Half His Age

Quotes

“Assured, provocative . . . cements [McCurdy’s] standing as a talented writer . . . articulates the vulnerability of girlhood with guts, humor and just the slightest whisper of warmth.” —The New York Times

“Eerie and unsettling and believable.”—Gillian Flynn

“[A] revenge story, one where McCurdy excavates emotions she herself had at seventeen. And if it makes you angry, about feminism or rampant consumerism or the power dynamics in age-gap relationships, even better—McCurdy still is, too.”—Rolling Stone

“A vivid picture of all that we dismiss when it comes to the complexity of a young woman’s desire. . . . With each of her books, McCurdy continues to lean into the uncomfortable conversations that end up leading the discourse.”—Harper’s Bazaar

“Hilarious, gross, disturbing, poignant.”—The Washington Post

“A writer able to capture some of the darkest parts of human nature with unflinching honesty and devastating humor.”—NPR

“If there was ever any doubt whether the narrative command that Jennette McCurdy displayed in her bestselling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died might translate to fiction, let it henceforth be put to rest. . . As unapologetic and undeniable as its young protagonist . . . McCurdy treats Waldo’s want with an almost reverent seriousness.”—Elle

“[I was] unable to stop turning the pages . . . Written with an unrelenting energy, Half His Age marks a new chapter for Jennette McCurdy.”—Buzzfeed

“Insular and visceral . . . a thorny examination of power, lust, shame and rage, written in McCurdy’s now-signature wry style.”—Los Angeles Times

“This is a bold and unapologetic novel for edge-seekers, doom-scrollers, latchkey kids, horn-dogs, and all those who love hard. . . . This is what Half His Age is ultimately about, scandal and sex scenes aside: the dead end of longing, whereby you ask people or things for the love they can’t give you, and how lonely this mismatch can feel.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A bleak, often hilarious and uncomfortable triumph that underscores McCurdy’s talent for focusing in on the multilayered nature of trauma and artfully unpicking it, one scab at a time.”—The Guardian

“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

“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

“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