Half His Age

Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy was a disturbing read to say the least. Waldo, a high school senior, becomes infatuated with her writing teaching. She struggles with her absent mother, her newfound sexuality, and toxicity in relationships. Her mother set the standard for young Waldo of seeking male validation. She educates her daughter on not asking for too much and to strive for physical perfection. Mr. Korgy and Waldo develop a quick relationship that spiral into resentment, guilt, and dependency. Waldo becomes frustrated with the obstacle of Mr. Korgy’s wife, Mr. Korgy begins to rationalize their age-gap relationship, and their inability to live without the other becomes unhealthy.
It is obvious that Waldo’s reactions are a show more result of her lack of parental influence. She had no father and pursues an older man who can provide this wisdom she’d never experienced before. The only adult in her life perpetuates the idea that romance is the only way to express love. Waldo’s drawn to Mr. Korgy because of his mind and conveys it the only way she knows how, sexually, and romantically. Aside from Waldo’s messy adult relationships her friendship with Frannie is built on superiority. When Waldo confesses the relationship with Mr. Korgy to Frannie, she cries. Frannie fixates on the fact that Waldo had never cried in front of her before. Instead of being an empathetic friend she took pride in being a part of the situation. This novel broke my heart in so many ways, and adding Frannie, who thinks she is a good friend but isn’t, brought the loneliness full circle.
McCurdy did this narrative justice. I was uncomfortable and found no normalization in a student-teacher relationship. She skillfully wrote dialogue that left me embarrassed and frustrated with Mr. Korgy. I was constantly urging one of them to come to their senses and end this unnatural relationship. I appreciated the absence of a happy ending. It ends with Waldo making a change and the vague ending left me hopeful for her future. show less

A teacher-student relationship is a topic that's been covered ad nauseum in all sorts of media. It's shocking, it's exploitative, it's something that keeps happening. While the power dynamic is something McCurdy is very familiar with (as written in her memoir), I think that her exploration of it within fiction proves that she has potential to expand outside of this niche and into something much more deep. This book is a good start, but she's not there yet.

We follow our MC Waldo as she "pursues" a relationship with her teacher, Mr. Korgy. I used quotes because Waldo is 17 and this is a severe power dynamic so this is not your typical cat-and-mouse chase.

I had to remind myself multiple times while reading that Waldo is not a reliable show more narrator. Despite the blunt narration style and to-the-point descriptions of her emotions, Waldo never actually analyzes her feelings too deeply until they bubble over. She claims she's the one going after Korgy, admits to taking it too far sometimes, or contemplating going crazy just for his attention, but she never seems to ask herself why she's doing that, instead going online shopping. It's a constant cycle over and over, of sex and rejection, which made her story all the more heartbreaking.

Personally, I found Waldo realistic. She's a senior in high school, everyone else is going off to college which is a prime age for thinking you know everything and you're an adult. There's a whole argument she has with Korgy about how she's been taking care of herself since she was a kid, which I think encapsulated everything the reader needed to know about her. Her friendships and relationship with her mother come more center stage as the story continues and I really liked the dynamic she had with Frannie.

My big gripe was the ending of the story. It felt too Hollywood for the journey Waldo went on. Of course, this is technically a coming-of-age story but that doesn't mean she needs to literally ride off into the sunset. I just wanted more substance from that final chapter. show less

I just don't know how to feel about this book. I love her writing and how direct and blunt it is. But I can't say that I loved the story itself. But I also think maybe it was supposed to be that way? It was supposed to make people uncomfortable. With that being said, if you enjoyed the writing of I'm glad my mom is dead, then you may be interested in reading this. She does provide little inklings of insights of how men view women that I thought was really interesting. However, if a teacher student relationship makes you uncomfortable, I would skip this. Also, if you dislike graphic sex scenes, I would also skip this.

* Contain spoilers* the story is about a 17-year-old who has a crush on her teacher. And soon they end up banging. Of show more course he's married. And it's all about their story and sneaking around in the drama that goes around with having a relationship with a married man. It's almost like she wasn't 17 in the book. She lived a hard life, so maybe a part of the story is that in age is just an age? However, it was still uncomfortable to read. In the end he did leave his wife for her. The book covers the different power dynamics of when he held the power and then she finally ended it and she held the power. And after he finally left his wife, she didn't want him anymore. In the end she leaves them at the airport when they were about to fly to Hawaii. She listened to her gut and her Instinct. If it weren't for the writing, I think this book would be terrible! 100% read it, because I do just enjoy her writing so much. I just hope the story is Different and maybe from an adult perspective. show less

i am deeply sad and ruminating.......i think i'm gonna leave this one at a 3.5/3.75?? i saw someone recommend listening to jennette's interview on call her daddy before reading the book, and it gave great context and preparation going into the novel--especially after reading jennette's memoir, i felt like i learned so much about her through this story. jennette's writing style is blunt and clunky at times, it makes everything so much more uncomfortable and disturbing. i think at times the main character seems too self-aware of her motivations in a way that i don't think most teenagers are. i know that this is essentially 'the author writing this about her own experience, looking into the past and interjecting her own thoughts from a show more place of healing' but it felt odd and a little unrealistic. but at the end of the day this is a story that's going to stick with me long after reading show less

Disturbing.
Waldo is a 17-year old sexually promiscuous girl who decides she will go after her married creative writing teacher, Mr. Korgy. He initially avoids her advances, but eventually succumbs and they develop an intense and inappropriate relationship.
I found this to be creepy and very disturbing. Waldo's neediness and her attachment to anyone who might show interest were concerning.
Very descriptive sex acts. Creepy. Thankfully, it was relatively short.

I thought Half His Age was another dysfunctional memoir, however it is not. It is fiction. Waldo, a 17 year old high school student, falls for Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher. She obsesses over him, fantasizes about him, and just can't stop thinking about him. Mr. Korgy is married with a child, but that doesn't stop them from having an affair.

The story describes a lot of sex in a lot of detail, and is hysterically funny, but a little sad. I loved listening to it.

Me encantó el libro. La forma en que describe esa necesidad de ser vista y especial, esa confusión entre sentirse importante y estar en peligro sin darte cuenta, me parece muy real. Creo que todos hemos tenido algo así en la adolescencia, aunque sea a pequeña escala. Tengo ganas de leerlo porque seguro que no se anda con rodeos.