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A review by moodreadingmagic
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Grady Hendrix is an auto-buy author for me. I also have a real weakness for historical fiction that takes place in Florida; especially when it highlights the weirdness of old Florida (think Swamplandia by Karen Russell). I saw reviews that this book read more like historical fiction and less like horror and I agree but I'm not mad at it.
What do you do when your teenage child becomes pregnant in the 70s? You send them away to have their babies secretly and pretend it never happened, to protect your family's piety and reputation. This is how we find ourselves at Wellwood House, a home for such wayward girls located in St. Augustine, Florida. The girls are sent to Wellwood House and are forced to do chores, attend lessons, and endure intrusive medical examinations until they go into labor. After their babies are born, stripped from them and sent off to be adopted, they are to return home and act as if nothing ever happened.
When some of the girls stumble upon a way to buck the system, practicing magic given to them in a book from a travelling librarian, all hell breaks loose figuratively and literally. While there are horror elements abound (especially graphic and traumatic birthing scenarios), this story is far more rooted in feminine rage and sisterhood. Though told to remain anonymous while attending Wellwood House, four girls bond and decide to take back agency over their bodies. At times harrowing but sadly accurate for the period of time, this story really brings to light how bleak women's reproductive rights were only a mere 50 years ago.
I really liked this story and will continue to be a fan of Grady Hendrix and his southern Gothic horrors.
What do you do when your teenage child becomes pregnant in the 70s? You send them away to have their babies secretly and pretend it never happened, to protect your family's piety and reputation. This is how we find ourselves at Wellwood House, a home for such wayward girls located in St. Augustine, Florida. The girls are sent to Wellwood House and are forced to do chores, attend lessons, and endure intrusive medical examinations until they go into labor. After their babies are born, stripped from them and sent off to be adopted, they are to return home and act as if nothing ever happened.
When some of the girls stumble upon a way to buck the system, practicing magic given to them in a book from a travelling librarian, all hell breaks loose figuratively and literally. While there are horror elements abound (especially graphic and traumatic birthing scenarios), this story is far more rooted in feminine rage and sisterhood. Though told to remain anonymous while attending Wellwood House, four girls bond and decide to take back agency over their bodies. At times harrowing but sadly accurate for the period of time, this story really brings to light how bleak women's reproductive rights were only a mere 50 years ago.
I really liked this story and will continue to be a fan of Grady Hendrix and his southern Gothic horrors.