Bazaar Book Chat: "Half His Age" Is Like a Modern "Lolita," Blurring Lines Between Trauma and Desire
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Rosa SanchezTue, March 17, 2026 at 5:46 PM UTC
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Bazaar Book Chat: "Half His Age" by Jennette McCurdyCourtesy of the Publishers
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Looking for your next read? Welcome to Bazaar Book Chat, an inside look at our editors’ Slack channel, where we candidly review the latest literary releases.
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Half His Age: A Novel
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$17.99
Rosa Sanchez (senior news editor)Hi, @here, welcome to another month of Bazaar Book Chat! This February, we read Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy. The author’s debut novel explores the complexities of desire and power in relationships through the point of view of our narrator, Waldo, a high-school student in Anchorage, Alaska, who gets into a relationship with her 40-year old creative writing teacher, Mr. Korgi.
First thoughts?
Sophie Wang (weekend editor)I read this entire book in one sitting... could not put it down.❤️3
Sarah Olivieri (senior designer)This made me want to read her memoir, she’s such a strong writer. I really felt every emotion, ESPECIALLY when her feelings for Korgy started to change. She was so good at describing to a disgusting detail. And when she liked Korgy it didn’t bother me, but as soon as she started to pull away, I immediately was equally icked out.❤️3
Rosa SanchezSame. I ate this up. I honestly love dark humor, and the way this was written—just so raw and straight-forward, with Waldo revealing all her messy bits—was so appealing. Also, even though I think I instantly saw where this story was going, it still felt suspenseful and funny and shocking and worth the read.‼️2
Sarah OlivieriDefinitely so suspenseful. I felt that they were borderline careless—minus the few times they drove out of town or she ducked at stoplights, they were so open about hanging out I thought!💯1
Joel Calfee (assistant editor)I loved her memoir years ago and while I feel like her first novel is very different, one thing that’s clear from both is she really is such an engaging writer! I think she also does employ shock value in a smart way—like it is there to shock but also to get into deeper emotional truths.❤️2
Rosa SanchezIt absolutely grossed me out for her, when things changed, @Olivieri, Sarah.
Sophie Wang@Olivieri, Sarah I so agree about the switch in her tone. The way that she reflected her change in feelings through descriptions of his actions, rather than outright telling us, was sooo good.‼️3
Rosa SanchezSo, for our readers, it should be pointed out that Waldo technically initiates the affair, knowing her teacher is married and much older. He tries to stop it for a bit, but then dives head first, and becomes obsessed with her, and quite needy, which changes her perspective of him.
He eventually (spoiler) leaves his wife and child for her, which was what they both always wanted, but somehow, reaching that dream backfires, and they notice it was better in their heads. Or at least she does.
What did you guys think about this reverse-Lolita storyline and how the power shifts between Waldo and Korgy as the book goes on?
Olivia Alchek (senior designer)Sorry I’m late, but her memoir was FANTASTIC.❤️2
Sarah OlivieriIt’s very much a be careful what you ask for. She wanted the mundane and all the details that only his wife got, and as soon as she got it, it was a turnoff.🔥3
Sophie WangIt actually drives me crazy when these sorts of storylines pretend like the young girl is the one with the power, and I really liked how clear McCurdy was about how that was how Waldo viewed things, but it wasn’t the reality of the situation.💗1 ‼️1Or at least that’s how I interpreted it.
Sarah OlivieriI think it’s interesting too that she never refers to him as Theodore, only by Korgy or Mr. Korgy, which says a lot about that power dynamic.‼️1
Olivia AlchekI think the tone of this book was really well done, clearly from the mind of a 17-year-old, rather than someone with an older, wiser perspective looking back at these events with a different lens. It wasn’t glorifying the relationship or such an intense power dynamic, but it really put you into her perspective of why she was so convinced this relationship was something she really wanted, as if it weren’t damaging to her.❤️1 ‼️2
Rosa SanchezAbsolutely, Sarah. Her referring to him as Mr. Korgy was so messed up. And the way he spoke to Waldo during sex also really grossed me out. The fact that he would force her to hook up in his car, with her knees getting all scraped with broken cheerio pieces! McCurdy really knows how to set a gross, traumatizing scene.‼️2Totally, Olivia, and I feel like in a short time we see her really mature, and the tone changes.❤️1And then suddenly we see him as nasty.
Sarah OlivieriToward the end, when she said he smelled like cheese when she was going down on him, I became physically nauseous.😂3
Olivia AlchekIt was often heartbreaking for me to read from the perspective of someone who truly hates herself and doesn’t think she deserves much.😭2
Sophie WangI would have loved more information on his wife, though it definitely wouldn't have really fit in the story.❤️1 ‼️1
Olivia AlchekYes! So many gross or cringey moments that make you feel uncomfortable in the most effective way. Her writing is just so strong.‼️3
Rosa SanchezSophie, the wife is the only person I felt empathy for.💗1Also I feel like reading this, you are very consumed with the affair, and how obsessed Waldo is with her teacher. But the themes of addiction show up in other ways, too. She works at Victoria’s Secret and is addicted to shopping for cheap Shein clothes online. And her mother is a sex and love addict. Do you think Waldo’s behavior in relationships (with Mr. Korgi but also with her super nice and normal classmate) is influenced by all this need to consume or fill a void?‼️2 💗1
Olivia AlchekYes, I think you totally nailed it. Consumption as a form of escape.💔1
Sophie WangAbsolutely. Although I did think the mom’s “discovery” of her own addiction was a bit cringey.💯3
Sarah OlivieriI had faith in her, naïvely.👆1 😭1 🫠1
Rosa SanchezIDK why, but reading about f***ed up moms really gets me.💯1
Joel CalfeeSorry, y’all move so quick sajhdshfhj. But I also thought it was interesting that McCurdy chose to not make Mr. Korgy an Ezra Fitz-type hunk. Waldo’s literally always referring to his pit stains and messiness (and that one damn purple cardigan) so it’s not like she can’t resist his charm. And I felt like I saw parallels in the fact that her mom is always going after these duds too. It’s like she’s repeating the patterns of going after loser men because she thinks she doesn’t deserve better.‼️3
Sophie WangWow Joel, I’m gonna cry.
Rosa Sanchez😭😭😭 so true, JC.
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Olivia AlchekTotally, Joel!!!! Ezra Fitz-type hunk, I’m screaming.
Rosa SanchezHim setting up his crappy bachelor pad with a loft bed and sticky putty on the walls for his posters just sent me over the edge!! It’s so typical, too. The only one I felt sorry for was the wife, who paid for his entire education and supported him even though he was a loser.‼️3
Sarah OlivieriShow me a hot man who repeatedly wears a purple cardigan.😂2
Rosa SanchezHarry Styles, prob.💗2 💀1
Sarah OlivieriFair.
Olivia AlchekIt feels more realistic to me, because in these types of scenarios, the guys are always losers!! But with rose-colored glasses, and when you feel so incredibly low about yourself, you can convince yourself that the loser standing in front of you is actually a prize.‼️2
Rosa SanchezWe’ve also talked a lot about yearning recently, with Bridgerton and Wuthering Heights and Heated Rivalry. And there was a lot of yearning in this book, but to me it felt inauthentic and gross??‼️2Like you said, Olivia, stemming from trauma and self-hate, etc.❤️1
Olivia AlchekI’m a sucker for yearning, and never, not for one second, did I consider this book to contain yearning, LOL. But that’s a fair take—like in a brainwashed, un-romanticized sense.😂1
Sophie WangI also think the way that she viewed sex as power was really heartbreaking and realistic. To me, it felt like the yearning wasn’t so much about him and more about feeling like she could give him something nobody else could—so like a yearn for power? Control? Something in that realm.💗4
Rosa SanchezYes, all very un-romantic. Can’t think of a single purely romantic scene.‼️2And ew yes, the way she said that if she just (sorry) deep-thr***ed more, he’d love her.😭1I was like this girl needs a HUG. And some HELP.😭2 ❤️1
Olivia AlchekLiterally.
Sophie WangNot to get specific with the gross sex stuff, but that first time that she essentially dry-humps him in the office and leaves feeling GOOD about that interaction broke my heart.😭2
Rosa SanchezAnd when she breaks into their house and does all that on the bed? That took me out.‼️2
Sarah OlivieriMy heart was racing!!!
Rosa SanchezFor the book, McCurdy apparently drew inspiration from a creepy relationship she had at 18 with a much older man on the set of iCarly. It did sound very believable, TBH.
Sarah OlivieriWow, I didn’t know that, but the writing was so authentic that I agree, very believable.
Sophie WangThe other thing that broke me was knowing how this was going to mess her up in the long run, which I think McCurdy foreshadows so well with the relationship with the guy who ends up dumping her after the dance. I wonder if having experienced something similar and being able to look back at how that impacted her relationships afterwards made that so effective.💗4
Rosa SanchezTotally. That guy was such a good addition, because I feel like people with such deep trauma often see the light but run away from it.
Olivia AlchekYeah, that’s what I was thinking when reading it! Like, if her memoir was her reflecting back on all of the pain she went through and re-contextualizing/understanding past trauma, post a lot of therapy, this book was focused on what she was experiencing at that time when she was young, and all the trauma that she went through and hadn’t yet processed.❤️2
Sophie WangAlso am I the only one who liked this better than her memoir?
Rosa SanchezI was gonna say! Re: the ending. I didn’t read I’m Glad My Mom Died, but I know it’s very centered on trauma and pent-up rage. Do you think Waldo’s life is led by trauma? And if so, does she eventually overcome it? What did you guys make of the ending?
Sarah OlivieriI found the ending very freeing and hopeful—the realization that she doesn’t need others to make her happy.❤️2 ‼️2
Sophie WangI really loved the ending. I think it really captured how she was at the start of her life, which felt hopeful.👆1
Olivia AlchekI unfortunately think that McCurdy has experienced more trauma than most people do in multiple lifetimes, and much worse than Waldo.💯1
Joel CalfeeIt’s interesting that the book begins with her having sex in a car and she talks about “bad form” when a guy’s going down on you (i.e. she’s focused on his pleasure/how to make men happy), but then the book ends with her feeling happy and focusing on what she needs and she’s sticking her arm out the window of a car feeling like she’s in a music video.🔥1 💗3
Rosa SanchezI liked the ending in terms of how she left Korgi and ghosted him (she is a teen, after all), but it made me so sad how it ended with her mom, just her accepting that her mom is basically a lost cause.
Aww very cinematic take, Joel.
Olivia AlchekYeah, I think the ending kind of signified to me that maybe everything would turn out okay for her (with lots of therapy, hopefully).
Sophie WangI don’t think it would have felt believable if her mom actually changed... but the fact that she’s breaking that cycle made me cry.💗3 😭1
Rosa SanchezBig fan of this one. Thanks, guys ❤️.❤️3
Sophie WangLoved this book so much.❤️1
Joel CalfeeI thought this was so good! I couldn’t put it down.❤️1
Our Bazaar Book Chat pick for March is Laws of Love and Logic by Debra Curtis. Pick up your copy of the book here, and read along with us.
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