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Title: The Doomspell Trilogy (Books: The Doomspell, The Scent of Magic, The Wizard's Promise)

Author: Cliff McNish

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Age Grade: Middle Grade

Release Date: 2000-2002

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Doomspell-Trilogy-Cliff-McNish/dp/1842551027

The Doomspell Trilogy is one of my favourite series for a few major reasons: it's gen and doesn't even passingly concern itself with romance, it's violent and dark without being gratuitous, and it's chock-full of amazing, diverse female characters, from the brash but insecure Rachel to trauma survivor Heiki to the manipulative, immature Calen. 

These books are unfortunately some of the most obscure ones I've read. I got them as a kid, and haven't ever gotten rid of them, but it feels like nobody else has ever even heard of them! The premise is as follows: Rachel and Eric have been having strange dreams, when one day, a door opens in their basement and rips them away to a new world. In this other world of Ithrea, all children have magic, and Rachel is the most powerful of them all. In the next two books, Rachel encounters the wider world of witches, and defends the Earth from danger.