Reviews
on The Girl from the Red Rose Motel
So many hot button contemporary issues permeate this story—abortion rights, addiction, bullying, foster parenting, LGBTQ concerns, and more—and Zurenda handles them all nimbly and with grace. The life-altering decision Hazel makes near the novel’s conclusion packs a punch, and she, Sterling, and Angela will stay indelibly with the reader long after the last page is turned in this splendid book.
Peter Schmitt
These nice people are vulnerable to catastrophe and in fact things get worse, fast. Imagine all the things that could go wrong—death, injury, public disgrace, heartbreak, depression, confusion, loneliness—all this and more shall come to pass, and yet there is, in moderation, a happy ending.
Don Noble
“The Girl from the Red Rose Motel” adds an inviting new volume to the contemporary coming-of-age literature of the American South and of the Palmetto State specifically. Zurenda has crafted an empowering narrative of against-the-odds perseverance and self-discovery in young adult lives, and a welcome defense of the challenging but nonetheless rewarding and absolutely essential work of educators and mentors.
Jonathan Haupt
Deftly crafted with an impressive eloquence, "The Girl from the Red Rose Motel" showcases author Susan Beckham Zurenda's genuine flair for the kind of narrative driven storytelling that makes for effective literary fiction. A novel that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf.
The Midwest Book Review
Zurenda populates this modern-day spin on a Romeo-and-Juliet pairing with superb characters: Hazel is resilient and selfless, while the privileged Sterling earns sympathy for his status as a former victim of bullying. The supporting cast is indelible.... The author’s effortless prose breathes life into every scene, even sequences as prosaic as Angela throwing together a spaghetti dinner and internally debating which wine to pair with it. . . . [and] the ending packs a sensational dramatic punch.
Kirkus Reviews
Go ahead and block off a weekend for this one because you will not want to put it down. It’s fiction, yes, but the people are made real in the hands of Zurenda. The story is moving and layered. . . .This lovely story is a treasure.
Chris Worthy
Zurenda, who was herself a high school and college English teacher for more than thirty years, knows her territory, and has created some very sympathetic and utterly believable characters and a story that kept me turning pages way past my regular bedtime. I couldn't WAIT to find out what would happen next. It's that good, really. And it's a story which touches on so many important issues too - class, racism, poverty, homelessness, abortion and more. And a couple of very affecting love stories in the mix too. I was quickly caught up.
Tim Bazzett
Book Reviewer
Susan Beckham Zurenda was a high school and college-level English teacher for many years, imbuing this story with from-the-heart authenticity. Readers will be immersed from start to finish. This book is recommended for all who enjoy contemporary stories about young people, unexpected relationships and the courage to face difficulty and do the right thing.
Glenda Harris
The Bluffton Sun/Hilton Head Sun
When driving through a small town or down a lonely road in South Carolina, you might find dilapidated motels and enormous mansions. The imagination can run wild thinking about the possible tales that emanate from these spaces. Author Susan Beckham Zurenda explores what those places might hold in her latest novel, The Girl from the Red Rose Motel.
Kevin Young
Angela Wilmore is a caring, firm and dedicated teacher committed to broadening her students' minds and hearts with the stories they read along with teaching the AP curriculum she's required to cover. In many ways, this book reads ike a love letter to teachers at a time when the profession is bombarded with a lack of support from administration, increasingly unrealistic expectations, and pressure of high stakes testing, harassment from parents and low pay, among other challenges.
Amber Wheeler Bacon
There is an interesting dynamic at play in these pages because Zurenda’s storytelling is well-paced with a number of side stories that propel the book forward, but she also creates friction in not allowing Zell an easy path to the future we all want for her.
Drew Gallagher
This is a beautiful story, written with great understanding for the characters, who are very real. . .. Best of all, love plays a big and unexpected role on many fronts here, despite social differences that will not be denied.
Barbara Lingens
Selected Interviews
Your Carolina (Feb 2024)
Dante's Old South Radio Show (Dec 2023)
Friends & Fiction Official Book Club (Dec 2023)
Susie McMahon (Dec 2023)
Author2Author - Blog Talk Radio (Dec 2023)
Don Noble - Alabama Public Radio (Nov 2023)
The 10 Minute Book Talk (Oct 2023)
Jennie - WJBF-TV (Sept 2023)
Friends and Fiction (Sept 2023)
Now, Appalachia (Sept 2023)
Charlotte Readers Podcast (Sept 2023)
North of the Broad - WHHITV (Aug 2023)
Reviews
Bells for Eli delivers a haunting coming-of-age narrative, a destroyed Southern childhood, forbidden love, and a tragic twist. Think of a Tennessee Williams story that takes place in the ’60s and ’70s.
Jeannie Ralston
NextTribe
“Bells for Eli” is an impressive debut novel. One might think the story of life in a small Southern town had been sufficiently covered, but Zurenda is a compelling storyteller and has in fact given it a surprising new twist.
Don Noble
Tuscaloosa News
"Zurenda’s book calls up memories of the unmoored adolescents of Carson McCullers in The Heart is a Lonely Hunterand and The Member of the Wedding and the youngsters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird."
Dr. Steven Whitton
The Anniston Star
on Bells for Eli
"[Bells for Eli] is deeply moving, troubling, and gloriously poetic. It brings to life small town South Carolina during the 1960s and 70s in a gorgeous and profound tale of the heart’s competing destinies. . . Zurenda knows her characters well and shares her understanding with harrowing honesty. . . . A terrific multi-generational tale."
Philip K. Jason
Southern Literary Review
“Zurenda is a brilliant writer and to make it even better a brilliant southern writer. . . . For me reading this story was like going home. I knew this town, knew these people, knew this world. Zurenda spoke to me in a way few authors have in the past. . . . .Mark down her name – Susan Beckham Zurenda. You are going to hear a lot more from her and about her.”
Jackie K. Cooper
Book Reviews by Jackie K. Cooper
“The novel’s sensitive but grounded voice seamlessly integrates Gothic elements, the cousins’ emotional arcs, and the shifting cultural landscape. Insightful and assured, Zurenda’s haunting coming-of-age story should appeal to fans of nuanced and atmospheric Southern fiction.”
Publisher's Weekly
Publisher's Weekly
“This is a complicated love story in which, despite everything, the readers root for Eli and Delia.”
Lacey Lyons
Southern Review of Books
In “Bells For Eli,” [Zurenda] delivers a poignant, unforgettable coming-of-age story and what should be a serious contender for best debut novel.
Glenda Harris
Bluffton Sun
Zurenda’s emphasis on the power of words — to both hurt and heal — is poignantly portrayed in Bells for Eli.
Tina Chambers
Chapter 16 (Humanities Tennessee)
Selected Interviews
​The Writing Wall Podcast (Aug 2021)
Charlotte Readers Podcast (Feb 2021)
​Friends and Fiction (Jan 2021)
South Carolina State Library (Nov 2020)
By The River - PBS (Oct 2020)
Authors on the Air Radio (Jun 2020)
Reader Meet Writer - SIBA (Jun 2020)
Your Carolina (Apr 2020)