Jennette McCurdy took the literary world by storm with the 2022 release of her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died. The former child star blended dark humor, a matter-of-fact writing style, and clear-eyed reflection on the traumas of her upbringing to tell her story in a way that captured the attention of both fans and casual readers alike. While I didn’t read the memoir myself, I was certainly aware of the cultural moment it became. So when I was offered a copy of McCurdy’s debut novel, Half His Age, I was curious to see whether that distinctive voice would translate successfully into fiction.
Seventeen-year-old Waldo has always had to fend for herself. Raised by a teenage mother trapped in a cycle of unemployment, addiction, and a revolving door of deadbeat boyfriends, Waldo has learned to survive by keeping her head down and her expectations low. She goes to school, works a dead-end job, and does her best to pass for normal. Money is scarce, her wardrobe is threadbare, and even basic self-care feels like a luxury. But she makes do.
When we first meet her, Waldo is going through the motions of an unfulfilling relationship with her high school boyfriend, more focused on the mechanics of intimacy than any real connection. It’s not satisfying, but it’s familiar. This, for better or worse, is the shape of her life. Waldo doesn’t dream of something more, because she’s never been given reason to believe more is possible.
That begins to change when she meets Mr. Korgy. For the first time, Waldo allows herself to imagine a different future. Korgy is a middle-aged creative writing teacher with a wife, a child, and the lingering disappointment of an abandoned writing career. Teaching was never the dream, but it’s where he landed. Waldo is immediately drawn to him. He’s attentive, candid, and challenges her to be just as honest on the page.
She can’t quite explain the pull, only that he represents everything absent from her world: experience, confidence, intellectual passion. Most of all, he seems to truly see her and to like what he sees. Waldo knows her feelings cross a line, but desire rarely obeys reason. And as her fixation deepens, she begins to suspect that Mr. Korgy’s interest might extend beyond the classroom as well.
Half His Age marks Jennette McCurdy’s fiction debut as bold, unflinching, and undeniably compelling. She writes with a plain, matter-of-fact directness that makes the novel a page-turner, even as its subject matter grows increasingly uncomfortable. It’s spare, unsentimental prose that refuses to soften the edges of what it’s depicting, and that restraint is part of what makes the book so effective.
It’s best to address the elephant in the room upfront. This is a novel centered on an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and his student, complete with explicit sexual encounters and clear emotional grooming. There are many moments that are difficult to stomach, so this will not be a book for every reader. The story's trajectory feels grimly familiar, and the impending disaster is visible from miles away.
That said, McCurdy resists turning the story into something simplistic or purely moralistic. Waldo is unmistakably a victim, but her history of neglect and instability distorts her understanding of what love, attention, and agency look like, leading her to actively yearn for the relationship she’s being exploited by. Korgy, meanwhile, is fully complicit, his shame and personal disappointment creating a hollow rationalization for behavior he knows is wrong. Together, they form a dynamic that is repellent and tragic in equal measure. It all left me deeply unsettled, particularly on Waldo’s behalf.
I hesitate to say that I enjoyed Half His Age, but I did appreciate what it tries to be. While the story itself feels well-trodden, McCurdy’s voice is clear, confident, and purposeful. This is sure to be a divisive debut that will provoke strong reactions on both sides. Even so, McCurdy’s transition to fiction is impressive. She's chosen not to take the easy approach to her writing, and that's got me curious to see where this journey will take her next.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2026, 9)
This is not my sort of thing, but I am glad you were able to find something to appreciate about it.
ReplyDeleteThis one won't be for everyone, but that's by design. It's meant to make you uncomfortable. Again, not what everyone's looking for in a read though. I'm still not sure of my own reaction to it.
DeleteThis reminds me of that book My Dark Vanessa, which was compelling and well-written, but left a bitter taste in my mouth because of the subject matter. I can see where Waldo would fall into an inappropriate relationship like this one, but the whole grooming and exploitation by older men of young, vulnerable women makes me shudder. And very angry, too. So I probably won't be reading this one.
ReplyDeleteIt was made all the more repulsive by everything coming out in the news recently. I totally get skipping this one!
DeleteI loved her first book but will probably skip this one. I am already maxed out on fury with real men being disgusting (have you seen the latest epstein stuff? I want to vomit more than I already have) and this might actually make my brain explode.
ReplyDeleteYeahhh...it's timely, but not in a good way.
DeleteSounds like a very hard life she had.
ReplyDeleteIt makes for a very challenging read.
DeleteProbably not a great fit for me based on your review, but I'm glad you found things to like about it. I see you're reading The Bone Queen! It's up next for me as well.
ReplyDeleteNow The Bone Queen is excellent!
DeleteDisaster a mile away yes, but how does it ultimately end? I wonder
ReplyDeleteI won't spoil it here, but you can probably guess.
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