Witchcraft for Wayward Girls: A Novel by Grady Hendrix
Neva is in trouble. She's fifteen and she's pregnant. The father doesn't want anything to do with her and her own father wants to stash her away. So Neva finds herself at a home for wayward girls like herself. She's given a new name: Fern.
Fern meets other girls in her same position: the fiery rebel Rose, the sensible and strong Zinnia, and the frightened youngest girl, Holly. Each of them has different hopes, but finding out Holly's brings them all together: to never return home to the reverend who has been molesting her--the man who is set up to adopt her baby.
A mysterious librarian offers the four an odd book: How to Be a Groovy Witch. The book's strangeness includes that not all of it is even readable, but then the girls try out a spell and find a tiny bit of relief and revenge. But soon the power of the book, and the power they could possess, begins to scare Zinnia and she pulls away from the ohter three girls.
But as due dates and a deadly deadline approach, Fern finds herself torn between impossible decisions about her baby, about witchcraft, and about Holly.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix is an intriguing, sad, yet ultimately hopeful tale. While it is a slow start to get to the actual magic, the magic's arrival will unleash a ferocity in the characters and reader. The book itself delves into the power of choice and agency over one's life and body. Hendrix also portrays the remarkable magic of the bonds of friendship, but also the lines between friendship, duty, and belief.
Hendrix has crafted a slow burn story filled with meaning, fantasy, horror, tough choices, regret, and, ultimately, love. A worthy read.
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