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I'm looking for the name of a fantasy series that I read around a decade ago. I know it left a strong impression on me because I remember thinking it was a great read at the time, but I've lost most of the plot details and can't remember the title. What I do remember is that:

  • The book was written for children or teenagers
  • There were three protagonists around the age of the audience: two boys and one girl
  • The series involved the children repeatedly visiting a fantasy world through some portal they had access to in our world; they kept this a secret whenever they returned home at the end of an adventure
  • Each of the kids was changed during some of their adventures, and the changes manifested in the real world. One of the boys learned magic, one of them was bitten by and became a werewolf, and something else happened to the girl (I don't remember perfectly but I think she may have become a ghost?)
  • I specifically remember the main protagonist showing off his magic to the other characters in the real world by turning a glass of water upside-down and instantly freezing it so nothing poured out
  • They worked to help a recurring character in the fantasy world, a princess around their age. I remember an association between her and the color white, and I think one of the protagonists had a crush on her

Those are all the details I can remember for now, but if I think of anything else I'll be sure to add it. This was years ago (~7-10, though it might have been written earlier than when I read it) so I don't expect all of the details to be exactly correct.

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  • Of course people are going to think of Narnia first.
    – Spencer
    Commented Jan 17, 2020 at 16:12
  • @Spencer I'm certain it wasn't Narnia; the series followed the same three characters throughout and they never aged or did any time skips (at least in any of the books I remember) Commented Jan 17, 2020 at 17:03
  • "May have become a ghost" is certainly a euphemistic way of saying "died."
    – Lexible
    Commented Jan 17, 2020 at 20:45
  • See if it is one of these: goodreads.com/topic/show/… Sounds like "Every Heart a Doorway" book
    – jo1storm
    Commented Jan 18, 2020 at 9:19

1 Answer 1

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Is this The Secrets of Droon? According to Wikipedia,

Eric Hinkle, Neal Kroger, and Julie Rubin are three friends who accidentally discover a magical world called Droon; a rainbow staircase that appears when Eric's basement closet is dark is usually how they get to Droon.

It goes on to say that

The characters develop as well, with Eric's wizard powers (gained in Book 12, ‘‘Under the Serpent Sea’’) progressing, and Julie obtaining the powers of a wingwolf (gained in the book "The Dream Thief") - namely, to fly and shape-shift and later on her third power is revealed.

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  • Good catch! How did you find that one?
    – FuzzyBoots
    Commented Jan 18, 2020 at 14:51
  • Gosh, I remember reading these as a youngling, and I came to suggest them! Great introductory fantasy for smaller persons. Commented Jan 18, 2020 at 18:12
  • That's it! Thanks for the find. I guess the werewolf and ghost details were a little off (wingwolf and genie) but you've found it. I can't believe there were 44 books, there's no way I read even half of that. Commented Jan 18, 2020 at 20:06

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