Half His Age: A Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I’m Glad My Mom Died comes “a thorny examination of power, lust, shame and rage” (Los Angeles Times) from “a writer able to capture some of the darkest parts of human nature with unflinching honesty and devastating humor” (NPR)
“Unapologetic and undeniable . . . If there was ever any doubt whether the narrative command that Jennette McCurdy displayed in her bestselling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died might translate to fiction, let it henceforth be put to rest.”—Elle
Waldo is ravenous. Horny. Blunt. Naive. Wise. Impulsive. Lonely. Angry. Forceful. Hurting. Perceptive. Endlessly wanting. And the thing she wants most of all: Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher with the wife and the kid and the mortgage and the bills, with the dead dreams and the atrophied looks and the growing paunch. She doesn’t know why she wants him. Is it his passion? His life experience? The fact that he knows books and films and things that she doesn’t? Or is it purer than that, rooted in their unlikely connection, their kindred spirits, the similar filter with which they each take in the world around them? Or, perhaps, it’s just enough that he sees her when no one else does.
Startlingly perceptive, mordantly funny, and keenly poignant, Half His Age is a rich character study of a yearning seventeen-year-old who disregards all obstacles—or attempts to overcome them—in her effort to be seen, to be desired, to be loved.
“Unapologetic and undeniable . . . If there was ever any doubt whether the narrative command that Jennette McCurdy displayed in her bestselling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died might translate to fiction, let it henceforth be put to rest.”—Elle
Waldo is ravenous. Horny. Blunt. Naive. Wise. Impulsive. Lonely. Angry. Forceful. Hurting. Perceptive. Endlessly wanting. And the thing she wants most of all: Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher with the wife and the kid and the mortgage and the bills, with the dead dreams and the atrophied looks and the growing paunch. She doesn’t know why she wants him. Is it his passion? His life experience? The fact that he knows books and films and things that she doesn’t? Or is it purer than that, rooted in their unlikely connection, their kindred spirits, the similar filter with which they each take in the world around them? Or, perhaps, it’s just enough that he sees her when no one else does.
Startlingly perceptive, mordantly funny, and keenly poignant, Half His Age is a rich character study of a yearning seventeen-year-old who disregards all obstacles—or attempts to overcome them—in her effort to be seen, to be desired, to be loved.
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Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say Jennette McCurdy’s *Half His Age* is a raw, vulnerable novel that exposes the ugly realities of relationships, addiction, and human flaws ...
This was an interesting read. There were so many moments of understanding Waldo because of how I grew up, but knowing I broke a cycle and how long it took me to understand that it was not a cycle I wanted to continue made this book more relatable than I thought it would when it started. From a writing standpoint though I felt it just touched the surface. There was more that I personally wanted exploration of Waldo, but remember she was just a girl, made me realize I too do not understand how to expand my why’s. Definitely not the book I thought it would be.
Please don't go into this book thinking it's a romantic comedy. It is not. It's actually a very raw and very vulnerable story about the ugly parts of relationships, people, and addiction. I enjoyed the realness of this. It reads like another memoir of Jennette's, which is ultimately why I was so entranced.
Quick read. Very sexual, not surprisingly. Straight to the point, represented by the short chapters throughout. A plot of romanticized concepts snuffed out by reality.
Waldo, broken and effectively parentless, becomes emotionally attached to her creative writing teacher, Mr. Korgy. Aware that the attachment is unhealthy, she crosses a line that draws him into an inappropriate and unethical entanglement, exposing the dangers of unchecked influence and authority.
I spent a long time thinking about this review and how to word it carefully bc this book is not for everyone. It is sexually explicit and centers on an inappropriate relationship. While I wouldn’t consider it a literary masterpiece, it’s very clear that it was written from a place of anger.
Many reviews describe this book as garbage, inappropriate, or disgusting, and often stating it brings something completely wrong to light. However, with a bit of research, it becomes evident that the story was inspired by real events. McCurdy was 18 when she entered a relationship with a much older man, and this novel reads as a way for her to process that experience, by channeling her rage and reclaiming power through storytelling. Writing this narrative on her own terms appears to be the part she could control in a situation where she was likely being controlled.
As mentioned, this book won’t resonate with everyone—and that’s okay. But if you do choose to read it, I recommend approaching it through the lens of inspired by true events rather than as an attempt to romanticize something inappropriate.
3 stars bc while I was entertained and read it within a few hours, I wishhhhh it had much more character development!
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