Simon McDonald

  • Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy (2026)

    This is the story of high school student Waldo, who pursues an affair with her married 40-year-old creative writing teacher Mr. Korgy. It’s a reckless, seemingly senseless undertaking, but as the contours of her upbringing take shape, her bad choices and infatuations feel less inexplicable: they’re rooted in personal trauma; a pretty fucked-up upbringing. Waldo’s…

    Simon McDonald

  • Land by Maggie O’Farrell (2026)

    My first tentpole book of the year—and it’s a knockout. Rich, sweeping historical fiction that hits every mark. Land opens in Ireland in 1865, then sweeps forward between the alternating perspectives of a splintered family, capturing their hardships and heartbreaks over the course of their lives. A masterwork of design and scope; a real triumph…

    Simon McDonald