Half His Age

“You’ve never met a character quite like Waldo. An explicit, provocative, and sometimes uncomfortable read . . . an unapologetically bare and intimate portrait of the psyche of a girl on the brink of womanhood and a meditation on the generational cycles that shape us. Seventeen-year-old Waldo is simultaneously fascinating and frustrating, naive but nuanced. Maybe you’re ashamed of her or embarrassed by her—or maybe you’re rooting for her to come out the other side. While the themes of power, desire, and female rage permeate the pages of the novel, the book also serves as a statement on consumerism, class, the loneliness epidemic, and the at-times crushing constraints of suburbia.”—Harper’s Bazaar

“[She’s] a connoisseur of the ugly detail.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Proves her memoir was anything but a one-hit wonder. Brimming with teenage angst and McCurdy’s signature dark humor . . . This is far from a romance, and it’s not a glamorization of age gaps—it’s an analysis of consumerism, insecurity, misguided desire, class, and addiction.”—USA Today

“Share[s] plenty with her memoir: smarts, style . . . Here, 17-year-old Waldo finds herself desperately, foolishly, hopelessly in love with a teacher, a predicament that allows McCurdy to stretch her muscles exploring power and desire in our modern moment.”—Town & Country

“Haunting, hilarious, and heart-rending . . . A coming-of-age story that refuses easy answers—the kind McCurdy tells best.”—Bustle

“In Half His Age, Jennette McCurdy takes what could have been a simple morality tale and turns it into something more complicated and infinitely more interesting—a riveting examination of lust and self-delusion, and a sly reminder that our worst mistakes can sometimes lead us stumbling toward the light. McCurdy is a fearless and darkly funny writer with an unerring eye for the perfect mortifying detail.”—Tom Perrotta

“Jennette McCurdy writes sentences that glimmer and cut like razors. With Half His Age, she delivers a deeply felt and humorous tale about the dangers of youth and desire—this novel is uncomfortable, unpredictable, and unputdownable.”—Aria Aber