NEED TO KNOW
\nJennette McCurdy is reflecting on writing her debut novel, Half His AgeIn a new interview with The New York Times, the author spoke about the “taboo” relationship between a student and her teacher at the center of her new book and why it was important for her to exploreMcCurdy said the novel is a “psychological examination of the young woman who\u2019s experiencing [the relationship]”<\/p>\n
Some readers may find Jennette McCurdy<\/a>‘s new novel uncomfortable to read. That’s intentional.<\/p>\n In a Jan. 18 interview with The New York Times<\/a>, the author, 33, spoke about the process of writing her debut novel Half His Age<\/a>, now available from Ballantine Books.<\/p>\n McCurdy, formerly of Nickelodeon shows like iCarly and Sam and Cat, turned to writing after retiring from acting at age 21. Her bestselling 2022 memoir, I\u2019m Glad My Mom Died<\/a>, detailed her upbringing in the entertainment industry, as well as her complicated relationship with her late mother, Debra<\/a>, who died in 2013. The revelatory book recounted McCurdy\u2019s experience with addiction, eating disorders and alleged abuse<\/a> from her mom.\n<\/p>\n The cover of ‘Half His Age’ by Jennette McCurdy.<\/p>\n Ballantine Books<\/p>\n Half His Age follows high school student Waldo, who embarks on a sexual relationship with her married creative writing teacher, Mr. Korgy. The book is part of a long history of novels about controversial relationships, from Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita<\/a> to Katie Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa<\/a>, but McCurdy noted that she hadn\u2019t seen many published novels that approach the subject quite like her own. With Waldo, she didn’t want to “shy away” from creating a complex protagonist.\n<\/p>\n “I see this as a story less focused on the taboo itself and more on the psychological examination of the young woman who\u2019s experiencing it, and all the contributing factors that allowed her to fall into this relationship in the first place,\u201d McCurdy said in the interview.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, if something makes you uncomfortable, it\u2019s probably truthful,\u201d the actress and author added. \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t make you uncomfortable, it\u2019s probably dishonest in some way.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!<\/a><\/p>\n McCurdy opened up about her own experience with an older man while she was a teenager during a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast<\/a>. McCurdy met the man \u2014 who was more than a decade older than her \u2014 through work, and said that she was \u201cmost likely 18\u201d at the time.\n<\/p>\n Jennette McCurdy in January 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Howard\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images<\/p>\n \u201cHe was like, \u2018You’re so mature. I can’t talk to anyone this way. I can’t believe how smart you are,\u2019 McCurdy recalled of the experience, which she also writes about in her memoir. \u201cLike, are you kidding me? I was such an idiot. I’m so embarrassed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n She’s been open about how that relationship influenced her fiction, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there’s this element that both Mr. Korgy gives to the protagonist Waldo and that the person I was in a relationship gave to me, which is that feeling of specialness, that feeling that it was ultimately my choice, that it was ultimately up to me, that ultimately, I was the one in charge,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n McCurdy noted in the New York Times interview that she hoped women would resonate with the book\u2019s examination of power dynamics, and that she\u2019s glad that readers are connecting to \u201cfemale rage” in fiction too. For McCurdy, it became a catalyst for her own work.\n<\/p>\n