going on. I don‘t think the narration did this issue any favors, either. Overall, for me, it dragged something fierce.
•The narration for the birthing sections was atrocious to listen to.
⬇️⬇️⬇️

#Read2025

Another book I finished a while ago & didn‘t post a review for. My second April #Roll100 pick (#16 Any Library Book). While not my favorite Hendrix book (it didn‘t have as much dark humor as his others), I did enjoy it. It did drag a little in spots, but by the end I was anxiously turning the pages to find out what happened. Less about witchcrafty horror & more about the horrors done to unmarried pregnant girls & women in the era.😱

This starts out slow—the witchcraft takes a while to show up—but builds to astonishing intensity. The real-life horrors of the Home for Unwed Mothers combine very well with the magical horrors. There are some extremely intense depictions of childbirth that I could feel viscerally! I truly felt like all the characters were real people. The epilogue fell a little flat for me, unfortunately.

This book wrecked me, emotionally. What a great experience that I didn‘t know that I needed. Read the full review on Goodreads.
www.goodreads.com/c_graham

This looks suspiciously like one of my predawn airport pictures last week but life is on repeat lately. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Anyway, headed to Hilo for business review meetings so caffeine, breakfast & a few chapters. I‘m about 1/3 of the way through this one & enjoying it so far.

4⭐. Good advertisement for abstinence. Brings out all the realities of childbirth plus some.

I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen a fictional depiction of pregnancy rhinitis before. It‘s not a well-known side effect, and it was one of the worst parts of pregnancy for me—my nose just running constantly. So it‘s really cool to see this main character also having to deal with it!

My 23 yo son is in town and we partook in a roadtrip. This book became available on Libby and he likes the horror genre so we decided to listen. There‘s a lot of child birthing that I found awkward to be listening to w/ him, and it didn‘t have the humor his other books have but it was a great book and we both enjoyed it. Son says he‘s interested in checking out some more books by Hendrix. I suggested How to Sell a Haunted House next 🤣

(2025) It's a supernatural thriller set in a maternity home for pregnant teenagers in the 1970s. Forced by circumstances into a place where they have no agency, some of the girls are drawn to a darker path that leads to a tight spot between the patriarchy and a a power that demands more than they may be willing to give. It moves right along, delivers the promised suspense, and wraps nicely. Recommended.

The witchcraft wasn‘t nearly as horrific as the way these pregnant girls were treated. I was getting 🤬 mad a few times listening to how they were dismissed, condescended to, preyed upon, and abused. Solid audiobook narrator. Some of the spell chanting got intense, but I liked listening to the performance. Much more atmospheric than me skimming over or past those parts if I read them on the page.

Book 15 of 2025! So good! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Off to Hilo for meetings today & tomorrow. A little early morning airport breakfast & coffee. I‘m excited to start this one! It‘s one of my #Roll100 books this month.

My April #Roll100 picks:

#24 Any stories or essays: Every Drop is a Man‘s Nightmare (also my #FictionalTraveler April #Island pick)

#36 Any Non-Fiction: Challenger (Also for April‘s #MonthlyNonFiction)

#16 Any Library Book: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

I‘m excited about all three of these!

When I was a horror-loving Heathers-and-The-Craft-fanatic of a teen I would have been OBSESSED with this book.

I liked the plot - pregnant teenagers at a home for unwed mothers try to reclaim their power through witchcraft - but it was a little too long and a little too slow.

4⭐️/5⭐️

For my Grady Hendrix fans: one of my favorite witchy podcasts did an interview with him! I haven‘t read any of his books yet but after this interview I definitely will. When he starts off his discussion of researching witchcraft with “it‘s complicated” you know he really did the work.

https://newworldwitchery.com/2025/03/14/episode-258-witchcraft-for-wayward-girls...

🥰💖🫣🤷🏻‍♀️💪🏻 #bnbookfest

Grady Hendrix is one of my favorite horror authors because he can use horror to dig into topics like this. Hendrix mixes magical realism, the occult, and the power of women to create an atmospheric and topical horror story. Hendrix does not hold back in his indictment of the patriarchy and the way society treats young women like the ones depicted in this novel. Women working together can accomplish anything.

Another great one! 🦋🔮

Another great book by this author, I was excited to read this one, and it has lived up to the hype 🙌

Read for reading challenges

4.25/5

I thought Hendrix did a great job with the characters and nailed the time, space and place. The book deals with all kinds of issues while keeping it fun with the witch story.

Absolutely loved this book. Not scary just very graphic and bloody in some parts.

For the rest of the review, visit my Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/LsilXdBdjno

Enjoy!

I loved this book. I think it's my favorite Grady Hendrix book.
So Fern is fifteen and pregnant and is sent to a home for wayward girls in Florida to have and give up her baby. There she meets Rose, Zinnia and Holly; together they start dabbling in witchcraft and then all hell breaks loose 🖤
#WickedWords #hospital @AsYouWish

Perfect (purrrrr-fect?! 😹) way to start an extra weekend day. This book is different than Hendrix‘s others (less creepy and gross, more character driven) but we‘re enjoying it!

I went through this fairly quickly given its near 500 pages. 4.5 stars. Hendrix does a phenomenal job of writing female characters. This book has the right amount of supernatural twist that you know about going in. If you‘ve read previous books of his, you should enjoy this one too! Maybe it could‘ve been shorter at points but overall a terrific read & wow what woman were put through because they were pregnant young. This book is an ode to them.

This was an excellent horrific read. Very different from Grady Hendrix‘s previous books-this is not as funny and far more harrowing. I would put it in a similar vein to The Reformatory by Tananarieve Due. Another book that tells a fictional take on real horrors in our not to distant past. 5⭐️
#doublespin pick done

I was not expecting such a well researched story from this book! I thoroughly enjoyed the world, characters, and plot.

Bonus NSFW picture book 💕

I was at Target getting winter storm provisions. 🤪

This was such a good audiobook! The narrator was amazing and really brought home the horror and the heart at the center of this story. This is more than just a story about young witches, it‘s a look at the terrible way society has treated young women, pregnancy out of wedlock, and motherhood in general throughout the years. The depictions of childbirth were raw and real and just so gross! It‘s amazing a man wrote this story! Loved it! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

In his latest, Hendrix travels back to 1970 to a place where pregnant teen girls are stashed to have their babies (and have them taken away) so their families can pretend it isn‘t happening. I loved this book. Some of the body horror had me cringing away from the page. And this book is so female in the best way that I kept forgetting it was written by a man (other male authors should take note).

It was a long day at work and the last thing I wanted was to cook dinner. Listening to the tagged book definitely helped get dinner on the table. Audio cooking for the win lol! 😂 🎧📚💕👩‍🍳

I read 8 books this month with the tagged book being my favorite from the lot. But overall, I really enjoyed every one of these. January was a super good reading month for me.

From NetGalley = 3
From my own shelf = 1
From library = 4

A personal goal for myself in 2025 was to read more medieval stories, particularly those from my own shelf, so since I didn‘t do that in January, I want to get going on that goal during February.

#January25

I just need to say that if you ever have the chance to see Grady Hendrix live, leap at the chance! He is extremely entertaining, funny, and smart. And during the signing, he took time to speak with everyone. His shows aren't readings; they are full presentations on the subject of whatever book he is there for. I was a fan before, but now I think I may worship him.

January wrap up. The tagged book was my favorite.

Yes, I just finished reading this book. It was definitely worth her weight. I‘m not only on the e-book, but I also own a physical copy. I originally thought that this book was going to be similar to all those witchcraft movies that I‘ve watched over the years. This story adds a new element to the genre. It‘s a 5 star read imo. Now I can say that I read five Grady Hendrix books in the last two years. #witchcraftforwaywardgirls #gradyhendrix

Visions ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Never Lie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Blonde Dies First ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 😟

Clearly, this month's theme was (unintentionally) Supernatural 🖤

I was really excited to read this, but, like the reviews have indicated, not so much witchcraft vibes. I am putting this book aside for now as well. I am officially in a book slump after all my anticipated new year releases have been 3 stars at best and quite a few I can't get into. Sad.

Initially, I planned to save this book for an Oct ‘25 read before reminding myself a similar ‘24 plan created a TBR of well over 60 books that I still haven‘t completed. I‘m glad I read this sooner because the horrors in the 1970 setting of this story have little to do with witchcraft. And how is Grady Hendrix not a female author!

I‘m up to page 209 out of 395. I‘ll be finished this week. #Witchcraftforwaywardgirls

Book 5📚 4⭐️

I very much enjoyed this book! Howeverrrrr…. I feel like it was missing the signature Hendrix weirdness? It had a bit of it with the “eels”. But I kept thinking there was going to be more and there wasn‘t.

Now don‘t let that turn you off! Cause it does a great job in jts own, very real, way!🤰🏼

Grady Hendrix is my can‘t miss horror writer for a reason and this book didn‘t disappoint. How he tackled topics like homes for pregnant girls, misogyny, women‘s power was impeccably done. I just love his writing and will continue to be a faithful fan.

Grady Hendrix just never fails to deliver. Here, in a home for pregnant teens in 1970, some of the girls discover witchcraft. Honestly though, the real horror of the story is how the girls were treated. This is a few years before Roe v. Wade so there were very few choices.

Cannot wait to see his show on the 29th!

I loved this group of spunky teens fighting the patriarchy and learning how the world works. These wayward girls were shunned and thrown away until there was no evidence of their pregnancy, and they only had each other to lean on. Grady Hendrix is masterful.

I literally jumped up and down like a child when this book arrived. I preordered back in June, and it was released last Tuesday, but several mishaps caused it to be delayed. It is finally mine, and it is absolutely gorgeous in person. I started reading late last night but had to force myself to put it down so I could get some sleep. Can‘t wait to get into it! ❤️❤️

Started this one this morning! I‘ve seen great reviews!

Reading in honor of Sharon @sharread 🕯️ ❤️

#Sharreadathon