Former child actor and bestselling author Jennette McCurdy has released her first novel, ‘Half His Age’, published in January 2026 by Ballantine Books.
The release follows the global success of her 2022 memoir ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’, which spent more than a year on bestseller lists and established McCurdy as a distinctive literary voice beyond her television career.
‘Half His Age’ marks a deliberate shift into fiction, allowing McCurdy to explore controversial subject matter through a narrative lens rather than autobiography.
Plot and themes
The novel centres on the character “Waldo”, a 17-year-old girl living in Alaska who becomes involved in a sexual relationship with her married creative-writing teacher, Mr Korgy.
Told from Waldo’s perspective, the story examines themes of desire, power imbalance, loneliness, class and self-worth.
It emphasizes how adolescent vulnerability can be shaped by adult authority.
In an interview with People Magazine, McCurdy also noted that ‘Half His Age’ was born from her own reflections on a past relationship with a significantly older man in her late teens.
She emphasised that her protagonist’s sense of “specialness” in that context was a key thread in the narrative.
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McCurdy on intentional discomfort
The book’s premise has drawn attention for its discomforting subject matter.
However, McCurdy has made it clear that the novel is intended as an exploration rather than an endorsement of the relationship it depicts.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, McCurdy addressed the unease surrounding the novel’s themes, emphasising that discomfort was central to her creative approach.
“If something makes you uncomfortable, it’s probably truthful,” she said, adding that she is drawn to writing that resists neat moral conclusions and instead – reflects emotional reality.
McCurdy also discussed how the book was informed by reflection rather than direct autobiography.
She noted that fiction allowed her to examine patterns of manipulation, validation and self-perception with greater distance.
Mixed reviews
Critics have responded to ‘Half His Age’ with a spectrum of assessments.
The book has drawn praise for its fearless approach and incisive emotional insights.
For example, The Guardian highlighted the novel’s “bleak, often hilarious and uncomfortable triumph”, commending McCurdy’s ability to probe trauma and narrative discomfort.
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At the same time, some reviewers have been more critical.
A recent Vulture review characterised the book’s explicit focus on the age-gap relationship as leaning too heavily on shock value, at times to the detriment of broader narrative nuance.
Another critique in The Washington Post noted that while ‘Half His Age’ is written with “frank humour, disturbing realism and breakneck pacing”, its moments of introspection occasionally lapse into conventional self-help-like affirmations, undercutting some of the darker ambitions of the work.
From memoir to provocative fiction
In a promotional interview with Harper’s BAZAAR, McCurdy has also addressed potential misreadings of her work.
She emphasised that the sex scenes, which she describes as “very disgusting to very sexy” are deliberately written from Waldo’s perspective.
They are not intended to moralise, but rather to illuminate the protagonist’s internal experience.
As ‘Half His Age’ continues to circulate, it positions McCurdy not only as a memoirist but as a novelist willing to take creative risks.
The book arrives as a significant cultural release, reinforcing her reputation for confronting difficult topics with candour rather than compromise.
The novel is now available in print, e-book and audiobook formats.
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