Book Review: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
A Disturbing Look at The Past
In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, author Grady Hendrix takes us back to the forgotten world of maternity homes, secluded and forbidding places where teen unwed mothers were kept from society, forced to hide in shame until they had their “bastard” babies. The story is set in 1970. The main character, Fern gets pregnant by her boyfriend, who abandons her. She takes a long ride with her dad down to Florida. After being dropped off at the maternity home, Fern meets fellow housemates Zinnia, Holly, and Rose. All of them have their own traumatic stories to tell.
The novel melds real terror (the oppression that pregnant young women faced in 1970) with the supernatural scares of witchcraft. Someone could easily write a disturbing novel about maternity homes without using any paranormal elements. Those places were teeming with horror material.
Still, Hendrix was wise to spice up the story with witches – in this case, a coven that lurks near the home. One of the witches gives the girls a book of spells to use against their maternity home overlords. The spells do some entertaining stuff but, of course, this newfound power comes at a high cost. The girls are caught between two powerful forces that want to exploit them: the maternity home and the coven.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include a warning about the sexual assaults depicted in the novel. Hendrix pulls no punches when describing the brutal degradation of his young characters. The most disturbing storyline belongs to 13-year-old Holly, who was raped and impregnated by a priest. The perverted sleazebag is, of course, planning on taking custody of her baby after it’s born.
The highly detailed depictions of torture and abuse inflicted on young women reminded me of another Hendrix book I’ve reviewed, My Best Friend’s Exorcism. Hendrix is clearly writing from the perspective of being horrified by the abuse. I don’t think there’s a trace of misogyny in his work. That said, the repeated and extremely detailed depictions straddle the line between exposing injustice and exploiting it.
Hendrix is enamored with describing all sorts of stuff in his novels, and that tendency sometimes weighs down his stories. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls has pacing issues, especially early on. The hardcover is nearly 500 pages long. It could have been reduced at least 10% without sacrificing anything of major significance. That said, I never reached a point where I was truly bored or ready to give up on the story.
Why? Because Hendrix’s characterization is as sharp as ever. All four of the main girls have their own distinct voice and personalities. It’s easy to care about what happens to them. In fact, that’s the main reason why Hendrix has become a bestselling author. If you can make readers care deeply about your characters, you’ve got it made.
Rating
Pacing issues aside, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is another solid work by Hendrix. It’s well written, features memorable characters, and has his trademark combination of unflinching trauma and dark humor.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 8
