“The Girl From the Red Rose Motel” is different from her debut, Zurenda said. It follows the story of Hazel Smalls, a homeless high school junior, and Sterling Lovell, an affluent high school senior, in 2012 South Carolina. The story outlines the lessons the two, and their teacher, learn as their relationship grows.
“More than anything, I want people to find meaning in the book, to find something to take away from it,” Zurenda said.
Zurenda’s author talk at the Doctors Bruce and Lee Foundation Library in Florence — 509 S Dargan St. — will be at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2. She’ll talk about the novel, topics mentioned in her new novel and public school teaching. The event is free and open to the public.