Half His Age - Jennette McCurdy

Half His Age

By Jennette McCurdy

  • Release Date: 2026-01-20
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4
4
From 625 Ratings

Description

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.

Reviews

  • Intense, worth reading

    4
    By lssrb
    Intense but easy to read and follow along. I just wish the ending had a bit more power.
  • Amazing

    5
    By Josie Missel
    It was so good I want a part 2!
  • she’s just a girl

    3
    By dtrigg00
    very matter-a-fact a bit anticlimactic
  • Eh keeps you interested

    3
    By KittyNess<3
    Not a fan of how it ended
  • Tough read

    3
    By nonicknameabailable
    Felt so sorry for this young girl without any real adults in her life. Her unmet needs and the way she went to get them met was sad.
  • Lol ended like where’s Waldo! Naw but glad she taking care of herself now.

    5
    By teajaiy
    I glad she was free in the end. Had me glued the whole time. I wish I coulda jumped in the book and save the girl that she don’t have to live like that focus on you because there’s people that you care for that gunna disappoint you. I’m glad the mom gave that encourage she needed but still in the end mom went back to her old ways. Just happy Waldo in liberty 🗽
  • Not for everyone. But definitely for me.

    5
    By leave.me.alone.4723
    It’s like she read my mind. My own struggles with limerence and the need for approval from authority figures. How those things are bandaids for a deeper need—self worth. You have to be your own savior. You have to believe your life is worth living for it to be so. Nothing will ever fix you—you’re not broken. This was so incredibly cathartic and visceral. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so seen.
  • Concise, yet she says the quiet parts out loud

    5
    By Nickie Carrigan
    Loved this. A fast read but deep enough to connect with the characters and the storyline. I hope to see more novels from McCurdy.
  • Don’t bother

    3
    By LexiFlores913
    Considering the dynamic between Waldo and Mr. Korgy, I was expecting the author to have a bigger plot and conflicts. It fell extremely flat for me and never truly felt exciting or shocking.
  • Great Read

    5
    By irritated #999999999999
    Literally didn’t put it down. So real.