Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy
By: Alivia Stonier
Edited By: Reilly Nelson
Book by Jennette McCurdy
If you're on the hunt for a book that unflinchingly captures the struggles of Gen Z while exploring power dynamics, Half His Age is the book for you.
BEFORE WE DIVE IN…
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction
Age Group: Adult
Content Warnings: Sexual content involving a minor, power imbalance and grooming dynamics, explicit sexual descriptions, substance use, dysfunctional family dynamics, emotional abuse.
Spice Level: 3/5
ABOUT THE BOOK
“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” (Goodreads).
READER PROFILE
This might be for you if:
You like similar stories to My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell that delve into power dynamics.
You like the younger person’s point of view in these abusive dynamics like in Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
You liked the exploration of similar dynamics and the moral issue with them in the film Babygirl.
You enjoyed the exploration of unhealthy dynamics and their long-term impacts in Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel Eileen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As described by Penguin Random House, “Jennette McCurdy is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I’m Glad My Mom Died, winner of the 2023 American Library Association Alex Award. The book has been published in more than thirty countries and has sold more than three million copies. McCurdy is creating, writing, executive producing, and showrunning an Apple TV+ series loosely inspired by I’m Glad My Mom Died, starring Jennifer Aniston. Half His Age is her debut novel.”
WHAT READERS THINK
“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 thoroughly 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”—lana via Goodreads
“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.”—Des via Goodreads
“It’s tough to necessarily say I loved this book when it’s such an uncomfortable read, but I do think Jennette did a very good job with this. It made me feel disgusted, sad, dread, and just heavy. If an author is able to invoke so much emotion from me, I think that counts for something. At first, I had a hard time separating her from Waldo, but eventually I got lost in the story. I think the inner monologues are so realistic and may come off as ‘bad writing’ to some, but that is a direct reflection of how teenagers talk and act nowadays.”—alexlazarchik via Storygraph
BOOK REPORTER’S REVIEW
Jennette McCurdy does an incredible job of capturing the dread that many Gen Zers currently feel. Unsettled and deeply uncomfortable, the book takes you through coping mechanisms like overconsumption of online material and how dysfunctional family relationships can shape the way that we search for love and validation. It is a difficult, yet very important read that’s natural in its tone of voice as it brings Waldo to life in more than just a single dimension.
The main character is who truly shines in this book and it is through her perspective and her life outside of her teacher, who she ends up having an inappropriate relationship with, that you can get the full picture and truly resonate with the character even if your personal experience doesn't match the themes captured in this novel.
Despite Mr. Korgy following a very clear trope of the teacher that didn't get to follow his dreams, is tired with his domestic life, and turns to a young student, it's through Waldo’s interactions with him and her relationship with her mother that this novel is able to take things to a new height and a new angle is approached in comparison to others in the genre that have explored similar material.
McCurdy writes with a defined voice that allows for the vernacular of her characters to truly shape who they are on the page. It's an eye-opening read that will sit with the reader long after they've closed the book and it is worth the discomfort of the journey that she takes you on.