Book Review – Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix has done it again. He sucked me into a horrifying world that feels surprisingly grounded in reality, even if that reality was 1970.

The book follows Fern and several teenage girls who were sent to a home to have their babies. They are fed strict diets of steaming hot guilt trips about being the sinning sluts that they are. Their doctor treats them like specimens, not young women. They are forced to give their babies up for adoption and sent home to pretend their improper behavior never happened.

During her stay, Fern gets a book about witches and she and three friends start practicing the craft. When they discover what they can do, they agree to give up their lives to join a local group of witches without realizing the contract is valid.

What I find so brutal about this book is the honesty in which it is told. The misogyny and cruelty these girls endure from the staff at the home and the medical professionals at the hospital is heartbreaking. It made me angry. Uncomfortable. Irate. A sign of great writing.

This book has a lot to say about what it is to be a woman in a world where we are shamed for living. And it’s ever so poignant in our modern times even though it takes place in 1970. While it delves into the horrors of witchcraft, the core of this novel is so much bigger. I like to believe the witchcraft is an allegory for the fight women are still fighting to survive. To live without judgement or control. To have babies on our own terms.

Hendrix notes at the end of this novel that it was inspired by someone he knows having lived through being at one of these homes and having to give her baby up for adoption. That inspiration is on every page of this novel. A great read.

4 out of 5 stars.