Book Review - Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Title: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
Author: Grady Hendrix
Genre: Horror/ Fantasy/ Historical Fiction
Published: 2025
 
Description: They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who gre up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their own 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. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen 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 knows she’s going to go home and 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.
 
Review: Grady Hendrix is my guy, my horror guy. I love how he takes on these standard horror tropes and flips them upside down. He did it before with demons, vampires, zombies and a haunted house. Now it’s witches. And I think this is my favorite Hendrix so far.
 
We meet a fifteen-year-old girl, who is send to a home for wayward girls. Basically teenage pregnant girls are being send there to have their baby in secret, give it up for adoption and move back home and act like it never happened. When she arrives, she is given the name Fern. She is not allowed to tell anyone what her real name is and where she is from. There, Fern befriends three other girls: Rose, Zinnia and Holly. When Fern receives an occult book about witchcraft from the local librarian, she becomes obsessed by it. And believes their might be a way to get away from this. But witchcraft comes with a price.
 
The horror element is minimal, in the way that it’s not very scary. But there is some body horror. Especially focused on pregnancies and giving birth. If that makes you squeamish, just be warned. The books is mainly scary because of its social commentary. Because wayward houses were an actual thing, for teens who were troubled or out of control. And the goal was to redeem them and eventually return home as a bettered person. But most important, no one could ever know about it. In “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls”, it’s a home for pregnant teenagers to have their baby, give it up for adoption and leave again to continue their lives like nothing every happened.
 
In Hendrix’s author’s note he acknowledges that as a middle aged, childless man he probably isn’t the best choice to write this book but based on family revelations he wrote to understand these homes and the people who would have been sent to them. I personally think he did an amazing job and praise him for giving empathy understanding. It’s kind of amazing this book, which has a great debate on women’s rights, was written by a man. And this proves again what a great author Hendrix is. The book was only a bit too long for my taste.
 
Like I said, this is my favorite Grady Hendrix so far. And I was a bit skeptical, because reviews were very mixed. I’m glad it turned out to be such a success.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Book Review - How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Title: How to Sell a Haunted House
Series: -
Author: Grady Hendrix
 
Description: When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best.
 
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market. But some houses don’t want to be sold, home has other plans for both of them…
 
Review: I got to know Grady Hendrix’ books this year and this is his newest release. Hendrix is known for his quirky, strange horror stories and “How to Sell a Haunted House” is not any different. It’s not your typical haunted house story, it involves puppets and dolls. And it’s super creepy.
 
The book is, besides having regular chapters, divided in sections. Each represents one of the stages of grief. Because that is its main theme. This doesn’t fully come into its own, but I really love this idea. What I loved most about this book was the brother and sister relationship. I haven’t read books often where this was such a big part of the story. I’ve read many stories about sister bonds and brotherly relationships, but not the brother-sister sibling relationship. And the characters are well fleshed out, we get to know them very well. At first you like Louise and hate Mark, you switch sides at one point. And there is also a moment where you hate them both. But eventually, because you know them and their history better, you get to understand them more.
 
The one problem I had was the pace. It took a long time to really get into it, before it got interesting and something started happening. I understand if people would DNF it because of it. I don’t do that very often, so I’m glad I continued reading. Because once the spooky bit starts, you can’t stop reading.
 
I’ve never given Grady Hendrix a 5-star rating, but always a high score. He’s a very solid writer who became an auto-buy author for me.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady hendrix

Title: My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Series: -
Author: Grady Hendrix
 
Description: Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
 
Review: Place yourself back in the 80s, big hair, playlists on cassette tapes, movies on VHS, roller skating. You will start to yearn for this time when reading “My Best Friend’s Exorcism”.
 
We follow Abby and Gretchen, who have been friends since the fifth grade. And now, both high school students, their friendship is the best thing in their lives. One nights, when Gretchen and Abby are spending time with some new friends, Gretchen disappears. When she reappears the next day, she starts acting strange and it becomes stranger. Abby suspects Gretchen is possessed by a demon. Of course, she is the only one suspecting this and no one believes this. Everyone starts turning against Abby, so she has to save her friend all by herself.
 
“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” reads and feels exactly like when you’re watching a horror movie from the 1980s and it has major “Stranger Things” vibes. It’s nice and over the top at times, has blood and gore and the warmth of childhood friendship. And each chapter has the title of an 80s song, which I really liked.  
 
The heart of the story is the friendship between Gretchen and Abby, which is wholesome. It’s so much more then a book about possession. That, and the 80s nostalgia, where why I loved this book as much as I did. I understand why this book is so loved. I started showing up on booktube and bookstagram everywhere in 2022, even knowing this book was released in 2016. And I’m officially a fan of author Grady Hendrix, whose weird horror books I have been loving so far.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Book Review - The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Title: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
Series: -
Author: Grady Hendrix
 
Description: Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.
 
Review: Patricia doesn’t have a very eventful life. She had big plans after graduating as a nurse, but when she marries Carter, she quits her job to become a full-time stay-at-home mom. The only exciting thing in her life is her book club, where they meet with a number of housewives and discuss true-crime novels. When a new neighbor, James Harris, moves into the neighborhood, strange and gruesome things start to happen.
 
First of all, this is a horror book. If you can’t handle gory and explicit scenes, this is not a book for you.
 
The story is entirely told from Patricia’s point of view, so you get to know her very well. Her position as a housewife comes up several times and is thoroughly explored, make it one of the main themes. Because yes, this book is not just about vampires. The social differences between white and black people in the late 80s and early 90s is also a theme, as is the housewives positions in relation to men. Those themes along with the supernatural make the book original and innovative.
 
Overall, the book isn’t filled with likeable characters. Especially the men are unlikeable, because they have a certain “traditional” way of life and believe the women are only there to be homemakers and mothers, nothing more or less. There are some women that feel the same and are perfectly fine with that vision, but mainly because they are used to this. I’m glad Patricia is a character that wants to step away from this stereotype and tries to find her place in the world. Because it’s so easy to relate to Patricia, it’s also very difficult to read when there is a moment where she tells everyone about their new neighbor James Harris, and no one believes her and even think she is crazy.
 
The book has a slow start, but it’s never boring. Once it comes to the halfway point, there is non-stop action and you just can’t stop reading. There were some really gruesome and creepy scenes in the book, that really creeped me out.  
 
Grady Hendrix has such a fun writing style, I really like his horror books, so very different from the standard. I love that.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Title: Horrorstör
Series: -
Author: Grady hendrix
 
Description: Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
 
Review: Orsk is an Ikea-like store, where strange things seem to be happening overnight. Every morning, the employees find broken furniture and shattered ornaments. Three employees volunteer to a night shift, where they are trying to find out who is vandalizing the store.
 
I’ve been loving horror books more and more, especially when they have a comedic, dark edge to them. “Horrorstör” is very accessible for anyone who hasn’t dipped into the horror genre before.
 
I was able to submerge my mind’s eye into the employee’s environment with ease, since I worked in retail myself and because of the large resemblance to Ikea which most of us have been to once or twice. The book is unconventional in so many ways: the size of the book, spacing of words and sentences, and everything in between. But it read like a fiction should.
 
Because it’s not a very long book, it’s always more difficult to connect with the characters on a deeper level. I did enjoy reading about them. There are not a lot of characters in here, which is a good thing for a shorter novel. The ones that we are introduced to, do have some development, which is very well done in such a short amount of time. Because the story basically takes place over one night. Ruth Anne was probably my favorite character.
 
“Horrorstör” is very fast paces and I found myself racing through this book. And that’s perfect if you’re a slow reader like me. It takes some time for the books to really become eventful and action packed, but because of the ominous atmosphere that is constantly present, you just want to keep reading.
 
This was a highly enjoyable book, I so impressed by Grady Hendrix’ writing style and I’m ready to explore more of his work.
 
Rating: 4/ 5