We all have those series we don’t really talk about, the ones that may not change the course of our lives but that we love all the same.

I’m talking about the YA that isn’t meant to be “literary” in any way, meaning the writing itself isn’t always the best. (Obviously, “best” is relative.) I’m talking about the YA that follows all the typical tropes, the kind that doesn’t make any top ten lists, doesn’t have characters that stay in your heart forever.

Yet through all of that—this is the YA that has to exist. It’s the type we can curl up with, the kind we don’t have to think too hard about, the kind that may not leave the most lasting impression on us in the end… but is still so inherently needed in our lives.

I have two notable examples of this in my own life.

A bunch of summers ago, I read the first few books in the A Shade of Vampire series. I remember nannying (best five summers of my life), sitting poolside, and I just couldn’t stop reading. It’s a vampire romance, written fairly poorly, but super addicting. I’m sure you know the kind. (Also, I have now confirmed there are over 70 more entries in the series… yeah, it’s one of those. Let’s just say I chose it way back then because it was like a buck on Kindle.)

Another was a series called No Safety in Numbers, similar to one of my favorites—Gone. But instead of a bunch of kids getting trapped in a city, a bunch of people get trapped in a mall. This series I actually read all of and really enjoyed, but I couldn’t tell you much of what happened. I have a few scenes here and there in my memory, but it never stuck.

And you know what? That’s okay. Here’s to the books that don’t change your life. The ones that don’t get to become movies, the ones that aren’t cult classics. Here’s to the ones we sit poolside scouring over, then a few days later, forget about. Here’s to the memories we make reading them, even if the worlds they put us into don’t stay with us forever.

I guess I’m writing this because I don’t want to forget that I cherish stories besides the ones I always rave about. How about you?