Official Review: Wales High School by J. Peters

[Azeline Arcenal]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Wales High School" by J. Peters.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Wales High School, by Jacques Peter, is a memoir that centers around the author’s mental health crisis during the last two years of high school. Written from the first-person point of view, this book offers an inside view into the mind of a teen as he tries to navigate through his mental health disorder.

Growing up in the suburbs in one of the wealthiest counties in the state, one would think that life would be sweet. However, this was not the case for Jacques Peter. His first two years in high school were met with success, winning trophies for debating, and failure, not getting into honors chemistry. It all changed during his junior year when his need for friendship turned into an obsession. This obsession led him on a dark path towards drugs and alcohol that ultimately landed him in a psychiatric hospital. As Jacques is on the path to recovery, all seems well until one fateful night with a bottle of pills.

What I liked about the book is that it delves deep into topics that are not openly discussed. Topics like depression, suicide, and mental health are a few subjects that the book discusses. A good part of the book talks about his experience while being in a psychiatric hospital. It even mentions his personal psychiatric records from the time that he was at the hospital. He also mentions that having access to get care for his mental health condition as well as having supportive parents helped him to get the treatment that he needed.

Not only was the book a short read, less than 100 pages with brief chapters, but the writing was also simple and clear. The author is very candid about his feelings, and it is clearly shown in his writing. Moreover, there was nothing that I disliked about the book. The forward is written by his father and offers a glimpse into his father’s perspective during his troubled times as a teen. I found this to be insightful and I went back and reread it after finishing the book. The author has also published another book that follows him on his journey through university so this book is like a prelude to that book.

Overall I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I gave it 4 stars because the writing was easy to follow and the author was very open about his thoughts during his mental health crisis. I only noticed one grammatical error and other than that this book was refreshingly clear of errors. I would recommend this book to teens who are struggling with their mental health.

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Wales High School
View: on Bookshelves

[JKO]

I'd love to read this memoir on the author mental health issues in the last few years of high school. The 4 out of 4 rating, tells a lot about how well it was written. Great review!

[hasincla]

Sounds like this might be a tough book to read, but I like that that author ends up in a good place. I don't know a lot about mental health, so I think I'd learn something from this book. I appreciate the author's honesty and your review!

[spencermack]

Sounds like an absolute winner! These topics need to be discussed! Great review!

[Zenia_Sanchez023]

Creating a memoir about your life is certainly difficult, and I salute the author for sharing his story to the world. The book also discusses important topics that, as you have said, are not openly discussed. I hope teens who are struggling with their mental health can give this a read. Thanks for your review.

[Nujudee]

Health reads, especially partaining to mental health isn't really my plug.
But with this impressive review, I'm giving it a different shot.
Thanks alot for your great review.

[Adanna Inya]

Mental health and its associated complications isn't something the world has discussed extensively. I love that Jacques captures is in a book from personal experience. I'll read! Thank you for this review.

[Harty]

I like the topics discussed touching on mental health especially depression and suicide. I commend the author for writing this important memoir. Thanks for the insightful review.

[Kachi_Ejiogu+_]

Its quite commendable that the author found time to share his personal story and experience with the reader. Its not easy to come by. Thank you for this review, it captured everything that needs to be known.

[MsH2k]

I applaud this young author for his courage and transparency. I am thrilled that he has written another book about his university days. It says a lot about his relationship with his family for his father to have written the foreword. Congrats to the author, and thank you for a great review!

[Froelich07]

Your review was almost like I was reading the actual book and I love it already.
Thank you for the great review.