Home › Best of 2026 › Half His Age

Half His Age

by Jennette McCurdy Publisher: BALLANTINE BOOKS

Bestseller

Longing and unequal attention

Regular price $24.93 USD
Regular price $41.55 USD Sale price $24.93 USD
Save 40%

Hardcover New English

Format

Print BookCurrently viewing Hardcover $24.93 USD$41.55 USD
Print BookUnavailable Paperback – Large print $26.17 USD$43.62 USD
Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    New York Times bestseller

  • Author recognition

    #1 New York Times bestselling author

    The metadata describes Jennette McCurdy as a #1 New York Times bestselling author.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Longing and unequal attention

Seventeen-year-old Waldo becomes fixated on Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher, a married man with a family and an established adult life. The novel centers on her effort to understand that desire: she considers his knowledge and experience, a sense of kinship, and the possibility that his attention matters because she feels unseen elsewhere. Waldo is presented as impulsive, lonely, perceptive, and full of conflicting wants, making the story a character study of yearning and the search for recognition. The teacher-student relationship places questions of desire and unequal power within its coming-of-age frame.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in coming-of-age fiction centered on a teenager’s desires and self-understanding
  • Readers drawn to character studies of loneliness, recognition, and unequal relationships

Themes

Coming of ageDesire and longingBeing seen and recognizedUnequal power

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I'm Glad My Mom Died comes "a thorny examination of power, lust, shame and rage" (Los Angeles Times) from "a writer able to capture some of the darkest parts of human nature with unflinching honesty and devastating humor" (NPR)

"Unapologetic and undeniable . . . 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."--Elle

Waldo is ravenous. Horny. Blunt. Naive. Wise. Impulsive. Lonely. Angry. Forceful. Hurting. Perceptive. Endlessly wanting. And the thing she wants most of all: Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher 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 and things that she doesn't? Or is it purer than that, rooted in their unlikely connection, their kindred spirits, the similar 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 a rich character study of a yearning seventeen-year-old who disregards all obstacles--or attempts to overcome them--in her effort to be seen, to be desired, to be loved.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
AlbakiReads
Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

O
AlbakiReads
Olivia

Smooth.