Hardcover copy of “Half His Age” The Xavierite
After the critical and commercial success of her memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” Jennette McCurdy set high expectations for herself with her debut novel, “Half His Age.”
“Half His Age” follows Waldo, a 17-year-old girl who becomes infatuated with her creative writing teacher, Mr. Korgy. The novel marks McCurdy’s first step into the fiction world.
With subject matter as taboo as a student-teacher relationship, many criticized “Half His Age” before it even hit shelves. Reviews were mixed once the novel was released on Jan. 20, 2026.
Some reviews criticized the vulgarity of the novel as being gratuitous and lacking compelling nuance. Others praised McCurdy’s ability to capture a teenage girl’s voice with authenticity and wit.
I went into “Half His Age” with an open mind because I know the general public can’t always be trusted with complex female characters. Audiences tend to crave black and white depictions of women, whereas “Half His Age” lives almost exclusively in all those varying shades of gray.
Overall, the novel was… fine. There are some aspects of “Half His Age” that I really enjoyed, and others that I felt needed more work. However, I disagree with the reviews which discredit McCurdy’s writing and the novel as a whole.
For all its pitfalls, “Half His Age” shows McCurdy knows how to write a novel. Her fiction debut is by no means a homerun, but it’s not a strikeout either.
One of McCurdy’s strongest assets as a writer is her voice. In “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” she combined humor and honesty to write about her past. Of course, since it was a memoir, McCurdy only had to refine her personal voice.
Taking on the voice of another character, especially using first-person point of view, is another task entirely.
“Half His Age” is written in first-person from Waldo’s perspective. Her voice is blunt, unapologetic, and self-assured. Whether she’s making out with her teacher in a classroom closet or feeding her destructive shopping addiction, Waldo feels three-dimensional and alive.
McCurdy also accomplishes the difficult task of making “Half His Age” into a realistic portrait of the current times rather than a caricature. The novel mentions things like AI and the fast-fashion corporation Shein, but it’s done in a tasteful way that adds to and informs Waldo’s circumstances.
In terms of Waldo and Mr. Korgy’s relationship, the realism fell short for me. I wasn’t convinced that Mr. Korgy’s actions were especially true to life. At first he tries to resist Waldo’s flirtations, then gives in, then leaves his wife and child for her within a matter of months.
I just didn’t buy it. The best novels are the ones I can get completely lost in, and I never felt lost in “Half His Age.” For whatever reason, I couldn’t get fully immersed.
Even though the depiction of Waldo and Mr. Korgy’s relationship fell flat, I wouldn’t say it was a harmful depiction. Lackluster, yes, but far from condoning.
McCurdy’s depiction of an age-gap relationship is unique in that the reader only gets Waldo’s perspective. Waldo doesn’t see herself as a victim, so the reader needs to deduce that themselves (which, really, is not very hard).
Waldo and Mr. Korgy’s relationship was very one-note to me. The scenes between them were often vulgar, but that particular aspect didn’t add or detract from the narrative for me.
Some aforementioned reviewers saw the novel’s vulgarity as simply written for shock value. I can assume McCurdy included the graphic scenes in an attempt to deepen Waldo and Mr. Korgy’s dynamic, but the scenes didn’t exactly accomplish that.
They fit into the novel but didn’t add any depth, unfortunately.
In a recent profile from the New York Times, it was said that “From the start, McCurdy knew that she didn’t want to write a conventional story about a victim and her abuser.”
However, there wasn’t much that pushed this story into uncharted territory. Maybe I read too many novels about angry young women, but from my angle “Half His Age” wasn’t groundbreaking in any way.
I found myself wishing McCurdy would dig deeper. She’s a talented writer, but something was missing from her debut novel.
Everyone seems to have a polarizing, passionate opinion on “Half His Age.” One review calls it “terrible” and likens it to a dumpster fire; another calls it a “masterpiece.”
To me, it was truly neither. I don’t regret reading it, but I probably wouldn’t reread. It’s a quick, digestible novel but lacks the depth that probably should be afforded to such controversial subject matter. McCurdy’s talent is there; it’s just under-utilized.
If you enjoyed McCurdy’s memoir and can handle some lurid subject matter, I’d give “Half His Age” a try. If you’re not familiar with “weird girl lit” or like to keep your reads light and fun, maybe skip this one.
“Half His Age” is out now and can be purchased wherever books are sold.
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