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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Readers say Jennette McCurdy’s *Half His Age* is a raw, provocative exploration of a troubled young girl's unhealthy attachment to an older man, inspi...
I loved the ending in particular when Waldo finds herself and realizes what’s he truly wants. Waldo’s ending reminded me of Chapelle Roan’s song “she got away”Jeanette’s writing took me back to how I would think while in high school. T
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!
A very uncomfortable read as books of this nature typically are. Reading about a relationship between a 17-year old and her teacher through the eyes of the 17-year old was very powerful in that for most of it, the book reads as if Waldo (the 17-year old) is in control, but it's easy to see how little control she has in many aspects of her life including the sexual relationship she has with her teacher, Mr. Korgy.
She is a type of unreliable narrator that becomes clearer with things like her online shopping addiction, her academics, and her relationships with her peers and her mother. Graphic at times, this book will not be for everyone and it is one that will leave you feeling dismayed at the end.
She is a type of unreliable narrator that becomes clearer with things like her online shopping addiction, her academics, and her relationships with her peers and her mother. Graphic at times, this book will not be for everyone and it is one that will leave you feeling dismayed at the end.
This book was a great representation of a girl in need of validation due to a troubled childhood, and a man taking the opportunity to be a "knight in shining armor" to appease his fragile masculinity.
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