Review ‘Detention Land: Lip Service’ by Susan Orion

This ain’t
no ordinary high school. Trapped in a room of clever lies, unlikely
confessions, and a whole lotta lip, the only way to escape is by uncovering the
truth. Four walls, two voices, one chance. Who is the woman behind the wall?
Solve the puzzle. Save the boy. This is Detention Land.

With access to Roger’s private journals, the reader is transported into the
detention room, watching as it unravels, brick by brick, piece by piece.
Inspired by true events, Detention Land is a contemporary classic that will
keep you guessing until the very last page.

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.

As an
educational psychologist, Susan uses her expertise to reveal the secret world
of teenage psychology through humour, pathos, and suspense in the YA Thriller
“Detention Land: Lip Service”.

Susan is a multiple
award-winning teacher and educational psychologist. She is currently
completing her PhD in Canada where she lives with her small family.

She hosts
an Instagram page (@inventing_genius) where she gives tips on mental wellness
and brain health.

For more
information you can also visit Susan on Twitter.

I
received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.