If there’s a 2026 book release that has people chomping at the bit, Jennette McCurdy’s debut novel is one of them. After the success of I’m Glad My Mom Died [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM], there’s a lot of anticipation for what she writes. I didn’t read her memoir yet, but when LibroFM offered me the chance to listen to McCurdy’s new audiobook early, of course, I jumped on it.

When I first saw the title, I assumed Half His Age [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] would be an woman in her 20s and much older man, but as I don’t read descriptions often, I was surprised to find my assumption incorrect. This is about a teenage girl named Waldo and her relationship with her teacher. This book makes no secret of the level of spice in it, as the first chapter puts us straight into a sex scene with Waldo and her boyfriend, but that relationship doesn’t make it past the first few pages. Instead, she finds herself enamored with her teacher, Mr. Korgy.

She starts trying a bit harder in her English class to get his attention, and figuring out how she’s going to shift the dynamic into a relationship. She’s successful and this book explores their sneaking around and subsequent impacts of hooking up with a married man. Waldo has some other issues she’s dealing with, so there’s a lot going on in her life.

Overall, I found this book to be just… fine. McCurdy doesn’t hold back and that’s probably a good thing, but also, it didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. This is classified as literary fiction, which isn’t my usual jam, so the book being more character-focused is expected, but it’s not my cup of tea. I found myself waiting for something to happen, but there isn’t much in the way of plot. It’s an odd place to be, where I enjoyed the phrasing and don’t think the writing is bad, but it also was kinda boring at the same time.

I listened to this on audio, and that was probably my favorite part of this experience. McCurdy reads the audiobook herself, which I find fascinating. It’s normal in the realm of memoirs, but it’s not often an author is also the narrator in the fiction space. Her delivery of the lines is exactly what you’d expect from a character like Waldo, who doesn’t seem to care about much. It’s not an excitable delivery, so I wouldn’t recommend listening to this while tired, but it does fit the character.

Overall, I think Half His Age is just okay. I wanted more from someone with so much buzz behind them, and was left underwhelmed.