Content warning: This article mentions grooming and sexual assault.
After releasing her 2022 memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, former child actor Jennette McCurdy has returned to the literary scene with her debut novel, Half His Age. While the book is a departure from non-fiction, Jennette still explores some themes that have been present throughout her real life, including grooming and complicated power dynamics in relationships.
Half His Age follows Waldo, a young woman experiencing loneliness, lust and rage, while pining for sexual passion and connection – specifically with Mr Korgy, her creative writing teacher who’s married and has a child.
In Episode 3 of Missing Perspectives’ Booksmart podcast, co-hosts Sunny Adcock and Allie Daisy King delve deeper into this text, discussing character development, how issues like grooming are depicted in Half His Age compared to I’m Glad My Mom Died, the backlash this novel has received, and of course, their own personal, candid reflections of the book.
Does depicting taboo relationships automatically mean endorsing them?
As Allie explains, many people judged this book by its cover… quite literally! From the book’s title, to the image of a person with fingers in their mouth, Allie says that some people jumped to conclusions about the way in which grooming would be depicted on the pages.
“It wasn’t necessarily people being frustrated with it or being confused,” says Allie. “It was more so people reacting against people being like, ‘Oh, why is Jennette writing a book that’s… writing about grooming in this really positive way?’”
As someone who hadn’t heard about the backlash until Allie had brought it up, Sunny says: “I think that maybe lacks some critical thinking [by those people]”.
“I wasn’t super familiar with that until you brought it to my attention,” she continues. “But it sounds like to me, people mistook the fact that the cover is really pretty and esthetically pleasing, and mistook that as being an endorsement of the themes that are depicted in the book.”
“But anyone who knows anything about Jennette would have to kind of understand more or less that this is not going to be a book in favour of grooming, given that she does in, I’m Glad My Mom Died, talk about her experience with being groomed by a much older man…”
Age differences are messy
With the vast age difference between Waldo and Mr Korgy, Half His Age readers are exposed to the power imbalance in such relationships. But, they’re also reminded of society’s double standard: that men are more desirable as they age, while women aren’t. How common is it that many young women secretly – or not so secretly – harbour sexual fantasies about older men. As Sunny explains, the media has helped shape societal norms around older men being incredibly desirable. Is it because they’re well-accomplished, or off limits, or have an irresistible salt and pepper beard?
“Not all, but I think a lot of straight women would agree that a lot of us have attraction to older men,” Sunny reflects.
“We’re taught as a society, you know, silver foxes or DILFs… like men have enduring appeal regardless of their age, although women are put on the shelf.
“I’m sure many of us could name several celebrity crushes we have who are, like, 35+, maybe even in their 40s, right? And so I can understand being the younger person, in that dynamic.”
“It’s okay to be attracted to them, but they should not be reciprocating that,” says Allie. “The onus is on them.”
Age is one factor in these sorts of relationships. The others are different experiences, interests and values influenced by being in different life stages. This is quite apparent in Half His Age. Having read an article that details how “a lot of men aren’t interested in relatability when they date women”, Sunny says that it’s natural to question why and how an older man would click with a younger woman. “So like the fact that, ‘Oh, but she’s a school girl and she’s shopping at Sephora, like that’s not a concern, because they’re [men] not necessarily interested in getting to know your interior life or connecting on different things,” she explains.
“And I think we see that quite a lot in Half His Age where a lot of their relationship is built on him trying to hand down his own interests, rather than actually being interested in any of hers.
“That’s basically just to say, it is an obviously messed up dynamic, and for people who are like, ‘Oh, Jennette in real life was 18, and for part of Waldo’s relationship with Mr. Korgy, she was over 18’, it’s all messed up,” she adds. “We don’t endorse it, and I don’t believe that Jennette endorses it either.”
“I don’t think she endorses it whatsoever,” Allie agrees. “And I also think that she’s made it very clear in interviews that she didn’t want to be overly moralistic when writing this, because she is writing in the POV of a 17-year-old. “So [its] that hard balancing act of trying not to sound too much older for your years, and not trying to sound as if you have all of this knowledge that you have at a later time.”
Personal verdicts
What did Sunny and Allie ultimately think of Half His Age?
“One thing I think is a remarkable feat of the book, and I don’t know if people hate me for saying this… I love that she’s not a perfect victim. I love the fact that she actively pursues him,” says Allie.
She explains that the book flips the script in terms of common depictions of gendered assault.
“She genuinely does sexually assault him in this book,” says Allie. “And I think that’ll kind of get glossed over, because you know, women perpetrating sexual assault against men is something that is very much overlooked in the universe.
“And I think that it’s a really good choice to show her, more or less as the aggressor, as the one who’s trying to pin him down. Because at the end of the day, not every relationship, not every age gap grooming relationship, not every strategic relationship, is going to be this very cut and dry thing where it’s like, ‘Oh, she was just a student’,” Allie continues. She also emphasises that ultimately, it’s up to the person in power, which is the male teacher in this instance, “to say no and shut it down”.
For Sunny, Half His Age was anything but an easy read. “I would describe this book as revolting. It literally made me sick to my stomach,” she says.
“It’s well written but it is the opposite of an easy read. It literally was putrid and grotesque.”
Allie agrees, highlighting that while Jennette goes to great lengths to provide intricate details of the relations between Waldo and Mr Korgy, perhaps it was too graphic for her liking.
“It was uncomfortable to read. I felt so squeamish, like, I know it’s bad, but the period sex scene, and that’s not me shaming period sex, but the way in which she was describing whacking his thing, like ‘Slap your dick on me. I want it. I want your dick slapped on me’, and then the period blood is going everywhere,” she describes, as Sunny then lets listeners know that Waldo has to hide in the closet because Mr Korgy’s wife has come home.
“ It’s not the period blood that’s disgusting. It’s the situation,” says Allie.
So, would Sunny and Allie recommend reading Half His Age?
“Would I recommend it? Probably not, because it’s so uncomfortable” says Sunny.
“I would not recommend it,” Allie echoes.
“It’s definitely a page turner, and it’s well written. It’s hard. It’s like a car crash you can’t look away from,” Sunny adds, to which Allie responds, “I’m glad it exists”.
“Totally,” says Sunny. “She’s glad her mom died. I’m glad this exists.”