Meet Jennette McCurdy—the former Nickelodeon firecracker turned memoirist—now morphing into fiction’s next big thing with the announcement of her debut novel, Half His Age. And yes, if that title makes you raise an eyebrow, that’s probably exactly the point.
Jennette—known for mining emotional chaos (and serious comedic gold) in I’m Glad My Mom Died—is back at it. This time, she’s inviting readers into the tumultuous life of Waldo, a 17-year-old Alaskan who’s embarked on an… eyebrow-raising relationship with her creative writing teacher. It’s the kind of premise that makes your eyebrows do a double take, then start doing cartwheels. Jennette describes Waldo as ravenous, horny, blunt, and heartbreakingly lonely—and admits that crafting this character across ten drafts had her as surprised by Waldo as anyone might be.
If I’m Glad My Mom Died cleared out emotional skeletons and reinvented Jennette’s career, then Half His Age is the demolition crew, tearing down secrets and rebuilding them in teenage desire, rage, and financial desperation. It’s bold, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s exactly the kind of fiction that refuses to let you off easy.
Set to hit shelves on January 20, 2026, this glossy reload lands alongside Jennette’s Apple TV+ memoir adaptation, with Jennifer Aniston in the cast and Jennette commanding the showrunner’s chair. If juggling autobiography and fiction simultaneously sounds like a creative circus, well… she’s the ringmaster.
So buckle up. With Half His Age, Jennette McCurdy isn’t just telling you a story; she’s dragging you into a blizzard of desire, bad decisions, and deep truths—all in perfect unsettling balance.
