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Half His Age
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Expected 20 Jan 26Win a free print copy of this book!
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50 copies available
U.S. only
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I’m Glad My Mom Died comes a sad, funny, thrilling novel about sex, consumerism, class, desire, loneliness, the internet, rage, intimacy, power, and the (oftentimes misguided) lengths we’ll go to in order to get what we want.
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.
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.
288 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 20, 2026
175727 people want to read
About the author
Jennette McCurdy
2 books9,877 followersJennette McCurdy is the author of I’m Glad My Mom Died, winner of the 2023 American Library Association Alex Award and the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography. The book is a #1 New York Times bestseller and has spent more than eighty weeks on the list. It has been published in more than thirty countries and has sold more than three million copies. McCurdy is creating, writing, executive producing, directing, and showrunning an Apple TV+ series loosely inspired by I’m Glad My Mom Died, starring Jennifer Aniston. McCurdy’s debut novel, Half His Age, will publish January 2026.
source: Amazon
source: Amazon
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January 5, 2026post read: this was definitely a formidable read. the writing and characterization was intentional and crystal clear. the circumstances of the novel are harrowing to say the least. it's unabashedly honest to the point where it is sometimes grotesque but hey isn't that how things truly are? as someone who is gen z, i was throughly impressed by how mccurdy captured the unique hell that is growing up with everything a touch away thanks to phones and the mass internet. this has a lot to say about a lot of things that will definitely leave you staring at a wall and questioning what just happened. waldo as a main character is endlessly interesting and really challenges everything you make think about this type of story. she is worldly in a way she shouldn't have to be but also at times so naïve you can't help but want to protect her. at the end of the day this story is all about her. mr korgy is obviously a large part but he is so loserish and cringe worthy that he's not worth noting for me personally. i would throttle him given the chance, with no hesitation. not much i can express properly but this will definitely be a catalyst for lots of discussion and i am going to be thinking about this one for a while. my biggest thoughts are that capitalism is a disease and a weapon of mass torture and that young women are our strongest soldiers...
pre read: the second i get to read this it's OVER (positively)
early copy was accessible to me as i work at PRH. all opinions expressed are my own.
pre read: the second i get to read this it's OVER (positively)
early copy was accessible to me as i work at PRH. all opinions expressed are my own.
December 21, 2025
Wow wow wow wow wow. The endless gaping wound of teenage girlhood and the sharpness and bite of the voice and observations
December 10, 2025
“I‘ve observed Mom long enough to know that nothing scares off a man like what a woman wants from him.”
Half His Age is vulgar. It’s bold, piercing, poignant. McCurdy has created something uncomfortably evocative. I ended up unable to sleep ‘til 3am because what I was reading made me so angry and uncomfortable. She really does not let us doubt for a moment what’s happening to Waldo, and yet she manages to balance that with some really careful nuance and characterisation that reveals so much if you take the time to notice it. The abuse is the story, yes, but it’s also a tale of power, neglect, how dangerous loneliness can be, over-consumption, mothers and daughters, internalised misogyny, friendship — and she handles it all.
It’s so refreshing to have one of these books where the girl isn’t a perfect victim: Waldo’s unlikeable; she’s self-centred in a way you’d call narcissistic if she were an adult. She judges everyone around her; she over-consumes; she’s sexually aggressive; she actively pursues this balding married man, her teacher, from day one. She thinks she understands everyone and everything; micro-analysing the way a woman smiles at her husband over dinner, the looks of pity in her best friend’s eyes. She projects what she wants to see, creating fictions of the people she interacts with, convinced she understands their motivations better than they do themselves. She invents a fantasy where his wife is a burden, a bore, a villain. Him, the poor, emasculated, helpless, miserable man who needs saving from his terrible wife/life.
Yet she doubts herself implicitly; buys makeup and clothes in excess to feel something, wants to shape herself into everything she thinks others want her to be. She is ashamed of her upbringing, she self-deprecates by calling herself white trash before others can make the comment themselves. She’s a walking contradiction in clothes she hates and makeup that doesn’t match her face — exactly as a 17 year old girl would be! I almost hated her, yet wanted so badly to give her a hug and give her the advice and care she clearly never received from her Mother.
I really appreciate how this book doesn’t shy away from parental blame — although, a few more sentences condemning the deadbeat Father wouldn’t go amiss. Other books I’ve read with similar themes do show how young girls with dysfunctional family relationships are more likely to be preyed upon, precisely because their family won’t notice what’s happening to them. This one takes it a little further; making so many direct parallels between inappropriate behaviour from her Mother and Mr Korgy, and how Waldo has to shape herself to satisfy them both in frighteningly similar ways.
She had to grow up too fast and never really got to be a child. Yet, every assertion of her maturity only serves to remind us how young she is. McCurdy expertly captures that dichotomy between how old and mature you feel at 17, and how young and naive you truly are. This book does not let us forget for a second that she is still a child (and quite clearly still looks like a child); whether that’s when her Mother doesn’t notice she hasn’t been home for weeks, or when her hand can’t fit around his [redacted].
He taunts and manipulates, he exerts his power and experience over her. She thinks she’s going crazy when she’s not completely happy with their arrangement, when she has to baby him and reassure him, beg him to be with her. His abuse is textbook, as is her Mother’s, and as is how she handles it. And yet reading it feels fresh and sharp. It makes your skin crawl; you almost want to stop reading but can’t look away. It perfectly captures that pretence of reluctance: the way the man in power will manipulate the situation until the underage girl is begging him to give her a chance, promising she won’t tell anyone. I cheered when she finally starts to put things together and questions his words, only then does she truly start to become her own person.
I don’t necessarily think this is a perfect book, but with the way I kept wanting to scream at the characters and throw it at the wall it feels wrong not to give it a 5. This could obviously be quite triggering for some, but if you can handle the subject matter I absolutely recommend it.
Half His Age is vulgar. It’s bold, piercing, poignant. McCurdy has created something uncomfortably evocative. I ended up unable to sleep ‘til 3am because what I was reading made me so angry and uncomfortable. She really does not let us doubt for a moment what’s happening to Waldo, and yet she manages to balance that with some really careful nuance and characterisation that reveals so much if you take the time to notice it. The abuse is the story, yes, but it’s also a tale of power, neglect, how dangerous loneliness can be, over-consumption, mothers and daughters, internalised misogyny, friendship — and she handles it all.
It’s so refreshing to have one of these books where the girl isn’t a perfect victim: Waldo’s unlikeable; she’s self-centred in a way you’d call narcissistic if she were an adult. She judges everyone around her; she over-consumes; she’s sexually aggressive; she actively pursues this balding married man, her teacher, from day one. She thinks she understands everyone and everything; micro-analysing the way a woman smiles at her husband over dinner, the looks of pity in her best friend’s eyes. She projects what she wants to see, creating fictions of the people she interacts with, convinced she understands their motivations better than they do themselves. She invents a fantasy where his wife is a burden, a bore, a villain. Him, the poor, emasculated, helpless, miserable man who needs saving from his terrible wife/life.
Yet she doubts herself implicitly; buys makeup and clothes in excess to feel something, wants to shape herself into everything she thinks others want her to be. She is ashamed of her upbringing, she self-deprecates by calling herself white trash before others can make the comment themselves. She’s a walking contradiction in clothes she hates and makeup that doesn’t match her face — exactly as a 17 year old girl would be! I almost hated her, yet wanted so badly to give her a hug and give her the advice and care she clearly never received from her Mother.
I really appreciate how this book doesn’t shy away from parental blame — although, a few more sentences condemning the deadbeat Father wouldn’t go amiss. Other books I’ve read with similar themes do show how young girls with dysfunctional family relationships are more likely to be preyed upon, precisely because their family won’t notice what’s happening to them. This one takes it a little further; making so many direct parallels between inappropriate behaviour from her Mother and Mr Korgy, and how Waldo has to shape herself to satisfy them both in frighteningly similar ways.
She had to grow up too fast and never really got to be a child. Yet, every assertion of her maturity only serves to remind us how young she is. McCurdy expertly captures that dichotomy between how old and mature you feel at 17, and how young and naive you truly are. This book does not let us forget for a second that she is still a child (and quite clearly still looks like a child); whether that’s when her Mother doesn’t notice she hasn’t been home for weeks, or when her hand can’t fit around his [redacted].
He taunts and manipulates, he exerts his power and experience over her. She thinks she’s going crazy when she’s not completely happy with their arrangement, when she has to baby him and reassure him, beg him to be with her. His abuse is textbook, as is her Mother’s, and as is how she handles it. And yet reading it feels fresh and sharp. It makes your skin crawl; you almost want to stop reading but can’t look away. It perfectly captures that pretence of reluctance: the way the man in power will manipulate the situation until the underage girl is begging him to give her a chance, promising she won’t tell anyone. I cheered when she finally starts to put things together and questions his words, only then does she truly start to become her own person.
I don’t necessarily think this is a perfect book, but with the way I kept wanting to scream at the characters and throw it at the wall it feels wrong not to give it a 5. This could obviously be quite triggering for some, but if you can handle the subject matter I absolutely recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Don't underestimate the literary skill of former child actress Jennette McCurdy: This is a version of Lolita, but from Lolita's perspective, and it goes into very uncomfortable territory - which brought the chronically online without any media literacy to tears before the novel was even published. Listen, you idiots: Literature does not owe you comfort, and it's not doomed to deliver clear messages that are easy to digest. So move on or get ready to get be disturbed, but not without purpose: McCurdy tells the story of 17-year-old Waldo who enters an affair with her teacher, and she describes how the teenager struggles with her perceptions and emotions, and how she grapples with the power imbalance. Waldo is not stupid, and while she is a victim, being a victim is not her personality. The fact that the author gives us a complex character that is easy to identify with renders the novel so intriguing.
Waldo lives in a trailer park with her mother who had her when she was a teenager, and she has known nothing but a single parent trying to get by on minimum wage jobs while testing out a string of men who she hopes could fix her, until her next bout of depression. Meanwhile, Waldo, whose only friend is a Mormon she suspects to pity her, feels like she has to take care of the household. Waldo lives off highly processed foods and struggles with a shopping addiction that she finances with a job at "Victoria's Secret". From the women there and her mother, she learns about the importance of beauty for a woman, and internalizes that she has to manage her body accordingly. Enter new literature teacher Mr. Korgy (whom she will call by that name throughout the whole book): The fourtysomething teacher for literature is a failed writer with a wife, young child, and midlife crisis, and Waldo is intrigued by him.
What plays out then is, until around the middle part of the book, rather predictable, which doesn't detract from the enjoyment of reading the text though, because the star is the perspective: A smart teenager who suspects what's going on the whole time, but who is naive and lonely enough to go through wit it anyway. McCurdy is never pitying or belittling her main character, she gives her agency and great psychological plausibility, which makes this narrative so valuable: There is desire, and power, and a sense of adventure, but all these aspects never exculpate Mr. Korgy, but show why Waldo would act like that.
The most ironic aspect of some people whining that Waldo should have been a grown-up, and that McCurdy shouldn't have written so many and such explicit sex scenes between a teenager and a grown man, is that I firmly believe that this novel will do more to protect teenagers from predatory grown men than all well-intended, clean advice. Because McCurdy's text is honest and believable, it takes Waldo seriously and shows how even an alert girl can get caught up in such a situation. The author employs her unique position as a media figure with a heavy backstory (I’m Glad My Mom Died) to give a voice to victims, but not by instructing them, but by telling a story.
And I applaud that.
Waldo lives in a trailer park with her mother who had her when she was a teenager, and she has known nothing but a single parent trying to get by on minimum wage jobs while testing out a string of men who she hopes could fix her, until her next bout of depression. Meanwhile, Waldo, whose only friend is a Mormon she suspects to pity her, feels like she has to take care of the household. Waldo lives off highly processed foods and struggles with a shopping addiction that she finances with a job at "Victoria's Secret". From the women there and her mother, she learns about the importance of beauty for a woman, and internalizes that she has to manage her body accordingly. Enter new literature teacher Mr. Korgy (whom she will call by that name throughout the whole book): The fourtysomething teacher for literature is a failed writer with a wife, young child, and midlife crisis, and Waldo is intrigued by him.
What plays out then is, until around the middle part of the book, rather predictable, which doesn't detract from the enjoyment of reading the text though, because the star is the perspective: A smart teenager who suspects what's going on the whole time, but who is naive and lonely enough to go through wit it anyway. McCurdy is never pitying or belittling her main character, she gives her agency and great psychological plausibility, which makes this narrative so valuable: There is desire, and power, and a sense of adventure, but all these aspects never exculpate Mr. Korgy, but show why Waldo would act like that.
The most ironic aspect of some people whining that Waldo should have been a grown-up, and that McCurdy shouldn't have written so many and such explicit sex scenes between a teenager and a grown man, is that I firmly believe that this novel will do more to protect teenagers from predatory grown men than all well-intended, clean advice. Because McCurdy's text is honest and believable, it takes Waldo seriously and shows how even an alert girl can get caught up in such a situation. The author employs her unique position as a media figure with a heavy backstory (I’m Glad My Mom Died) to give a voice to victims, but not by instructing them, but by telling a story.
And I applaud that.
Want to read
August 28, 2025the bookstore staff told me to leave, it’s not out until 2026. but i can’t. i am simply too ready for this book
January 14, 2026
unfortunately i didn’t like this, which is a shame as i enjoyed the audiobook of ‘i’m glad my mom died’.
it’s repetitive and predictable, with juvenile writing that quickly becomes grating. it says nothing new, offering no nuance nor genuine introspection, despite being a book that includes themes of grooming, abuse and power. this shallowness is continued through the obvious insights such as: ‘women are slaves to the beauty industry! consumerism bad! i shop on shein to fill the void! gen z are always on tiktok!’ - which are repeated by the main character many times throughout the novel. the sex scenes and explicit language are also haphazardly thrown in for shock value, not really serving much purpose besides that. i’ve read stories like this many times before, and better.
it’s repetitive and predictable, with juvenile writing that quickly becomes grating. it says nothing new, offering no nuance nor genuine introspection, despite being a book that includes themes of grooming, abuse and power. this shallowness is continued through the obvious insights such as: ‘women are slaves to the beauty industry! consumerism bad! i shop on shein to fill the void! gen z are always on tiktok!’ - which are repeated by the main character many times throughout the novel. the sex scenes and explicit language are also haphazardly thrown in for shock value, not really serving much purpose besides that. i’ve read stories like this many times before, and better.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!!
i’m very torn on whether or not i liked this, and i was also torn on whether or not i would rate it; the main reason being this is a novel following an underaged girl having a sexual relationship with her high school english teacher.
of course, discomfort in the glaring power imbalance of this relationship is the whole point that jennette was trying to make, but it still didn’t make it any easier to read.
on top of the sexual relationship between a child and a grown man, there is also child neglect and addiction — waldo’s mom was a teen mom who ultimately provided very little parenting for her child and left her extremely emotionally neglected, not to mention practically abandoning her child for any man that shows the slightest interest in her; waldo also has an insane shopping addiction she can’t afford.
also, i just hate the name waldo lol.
while jennette does a very good job at depicting an emotionally unstable and depressed teenage girl, i’m torn on whether or not i also enjoy her writing. i feel as though her voice shone through in her memoir, and while i technically flew through this novel (the chapters were very very short) i’m not sure i’m impressed with her writing here.
overall, i think that because of the fact she depicted such a horrible topic in a way that left me so unnerved and alert, i would recommend this to others, but only with the explicit understanding of knowing the author’s personal unfortunate history.
——
no one talk to me until i finish reading jennette’s debut novel
i’m very torn on whether or not i liked this, and i was also torn on whether or not i would rate it; the main reason being this is a novel following an underaged girl having a sexual relationship with her high school english teacher.
of course, discomfort in the glaring power imbalance of this relationship is the whole point that jennette was trying to make, but it still didn’t make it any easier to read.
on top of the sexual relationship between a child and a grown man, there is also child neglect and addiction — waldo’s mom was a teen mom who ultimately provided very little parenting for her child and left her extremely emotionally neglected, not to mention practically abandoning her child for any man that shows the slightest interest in her; waldo also has an insane shopping addiction she can’t afford.
also, i just hate the name waldo lol.
while jennette does a very good job at depicting an emotionally unstable and depressed teenage girl, i’m torn on whether or not i also enjoy her writing. i feel as though her voice shone through in her memoir, and while i technically flew through this novel (the chapters were very very short) i’m not sure i’m impressed with her writing here.
overall, i think that because of the fact she depicted such a horrible topic in a way that left me so unnerved and alert, i would recommend this to others, but only with the explicit understanding of knowing the author’s personal unfortunate history.
——
no one talk to me until i finish reading jennette’s debut novel
Want to read
January 10, 2026Looks like the new year is cuddling me with a copy of this book 😍 Someone plz pinch me! 👻
January 7, 2026
4.5⭐️ Being a teen girl means having a deep, disgusting, cavernous desire that can never be satisfied.
Half His Age is equally gross and engrossing. all the characters felt real, the writing was blunt, and pacing was fantastic. I couldn’t put it down!
thank you LibroFM for the ALC
Half His Age is equally gross and engrossing. all the characters felt real, the writing was blunt, and pacing was fantastic. I couldn’t put it down!
thank you LibroFM for the ALC
January 3, 2026
What an uncomfortable read and yet I couldn’t put it down for a single moment 🧍♀️
Want to read
October 17, 2025people screaming crying throwing up over this book's premise because they think jennette mccurdy is writing a taboo age gap dark romance reminds me of when suzanne collins wrote the ballad of songbirds and snakes and people threw fits because they thought writing from president snow's point of view meant she was glamorizing him
December 3, 2025
This book was so gross. It was also honest in ways that is hard to put in words, and so much of it made me uncomfortable but I can’t pretend that I didn’t love feeling that way as I read. It has the overwhelming sensation of being 17/18: how you think you know everything, thinking you are better than who came before you but unknowingly (and sometimes knowingly) repeating their mistakes, dreaming for the future, but overall, the wanting. Wanting so much for yourself and not knowing how to get to it. And if you get it, then what? What do you want next?
While the writing was simple, it created such messy complex characters and didn’t shy away from addiction and poverty and the overall vibrancy of obsession; I found myself obsessed with it as I read it and devoured it so quickly. Do I think this is going to be the most incisive look at abusive relationships and power dynamics between class, age and gender? No. But for what it was, it was deeply compelling, unfailingly human and very much contained in its truth. I think it was a hell of a ride.
Waldo, I am so sorry sweetie, you deserved more than what you got. Men like Mr Korgy, I hope you never find peace. Jennette McCurdy I would like another
While the writing was simple, it created such messy complex characters and didn’t shy away from addiction and poverty and the overall vibrancy of obsession; I found myself obsessed with it as I read it and devoured it so quickly. Do I think this is going to be the most incisive look at abusive relationships and power dynamics between class, age and gender? No. But for what it was, it was deeply compelling, unfailingly human and very much contained in its truth. I think it was a hell of a ride.
Waldo, I am so sorry sweetie, you deserved more than what you got. Men like Mr Korgy, I hope you never find peace. Jennette McCurdy I would like another
January 10, 2026
Being a woman is so fucking hard.
January 1, 2026
messy messy fun!
Review of advance copy
I think aside from the obvious discomfort this gave me, what I didn't like is the deliberate self-insertion? I'm not sure how to articulate my feelings. I liked the writing for the most part, and I understand the point of the story, which is coming-of-age and disgustingly raw & messy adolescence. I also appreciated that McCurdy narrates the audiobook, but at the same time, knowing the Nickelodeon situations, that made it even harder to separate the story from her real-life experiences.
Want to read
December 30, 2025this can go one of two ways ...
January 10, 2026
I really liked this one. Dark. Funny. Full of bad decisions. Some clever commentary and perspective on the teacher student affair story. The perfect length, short, bc just when I was starting to tire of it, it ended. I think some people will hate this book, but it mostly worked for me.
January 4, 2026
This book felt very icky to me. A 17 year old and her almost 40 year old teacher with extremely explicit sex scenes throughout. It was very obvious that the author’s trauma was put into this book (Nickelodeon, her mom), and I just couldn’t separate that from the story. The writing felt very simplistic, and some sentences felt like they were added in to try to create depth, but instead ended with me going, “Huh? Why did this random thing need to be mentioned?” Overall, I didn’t feel as though this had enough depth for me to justify the point of the novel. I was hoping for something closer to My Dark Vanessa, but that didn’t happen.
Read
January 12, 2026mccurdy’s first foray into fiction writing is an absolutely harrowing look at intergenerational trauma and the wreckage it can leave behind
i find this book so difficult to rate. the graphic sex scenes between adult and minor were vile (purposefully so) and made my reading experience demoralizing, yet the imagery and writing never felt gratuitous. rather, i felt deeply connected to the protagonist and her desperation for love, understanding, and emotional depth.
the scenes with waldo and her mother were some of my favorites, and they were also some of the hardest to read. the writing was bitter yet tender and vulnerable, and it made me think of my own mother as i reflected on the jagged edges of our relationship
can we ever truly outrun the traumas our parents passed onto us? is there any point in searching for love and meaning in this consumerist, capitalist world? are we all just floating from one “add to cart” button to the next, waiting for either death or enlightenment to find us?
i’ve come out of this read a bit more brokenhearted than i was going into it, but not in a wholly unwanted way
tldr: a heavy read for the thought daughters with mommy issues who keep looking for connection in all the wrong places
thank you to libro.fm for this arc!
i find this book so difficult to rate. the graphic sex scenes between adult and minor were vile (purposefully so) and made my reading experience demoralizing, yet the imagery and writing never felt gratuitous. rather, i felt deeply connected to the protagonist and her desperation for love, understanding, and emotional depth.
the scenes with waldo and her mother were some of my favorites, and they were also some of the hardest to read. the writing was bitter yet tender and vulnerable, and it made me think of my own mother as i reflected on the jagged edges of our relationship
can we ever truly outrun the traumas our parents passed onto us? is there any point in searching for love and meaning in this consumerist, capitalist world? are we all just floating from one “add to cart” button to the next, waiting for either death or enlightenment to find us?
i’ve come out of this read a bit more brokenhearted than i was going into it, but not in a wholly unwanted way
tldr: a heavy read for the thought daughters with mommy issues who keep looking for connection in all the wrong places
thank you to libro.fm for this arc!
January 12, 2026
This was terrible. Like. . . So fucking bad.
Most of it read like a terrible porno that was trying really hard to be relatable. Some moments I was interested but most of it I was cringing. Especially the scene with her period blood all over his face and her asking him to hit her face with his bloody dick.
I’ll pass.
Special thanks to the author and publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Most of it read like a terrible porno that was trying really hard to be relatable. Some moments I was interested but most of it I was cringing. Especially the scene with her period blood all over his face and her asking him to hit her face with his bloody dick.
I’ll pass.
Special thanks to the author and publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
January 6, 2026
2.5. Look, this is a dynamic that, at this point, has been written about ad nauseum. We've explored it from every angle, from every gender, from the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top. In my humble opinion, if you're going to write about a relationship between a student and their teacher in 2026, it's got to have something fresh about it. It needs to feel subversive, be a twist on the age-old tale, or at least be damn well-written. This is none of those things. Sure, maybe it's cruder than the many iterations that have come before it, but I'm not sure that's the originality I'm looking for. It follows along its predictable trajectory, stays nice and comfortable up on the surface, and ends just as you would expect.
December 24, 2025
Idk… this was just… fine?
January 12, 2026
Eine intensive, unbequeme Lektüre, die ich kaum aus der Hand legen konnte. Der Stil ist klar und bewusst, die Geschichte schonungslos ehrlich bis hin zum Grotesken. Besonders stark ist die Darstellung des Aufwachsens im digitalen Dauerzugriff - dieses spezifische, moderne Gefühl von Überforderung und Entgrenzung trifft der Roman sehr genau. Doch trotz aller Wucht wirkt der Roman erzählerisch nicht wirklich neu. Die Nähe zur realen Biografie der Autorin erschwert die Trennung von Fiktion und Selbstprojektion, und das zentrale Machtgefälle ist literarisch längst auserzählt. So bleibt ein starkes, diskussionswürdiges Buch, das nachhallt, aber weniger überrascht, als es könnte.
November 20, 2025
thank you sm to the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book!💜
this was an absolute roller coaster to read, every turn went in an unpredictable direction (in the best way possible) and ultimately it was a reminder that men are just men (i will not elaborate)
gonna let it sit with me before writing a proper review but initial rating is 4 stars 🌟
*updated review*
Do I think this is going to be the most groundbreaking social analysis on power dynamics in relationships/predatory men grooming vulnerable teenagers? No, probably not. But I do think it had very valuable qualities of portraying layered and textured characters. Waldo’s character is definitely an attempt to steer away from a victim of grooming being a completely docile, naive young girl and show how victims can also be ravenous, yearning, headstrong characters as well as being vulnerable, susceptible and emotionally neglected.
There’s an element of self awareness that threads through Waldo’s character, (as much self awareness as a 17 year old can have) and I appreciate that as she grows, her self awareness shifts and changes, as it absolutely did for me when I was 18, 19, 20 and so on. I appreciate that Waldo’s character has enough emotional intelligence and awareness that she “thinks” she knows everything. “Thinks” she knows what she wants and can be happy with that. For me, that’s extremely relatable and I was also in situations as an unstable 17 year old where I thought I knew it all and that my intelligence made me indestructible.
I also enjoyed the dynamic of Waldo and her mother. I liked the underlying tension that Waldo acknowledges her mothers flaws, especially when it comes to men, and thinks that she can “beat” it, that she’s above it and she won’t be caught with the same fate. (Even though towards the end I was rooting for the mother so much)
I really did enjoy this novel and congrats to Jennette McCurdy on her first work of fiction hopefully she has a long writing career ahead of her! Sticking with my 4 star rating! 🌟
(P.S Mr Korgy you’re a big fat loser!)
(P.P.S Waldo you would love cardigan by Taylor Swift)
this was an absolute roller coaster to read, every turn went in an unpredictable direction (in the best way possible) and ultimately it was a reminder that men are just men (i will not elaborate)
gonna let it sit with me before writing a proper review but initial rating is 4 stars 🌟
*updated review*
Do I think this is going to be the most groundbreaking social analysis on power dynamics in relationships/predatory men grooming vulnerable teenagers? No, probably not. But I do think it had very valuable qualities of portraying layered and textured characters. Waldo’s character is definitely an attempt to steer away from a victim of grooming being a completely docile, naive young girl and show how victims can also be ravenous, yearning, headstrong characters as well as being vulnerable, susceptible and emotionally neglected.
There’s an element of self awareness that threads through Waldo’s character, (as much self awareness as a 17 year old can have) and I appreciate that as she grows, her self awareness shifts and changes, as it absolutely did for me when I was 18, 19, 20 and so on. I appreciate that Waldo’s character has enough emotional intelligence and awareness that she “thinks” she knows everything. “Thinks” she knows what she wants and can be happy with that. For me, that’s extremely relatable and I was also in situations as an unstable 17 year old where I thought I knew it all and that my intelligence made me indestructible.
I also enjoyed the dynamic of Waldo and her mother. I liked the underlying tension that Waldo acknowledges her mothers flaws, especially when it comes to men, and thinks that she can “beat” it, that she’s above it and she won’t be caught with the same fate. (Even though towards the end I was rooting for the mother so much)
I really did enjoy this novel and congrats to Jennette McCurdy on her first work of fiction hopefully she has a long writing career ahead of her! Sticking with my 4 star rating! 🌟
(P.S Mr Korgy you’re a big fat loser!)
(P.P.S Waldo you would love cardigan by Taylor Swift)
January 14, 2026
This book is going to be a no for a lot of people, but I feel like those people should know that just from the cover. Personally I think it was incredibly well done, in a completely uncomfortable way.
not-for-me
January 13, 2026I am unfortunately not vibing with this. McCurdy's writing is not stellar (which is surprising to me, given how much I loved her memoir), and this does not bring anything inventive or new to a scenario that has been explored endlessly in literature. I know I'll end up giving this a 2-3 star rating, and it doesn't seem worth powering through when there are quite literally dozens of similar titles.
Thank you to Libro.fm for the free audiobook!
Substack | Bookstagram | BookTok | BookTube | Bookshop.org Store | Libro.fm Bonus Offer
Thank you to Libro.fm for the free audiobook!
Substack | Bookstagram | BookTok | BookTube | Bookshop.org Store | Libro.fm Bonus Offer
Read
January 5, 2026Listened to this in one day… thanks Libro.fm for my ALC (advanced listener copy)! Uncomfy, taboo, exhilarating but anxiety inducing, frustrating… well done, Jennette!
January 8, 2026
Gonna get a little cynical and say I don’t think this would have been picked up by any publisher had it not come attached to a name that would make it a guaranteed bestseller no matter what. It’s very blandly written and has nothing particularly poignant to say about the subject matter. The one aspect I found semi-interesting was the dynamic between the protagonist and her mother, but of course the book mostly wasn’t about that.
Thank you to Libro.FM and Random House Audio for the ARC!
Thank you to Libro.FM and Random House Audio for the ARC!
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January 8, 2026Jennette McCurdy should write horror. Some of the scenes in this book are genuinely disturbing and disgusting. Worth the read if you can stomach it.
January 10, 2026
Thank you to Libro.fm and Ballantine Books for an advanced listener copy of Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Half His Age is a raw, unflinching, and often uncomfortable story told through the lens of 17 year old Waldo. At its core, it is a coming of age novel about a working class young woman with low self esteem, who is being loosely raised by her single mother. Waldo forms an inappropriate obsession with Mr. Korgy, her high school creative writing teacher after he offers her praise and appears to see her. “Maybe that’s all that passion is: sadness plus the desire to connect.” It was heart wrenching for me to watch her come to believe from her mother that her worth is related to her making herself beautiful.
The book immediately grabbed my attention and, like a car accident, I could not look away. The audiobook is powerfully narrated by the author herself and I can’t imagine experiencing it better another way. This book is not going to be for everyone because the content is so uncomfortable, but I don’t regret listening to it. Despite the shocking content, the novel feels authentic, insightful, occasionally funny, and ultimately hopeful. 4/5⭐️
Half His Age is a raw, unflinching, and often uncomfortable story told through the lens of 17 year old Waldo. At its core, it is a coming of age novel about a working class young woman with low self esteem, who is being loosely raised by her single mother. Waldo forms an inappropriate obsession with Mr. Korgy, her high school creative writing teacher after he offers her praise and appears to see her. “Maybe that’s all that passion is: sadness plus the desire to connect.” It was heart wrenching for me to watch her come to believe from her mother that her worth is related to her making herself beautiful.
The book immediately grabbed my attention and, like a car accident, I could not look away. The audiobook is powerfully narrated by the author herself and I can’t imagine experiencing it better another way. This book is not going to be for everyone because the content is so uncomfortable, but I don’t regret listening to it. Despite the shocking content, the novel feels authentic, insightful, occasionally funny, and ultimately hopeful. 4/5⭐️
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