Centerpiece

At Blue Hill University, a prestigious HBCU perched on the outskirts of Boston, senior Clio Clarke is the queen of control. As the editor-in-chief of the campus magazine, graduating senior Clio is used to crafting the perfect narrative. As she prepares to wrap up this chapter in her life, she believes landing her dream job will be her happy ending.

Then in comes Atlas, a transfer student, earning a Master's in Architecture, while also mastering the ice as the center on the hockey team. Atlas is still figuring out what he wants and if he's even allowed to want it. While Clio edits life like it's a headline, Atlas feels as if he's skating through someone else's story.

Clio and Atlas find themselves put together throughout their fourth year at Blue Hill University, between hockey games and study abroad programs. As their friendship develops, Clio wonders how he fits into her story and Atlas begins to imagine a new one for himself.

The line between their carefully kept roles begins to blur, but letting go of control doesn't come easily for either of them. With mental health, prejudice, and legacy looming large, Contemporary is a contemporary, romantic comedy novel with mythological threads. It explores what it means to take control of your own narrative, even when the world wants to write it for you-and whether two people caught between expectation and fate can dare to imagine a different ending together.