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Half His Age

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Half His Age

By: Jennette McCurdy
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About this listen

THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER

Half His Age is a highly anticipated, funny, sad, thrilling novel about sex, class, desire, and power – and the (often misguided) lengths we’ll go to to get what we want, from Jennette McCurdy, the three-million copy bestselling author of I'm Glad My Mom Died.

'SHOCKING, HONEST AND UNSPARING' SUNDAY TIMES STYLE

'A HILARIOUS AND UNCOMFORTABLE TRIUMPH' GUARDIAN

'EERIE, UNSETTLING AND BELIEVABLE' GILLIAN FLYNN, AUTHOR OF GONE GIRL

'ABSOLUTE DYNAMITE' ELIZABETH DAY

Waldo is ravenous. Horny. Blunt. Naive. Wise. Impulsive. Lonely. Angry. Hurting. Endlessly wanting. And the thing she wants most of all? Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher.

Mr Korgy, 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 that she doesn’t? Or are they actually kindred spirits, sharing the same 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 an incisive study of a yearning seventeen-year-old who disregards all obstacles in her effort to be seen, to be desired and to be loved.

'THOUGHT-PROVOKING, SHOCKING AND DARKLY COMIC' INDEPENDENT

©2026 WAFFLE CONE, INC (P)2026 Penguin Random House LLC
Coming of Age Dark Humour Editors Select Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Scary Thought-Provoking

Editorial Review

Jennette McCurdy’s foray into fiction
As a fan of Jennette McCurdy’s bracing I’m Glad My Mom Died, I couldn’t wait for her debut novel. Half His Age, about a precocious teen who falls for her English teacher, is decidedly NOT Nickelodeon material. But despite the skin-crawling plot, I found myself rooting for Waldo (yes, Waldo) and even laughing at the comic moments. McCurdy writes short, propulsive chapters and cutting observations (my favourite, “The lemon verbena is a double-edged sword,” describes how Waldo’s mom’s preferred hand soap eats away at her spray tan), and her narration is at once matter-of-fact, sharp, sad, and funny. Like My Dark Vanessa for the anxious generation, Half His Age is set against a backdrop of frictionless tech and late-stage capitalism. At a lean 4.5 hours, it asks you to sit in discomfort—but no longer than necessary. —Kat J., Audible Editor

All stars
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I loved her memoir, read it in one day; listened to this tile in one day too. McCurdy has put into words the story, that I would venture to say, so many young women have experienced. Her storytelling is realistic and frank. She doesn’t shy away from the subject matter, while shining a brutally honest light on the misguided feelings of lust that can overtake us.

Another page-turner

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An ok book that expresses the feelings of being in love in a good way, and the power struggle between who is loved the most and the least. Not a fan of the narrator.

An okay book about love

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The book explores a problematic age gap relationship in a way that doesn't feel like it's trying hard to be disturbing. Characters are introduced in a way that intrigues the imagination and allows the listener to visualise the characters in their head.

Disturbing in a casual way

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I think great for a younger person but as a 40 year married woman with children like taking a firm ol slap in the face! Well written and I assume the monotone voice was on purpose.

Not for me, however very thought provoking.

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I loved JM’s ‘I’m glad my mother died’ and was excited to see her venture out into fiction writing.
I am so glad she carried over the raw and honest writing. This book carries such a strong voice and style, I loved every minute.
The vivid descriptions, thought pattern weaving and hectic way this book follows the protagonists story - absorbs you into it. The languid tone of JMs reading just boosts the experience and brings you into the mind of a dissociative depressed teen. 10/10 Finished it so quickly.

Gritty, Real and Well Performed

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