Cynthia (a_bookish_butterfly) (6,530 books)

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Cynthia

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Cynthia is Currently Reading

Cynthia is currently reading

Anxiety: A Philosophical Guide

by Samir Chopra (欧宝娱乐 Author)

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Apr 10, 2025 07:46PM

Cynthia is currently reading

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

by Grady Hendrix (欧宝娱乐 Author)

bookshelves: favorites, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2025

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Cynthia said: " Some people are going to be disappointed in this book. Of course, that鈥檚 true of any book, but in this case, people specifically looking for an abundance of supernatural horror and quirk will not get their fill, and they are not going to be happy abo Some people are going to be disappointed in this book. Of course, that鈥檚 true of any book, but in this case, people specifically looking for an abundance of supernatural horror and quirk will not get their fill, and they are not going to be happy about that.

Grady Hendrix tends to spend a lot of time on the horrors of reality, often long before he hits us with anything supernaturally scary. Witchcraft For Wayward Girls is no exception, except that it is also an exception. This book鈥檚 true horror IS reality. The witchcraft, albeit problematic, is, in part, a solution to that horror. It is the empowering force granted to a group of young women who have no rights, no bodily autonomy, and no voice in a prejudiced patriarchy. The horror of the story is what was done to them, and what has happened to so many women. It鈥檚 a horror that will resonate with many of us reading it. It鈥檚 more frightening than the supernatural because we cannot close this book and return to our lives, whispering words of comfort to keep the nightmares at bay. We cannot tell ourselves that none of its horrors are true. You do not need to be a woman who鈥檚 ever grown life in her womb to recognize the terror of this novel.

Although the slow build to the supernatural suggests this is a typical Grady Hendrix book, this isn鈥檛 really a typical Grady Hendrix book at all. If I categorized it, I wouldn鈥檛 place it in the horror section. It is a historical fiction book with a splash of supernatural horror.

But that鈥檚 not the only thing that set it apart from his previous novels. Witchcraft For Wayward Girls lacked his signature wit. Not once did this book amuse me, but I鈥檓 not sure being silly with the subject matter would have worked as well here. The content demands respect and Grady Hendrix met that demand. While it is conceptually fun, it is far more serious than the title and cover suggest. I do not mean any of this as criticism. I only want to deter readers from going in with the wrong expectations.

I, personally, think this was his finest work yet. He truly honored the girls of Wellwood House, which ultimately honors all of the girls and young women who endured this treatment in real life. Furthermore, he addressed the concept of female rage in the best way he could for that time period without turning any of the females into true villains. In fact, even the coldest female of the story was painted with nuance. We were given the opportunity to understand her, even if we cannot excuse her behavior.

It鈥檚 sad that the basic implications of this novel remain relevant today; that 55 years after the date it is set, we, as women, still cannot confidently proclaim our bodies as our own, even though they are, nor can we fully believe that our voices will hold any merit. Grady Hendrix did a beautiful job illustrating this utter helplessness, and the devastation that lingers when we are only granted the illusion of choice. ...more "

progress:

(53%)
— 5 hours, 49 min ago

Feb 18, 2025 11:57AM · see review

Cynthia is currently reading

Luminous

by Silvia Park (欧宝娱乐 Author)

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progress:

(page 18 of 391)
— Apr 08, 2025 07:53PM

Apr 06, 2025 06:43PM

See all 12 books that Cynthia is reading鈥�

Cynthia鈥檚 Notes & Highlights

Book cover for The Similars (The Similars #1)

2 highlights

We鈥檇 laugh so hard, never imagining our joy would have an expiration date.

Soma Kar and 4 other people liked this

See Cynthia鈥檚 3 books with notes and highlights鈥�

Cynthia鈥檚 Quotes

“Francie thought that all the books in the world were in that library and she had a plan about reading all the books in the world.”
― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

20 likes

“The difference was that Flossie Gaddis was starved about men and Sissy was healthily hungry about them. And what a difference that made.”
― Betty Smith

7 likes

“There are many ways to take a heart.
And the King of Crows uses all methods; he shies from none.
He鈥檚 happy to have it cut out all at once as I, the huntsman, did.
He鈥檚 happy to have it taken piece by piece, year by year, like a miser hoarding coins, with punishing silences, biting glances, and love served cold.
Poisonous words do the job, too. They are as sharp as knives and leave their victims hollow.”
― Jennifer Donnelly, Poisoned

tags: book-quotes, emotional-abuse, fairytale-retellings, favorite-lines, things-to-think-on, words-hurt

5 likes

“The Sun and the Moon

Aim for a love
that reminds you
of the devotion
the sun has to the moon.
Whether she is in fractions
or she is whole,
he still shrouds his intense light
in the darkness of the night.
To give her the entire sky,
without judgment,
so she can shine in any way she wants to.
You deserve someone
who adores you
on the days you are
in broken fragments too.
You deserve someone
who lets you glow
in every way
you need to.”
― Nikita Gill, Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty

54 likes

“For all that I could not bear my own silence, I wanted the voices of the world around me to disappear. Solitude was different from loneliness, and it was solitude I was seeking.”
― S. Jae-Jones, Shadowsong

20 likes

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