MEDWAY — Surveying a collection of new books arranged in an inviting display atop a table inside the Medway Public Library, Angelica Crosby’s eyes alight on a particular paperback standing upright on its splayed out pages.
It’s a romance novel wrapped in the sort of cover art that is typical of the genre: A fiercely handsome man and a stunningly beautiful woman superimposed on a wildly dramatic backdrop under a moody sky.
Angelica smiles, a spark of delight lighting her face as she points out author Beverly Jenkins’ latest title, “Wild Rain.”
It’s not because of the subject that she is so pleased. It’s the atypical artwork: The lovers on the cover are Black.
When she was younger, Angelica says, she simply didn’t see books like this. Ever. Any books by and about people of color tended to focus entirely on struggle and heavy societal issues — important and necessary topics, yes, but…
