Detention Land

This was one of the most unique and original novels I have ever come across. The premise, plot, writing style and the characters were all so original and fresh, not to mention funny, that I found myself turning the pages very quickly. I found this a very entertaining book to read and the whole concept of the book really gelled with me. I definitely wanted to find out where the story was heading next. The main character of Roger was intriguing. He definitely feels like a thirteen year old boy, even if he is not a typical one. If he is going to be stuck in detention forever, then we certainly enjoy hearing his point of view and watching the story unfold in front of us. The writing style is excellent and I found myself all too easily engrossed within the story. The author has a real flair for storytelling, that is for sure.

"Detention Land" by Susan Orion can only be described as an unusual read.The story had potential but it lacked appeal for me, sorry to say. You may enjoy it as I think that we all like different stories for different reasons.Roger is a 15 year old boy, who appears to be constantly in trouble, which causes him to be placed in endless detentions, where he is in dialogue with an anonymous person via a speaker system.The story alternates between when he is in detention and him writing in his journal. The impression I received form this story was that Roger was a very troubled youth, both emotionally and psychologically. I think that it showed that he used his imagination to cope with the reality of his troubled life.It sounded like his parents were possibly neglectful and abusive but this was seemingly downplayed by the anonymous speaker so I was left wondering about this. Was Roger being bullied?I’m hoping that some of the confusion I felt in reading this book will be clarified in the next book in this series.I received a copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review..

A view weeks ago I was approached to read ‘Detention Land: Lip Service’ by Susan Orion. I hadn’t heard about this book before, but it was said to be a YA Thriller and I was fascinated. The reviews I read about this book were all very different, so I definitely needed to read this one for myself.‘Detention Land: Lip Service’ is definitely a different read. It’s honestly unlike any other book I’ve read. In ‘Detention Land: Lip Service’ we read about Roger. Roger is a teen who is in detention a lot. And detention for him is sitting in a chair in a closet size room with an intercom who talks to him. Roger things of himself as kind of a genius, and he believes to be unjustly treated. Roger tells us all about his ‘strange’ life and his schools.Well.. Where to start. This book was very unusual.. and I still don’t really know what to think of it. One thing the author was very good in, was the way she made me want to keep on reading because I just really wanted to know what was going on. Even when at moments I thought this book was a little bit too slow. Roger was talking a lot about why he thought why he was unjustly treated, when it was obvious that he deserved to be in detention. I mean, he did some strange stuff. And I just didn’t really get it, until the end of the book obviously.I don’t really think about this book as a YA Thriller, but I honestly wouldn’t know what genre to fit it in otherwise. And the book definitely had a huge surprise in the end. And it ended rather abruptly I think. But it did fit the book.When I finished reading this book yesterday I wanted to give this book 2 stars, because I just didn’t really like it and felt like it was a definitely to slow at times. Now that I’ve thought about it a little more, I’ll go for 3 stars. This book is unusual, keeps you guessing and keeps you want to keep on reading till you know what’s going on. But it’s not really the book for me.

I've tried. I promise.I've tried three times to read this book. I swear that each time I had good intentions to finish it. I'm sorry that I didn't because I understand it is a massive undertaking and emotional commitment for any writer. I admire all writers.With this novel, I didn't care about the characters and I didn't like the writing style or tone. This combination meant I found it a battle rather than a pleasure. It's quite possible that these were deliberate actions on the part of the writer but they didn't work for me.I believe there are people out there who will enjoy this book but I am the wrong reader for it.(Originally reviewed for NetGalley.com)

This book holds a mirror up to teenage life in America in all its glory and what we see is not very edifying. The hero is Roger, who has a very unhappy home life and questions everything around him especially these put in authority over him. He spends most of the book in the detention closet, arguing his case to a voice behind the wall, who keeps asking him probing questions. She reminded me of Mrs Thatcher – I could just picture her wearing one of her trademark blouses with a pussycat bow. Roger is very anti-establishment and this may well appeal to teenage readers.