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Half His Age

Not yet published
Expected 20 Jan 26

Win a free print copy of this book!

20 days and 04:44:41

50 copies available
U.S. only
Rate this book
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.

288 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication January 20, 2026

83680 people want to read

About the author

Jennette McCurdy

3 books9,291 followers
Jennette 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

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5 stars
60 (37%)
4 stars
52 (32%)
3 stars
35 (22%)
2 stars
7 (4%)
1 star
5 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
Profile Image for Maddie.
147 reviews
Want to read
August 28, 2025
Sensing another Jennette McCurdy slay on the horizon
Profile Image for lana.
359 reviews9 followers
Read
December 27, 2025
post 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 the publisher. all opinions expressed are my own.
Profile Image for Sunny Lu.
987 reviews6,426 followers
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
Profile Image for LaviniaAlexandra.
363 reviews2 followers
September 2, 2025
RATED IT 5 STARS IN AUG 2025 before reading because some idiot rated it one star.

JM has survived grooming and got her life back and is now giving a FEMININE voice to the Lolita scenario.

Whoever says this 'will' glorify the abuse without knowing anything about the book past that 200-word blurb, should go take a cold shower and a class in literary theory. My immediate recs is Eco's work on the Literary Pact. Some people have yet to learn from Flaubert's trial...
Profile Image for adri☁️.
48 reviews6 followers
Want to read
August 28, 2025
i’m seated. the bookshop employees are scared and asking me to leave because “it’s not 2026 yet’ but i’m simply too seated.
Profile Image for amie.
239 reviews552 followers
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.
Profile Image for rory gilmore.
552 reviews10 followers
Want to read
August 28, 2025
the bookstore staff told me to leave, it’s not out until 2026. but i can’t. i am simply too ready for this book
Profile Image for Des.
364 reviews
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
Profile Image for michele ✡︎.
247 reviews40 followers
Want to read
October 17, 2025
people 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
Profile Image for Jodi Maloney.
6 reviews
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)
Profile Image for Brandi.
184 reviews25 followers
Want to read
September 5, 2025
Jennette Mccurdy writing fiction? I need this now! After reading & loving, I’m Glad my Mom Died, I know this is going to be just as funny, raw, & real. And can people STOP being so weird & making assumptions before reading the book. Did y’all even read her memoir?
Profile Image for Hasnita Singh.
Author 1 book48 followers
Want to read
August 30, 2025
Why is everyone assuming this is romanticising when the author wrote I’m Glad My Mom Died???

Make it make sense
Profile Image for Natalie | novelswithnat.
477 reviews312 followers
December 29, 2025
3🌟

When I first saw the cover for the book, I thought it was smut and kept scrolling. Then I realized it was a literary fiction novel by jennette mccurdy!! It’s narrated by her via audio too so I had to listen.

My first thought after finishing was that she’s a really talented writer. I previously enjoyed reading her memoir,
I’m Glad My Mom Died, and now, her first fiction novel! I just felt like the content in Half His Age was A LOT to consume… quite something lol. I understand the themes she was going for but some scenes just were too strange to read/listen to. The plot wasn’t very compelling to me either. Loved the quick length tho!

Really hoping she continues to write fiction because there’s a lot of potential for her to keep growing as a writer!
Profile Image for Kane Perry.
41 reviews
November 28, 2025
3.75⭐️

This is such a hard review to put into words. I think this is an impressive fiction debut but I expected nothing less from Jeanette tbh. It’s transgressive, morally dubious, and incredibly complex which is an excellent way to describe the main character alone.

Also loved the journey of her and her mum and the important role her mother’s behaviour plays in her own actions.

Only thing I didn’t like was the choice to heavy-handedly place the MC as a 17 year old today through mentions of doomscrolling, online shopping and tiktok. I just don’t like when books date themselves in that way.


Profile Image for suzannah ♡.
373 reviews143 followers
December 19, 2025
4.5 rounded up! a compulsive and addictive novel that explores obsession, desire and power. i really had a great time reading this and i think there’s lots to take away from this book! i feel like it could easily have been longer and i could have kept reading it because the writing just flows so well. a really great read!
Profile Image for Dallas Strawn.
966 reviews121 followers
December 22, 2025
I had mixed feelings about Half His Age. At times it felt as though the book leaned heavily on shock value alone for its impact, and that approach didn’t thrill me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. Some sections were genuinely fascinating, while others were deeply uncomfortable and gross.

I listened to an advance audiobook provided by the publisher, and unfortunately the narration; read by McCurdy herself, was quite monotone. Given the intensity and emotional weight of the story, the delivery needed more range and feeling to fully support the material.

The novel follows Waldo, a sexually confused 17-year-old girl involved in an intense relationship with her teacher. It’s a premise that could have gone in many compelling directions, but the path McCurdy chose ultimately didn’t resonate with me. While I appreciate the ambition and willingness to tackle difficult subject matter, the execution left me conflicted.

That said, this is undeniably a conversation starting book. When it releases in January, it will have people talking and debating, and it’s certainly one that invites discussion…even if it didn’t work for me as much as I would’ve liked.

3.5 ⭐️
Profile Image for cate.
881 reviews167 followers
Want to read
August 29, 2025
i am SO SEATED. this one is for me and steph specifically
Profile Image for Jeanie ~ MyFairytaleLibrary.
630 reviews77 followers
December 22, 2025
A modern day take on an age old story. I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but a 17 year old is a child. A 40 year old engaging in a sexual relationship a child is wrong 100% of the time.

The author did a brilliant job writing and narrating this fictional debut. Her dark humor shines through even in traumatic situations. I love the way she wrote Waldo as a character some readers may dislike. Personally I wanted to give her a hug and make her those tacos that her mom only makes for boyfriends. The story took a slightly different turn than I expected and I really appreciated that. Every story of abuse is different and Waldo’s story was unique to her. I’ll read anything Jennette McCurdy writes and I highly recommend Half His Age. This would be an excellent book club selection.
Profile Image for Zana.
874 reviews314 followers
Want to read
October 30, 2025
Just bought tickets to her book tour!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!
Profile Image for brittany:).
230 reviews88 followers
Want to read
September 1, 2025
Her memoir was EVERYTHING…so I’m sat for this!!✨
Profile Image for Ruth.
44 reviews1 follower
September 5, 2025
Anything she writes I’ll read.
December 25, 2025
Wow! This is an impressive fiction debut. Mccurdy’s voice is piercing and poignant and totally in its own wheelhouse. It was jarring reading about Waldo and the way she takes in the world around her but I also felt like a part of me could completely understand where she was coming from and sometimes, even agreed with her. She is brazen and unforgiving in her judgements about other people but also so naive when it comes to herself. Korgy’s character was never called anything besides mr. Korgy, she never addresses him by his first name, we don’t even know it for a large portion of the book. I really appreciated this detail because the “relationship” remains invasive and disturbing even when Waldo believes she was in control, even when she didn’t see it for what it was. All the details of this book, to me, showed how well McCurdy handled a difficult topic and highlights the danger of loneliness and the lengths a person may go to in order feel less lonely.
Profile Image for Sydney.
383 reviews34 followers
December 27, 2025
ILY PRH Audio for always serving me books that I want, even if I don’t love them!!

This was just okay? I didn’t really find the stilted dialogue or narration to be appealing. It was very graphic and made me feel gross from top to bottom, which I know is its intent. But it also didn’t end in a satisfying way either. I was thinking we’d get some justice but it’s just a cycle and I guess that’s what’s real about it.

I think it could have been powerful, but it just didn’t hit the way I think it was intending! I do think this’ll have a lot of discourse and I’m interested to see what everyone thinks when it drops in January!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews

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