pameladean's Secret Country books have cousins named Ruth, Ellen, and Laura (also Patrick and Ted). I can't remember the sibling relationships at the moment, though.
They were introduced to me, more than ten years ago now, as the best (or possibly only good) example of "kids go into other world, find out that their games are real" story.
For most of the trilogy, I was in a state of serious confusion, because they're from the POV of the kids and there's a lot going on that the kids aren't able to know yet. I got through because I cared about the characters and was fascinated by the problems, but they may not be suitable for everyone because of that.
And by sheer odd coincidence, I went over to check out the latest posts on the Diana Wynne Jones mailing list archives, and they were mentioning these books (as part of a thread about characters losing their memories at the ends of fantasy stories, or finding out it was all a dream, and so on).
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>> Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade <<
But of course they are named that ... someday there will be ultra-cool sisters named Fran, Ruth, and Ellen.
> wistful sigh <
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> hugs you on behalf of her former co-worker, herself, and her sister-in-law ... and all other women with "sensible" names <
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Hee! I'll have to check them out!
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For most of the trilogy, I was in a state of serious confusion, because they're from the POV of the kids and there's a lot going on that the kids aren't able to know yet. I got through because I cared about the characters and was fascinated by the problems, but they may not be suitable for everyone because of that.
Also, there is meta.
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Mmmm ... meta is tasty.
And by sheer odd coincidence, I went over to check out the latest posts on the Diana Wynne Jones mailing list archives, and they were mentioning these books (as part of a thread about characters losing their memories at the ends of fantasy stories, or finding out it was all a dream, and so on).
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Hmm. Well.
I . . . would not take that as a complete statement of the situation, if it's likely to be a barrier to you reading.