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Sign up todayWitchcraft for Wayward Girls
Length
16 hours 18 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Leslie Howard, Hillary Huber & Sara Morsey
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“Not the horror story you are expecting, and horrific in other ways. An important read to remind us not to let history repeat itself. ”
— Christi • Red Fern Booksellers
Bookseller recommendation
“I was left speechless by this fantasy, thriller, horror, which was very intense and tragic. In 1969-1970, pregnant teenage girls who had no choice were shipped off to have their babies only to have them ripped away from them and given to “worthy families." Everything they went through was painful and heartbreaking. The author's incredible storytelling helps you feel what it’s like to be in that situation. I adored each of the characters: Fern, Holly, Rose, Zinnia, and Hagar. They are unforgettable, and I truly enjoyed being on their journey. Their only ally was a librarian who may be a witch, and the book of spells she gives them will change their lives forever. The epilogue was amazing, and the ending is fantastic! 5 stars! ”
— Sandra • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Another fantastic book from Hendrix. With a combination of body horror, emotional poignancy, and historical elements, this may be a winner for all of the author's fans.”
— Chelsea • Raven's End Books: The Horror Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Nothing is more horrifying than how out of control you are of your own body during pregnancy. Well, except for being a pregnant teen with no control of your life.”
— Melissia • Viewpoint Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Hendrix finds the perfect balance between horror in the mundane and the supernatural. This book is brutal, and at times, surprisingly funny.”
— Maggie • Nantucket Book Partners
Bookseller recommendation
“Grady Hendrix never fails to draw me into a story! This book is set at a home for unwed mothers back in the day and it really focused on how powerless teenage girls were in those circumstances. They dabble in some witchcraft to take some of that power back, but everything comes with a price. ”
— Julie • Tropetastic Books and Gifts
Bookseller recommendation
“This is not usually a genre I read but I’m glad a took a chance on this title. There is a lot of heart in this book and that got me through the grittier segments.”
— Melissia • Viewpoint Books
Bookseller recommendation
“His best book yet. Just a great historical novel about the pre Roe V Wade days, about girls in a home for unwed mothers. Highly recommend.”
— Amy • Valley Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“This story takes place in the south during the 1970s and it is centered around un-wed pregnant teenagers that are sent off to a "home" to give birth. The characters were complex, dynamic and morally grey. The plot was quick paced with plenty of looming tension and dread. The BEST part of this book though was its strong feminist message. Also, a witch who moonlights as a librarian.. I just really loved this!”
— Keri • Tide Turners Books & More
Bookseller recommendation
“This book made me grieve for the girls who were never believed or were misunderstood. I felt so much for these teenage girls, who had to turn to the occult in order to feel in control of their own lives. I wished I could have seen a little more development of the girls' characters after childhood/who they were outside of the home, but I loved this glimpse of their lives. Not a super scary book by any means, unless you consider the blatant sexism horrifying, which I do. ”
— Riley S. • Bright Side Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“A slow ride into the dark side of teen pregnancy in the 50’s. The lengths young women will go to in order to feel a modicum of power in a world where their every move is controlled and the consequences that follow. I was horrified, thrilled, heartbroken and terrified. ”
— Emily • Rainy Day Reads
Bookseller recommendation
“So, I’m not at all a horror person. If you’re not either, be warned that there is some body horror in this, but the most horrific aspect is simply the reality of being a girl in 1970. Through the eyes of Fern, Zinnia, Holly, Rose, and Hagar, we see a hopelessness, desperation, and rage that resonates all too strongly today. A great book club pick for discussion!”
— Saskia • The Book House
"Superb ... a perfect horror for our imperfect age.” – The New York Times
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER
There’s power in a book…
They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to 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, terrified 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 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).
Grady Hendrix is a New York Times bestselling novelist and screenwriter who owns too many paperbacks and not enough shelves. He's the author of How to Sell a Haunted House, The Final Girl Support Group, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and many more, including Paperbacks from Hell, a history of the horror paperback boom of the seventies and eighties that won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction. (All the paperbacks are for "research" and he needs them.) His books have sold over two million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages. He lives in New York City and will die there, too, probably crushed to death beneath piles of those paperbacks.<strong data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody"><strong data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">
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Audiobook details
Author:
Grady Hendrix
Narrators:
Leslie Howard, Hillary Huber & Sara Morsey
ISBN:
9780593907290
Length:
16 hours 18 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication date:
January 14, 2025
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#27 Overall
Genre rank:
#1 in Horror
Reviews
“Hendrix’s genius as a horror writer is his ability to develop complex, human-scale emotional arcs...Never before has one of his books so aptly met the moment…at turns frightening, anxiety-producing, infuriating, beautiful and sad.” – The New York Times"A devilishly good time." - People
"An engrossing, compelling read." - The Guardian (UK)
“Fantastic … Hendrix is a wizard at mixing together tropes of terror in thought-provoking ways.” -Minnesota Star Tribune
"There's spells, there's witches, and then there's the magic Grady Hendrix conjures up in this amazing novel." – Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of I Was a Teenage Slasher
"Terrifying, darkly funny, moving, immersive, and deeply relevant—a page-turner that will keep you up until one in the morning. I devoured every page of it. Grady Hendrix is at the top of his game." - Simone St. James, New York Times bestselling author of Murder Road
"Will delight fans new and old with his convincing rendering of characters juggling pregnancy and magic, childhood and adulthood, helplessness and power – and of course good and evil. Another nail-biter not to be missed!" – Tananarive Due, author of The Reformatory
“This book is so twisted and smart, it could hide behind a spiral staircase. It's got such a warm beating heart, and it broke mine several times. As soon as I finished I wanted to start all over again.” – Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street and Nowhere Burning
"Grady Hendrix again brings to life a fully realized ensemble of characters who you'll cry with and root for while deftly molding the historical novel, the supernatural, and gritty, all-too real life horrors into a morally complex and genuinely haunting and moving tale. I couldn't put it down once I started." – Paul Tremblay, author of Horror Movie and The Cabin at the End of the World
“Another stellar novel from Hendrix, a perfectly constructed story that has a strong emotional core, compelling plot, unforgettable characters, and 360 degrees of terror.” – Booklist (starred review)
"A magical look into the lives of teenage girls, of making the jump from powerlessness to power, of facing your fears and finding your coven. Enchanting and entertaining, but ultimately the novel's greatest strength is its fearless truth-telling. Press this book into the hands of the young women you know." – Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor
"Captivating from the start, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls takes readers on an incredible journey exploring female victimization and empowerment...that may or may not entail tapping into the dark magic within. A phenomenal read for witches everywhere!" – Carissa Orlando, author of The September House Expand reviews
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