Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Hendrix’s (How To Sell a Haunted House) new novel features Fern, formerly known as Neva, a 15-year-old girl sent to a home for unwed mothers, in order to give birth to her child in secret. In 1970s Florida, Fern is considered a fallen woman and must bide her pregnant time away from her friends and family, so she can hide her shame. Fern is absolutely miserable at the home and wants a distraction. When a mobile library visits, the librarian gives her a special book that will change her life. As Fern reads that book about magic and gets to know the adults in charge of the home and her new housemates, who have each landed there in different ways, she learns that witches, often demonized by society, might not be the problem after all. The novel’s witches and witchcraft help categorize this book as horror, but Hendrix also delves into how people do horrific things to each other, like providing misguided help, pushing opinions on others, and controlling the bodies of women.