Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
"Superb ... a perfect horror for our imperfect age.” – The New York Times
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER
They were never girls, they were witches . . . .
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, to 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, frightened, and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.
Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by the 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.
In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master” (NPR).
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER
They were never girls, they were witches . . . .
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, to 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, frightened, and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.
Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by the 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.
In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master” (NPR).
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Readers say *Witchcraft for Wayward Girls* skillfully captures the harsh realities faced by unwed pregnant teens in the early 1970s, just before Roe v...
Perfectly fine book. It took too long to get to the magic and so the setup while not bad, took forever! I liked the characters overall, I had to continue to remind myself that they are teenage girls so there dumb decisions make sense. Some of this book was intense and creepy and I was here for it. However, most of the book was just meh to me personally. Very sad and informative about how unwed mothers were treated back in the day though which was interesting. Overall, it just didn’t hit but I’m not upset that I read it.
My heart broke in different shapes and sizes while reading this novel.
Witcraft For Wayward Girls takes place in the early 70s, just a few months before Roe v. Wade.
It's easy to bond with the young mothers juggling to grow up and having to face their newborn babies being ripped out of their arms. If I wasn't familiar with the author then I would be convinced that the story was written and told by a mother.
What a way to honor anyone close to your heart, who was forced into one of these homes for unwed young pregnant girls.
I've heard rumors about these girls and words I was taught to use for them.
I've changed my mind and heart and next time society asks me to join them in being judgmental, I'll remember what Grady Hendrix has shared and I'll know to be more empathetic.
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