Help Identifying This Computer Fiction Book Series [Solved, "Young Wizards"]

[Nz17]

Looks like I need your help, everyone. I'm trying to remember the author and the name of a book or series I read as a kid. I can remember a few things about it, but I'll need your help with the rest.

The book was actually, from what I remember, a series of children's books, each one different from the last. Meaning something like the main character and focus would change, but it was about a small group of kids that all lived in the same area. From what I remember, the three main characters were a boy, his girl neighbor, and the girl's little sister. Each of three books changed the main character to one of them.

Now the books would be what you would call science fiction today, though that's not how I thought of them at the time. The books were really about computers and unknown science and the possibilities opened up by technology. From what I remember, the computers in the book were something like the Apple I, the Apple II, IIe, III, C64, or something like that. I think at the very least the younger sister's computer had a personality, and it chatted with her through text and a command parser.

I think this is in the third book, but the little girl is able to program the computer to teleport her to the Moon. She zips up there and looks down at the Earth and thinks how blue and small it looks like from up there. After she figures out how to get back down to Earth, she later visits the Moon whenever she needs some quiet and isolation to think.

Now this could be the same series, maybe not, but there is another section of the book/series where there are invisible threads that string throughout reality. I remember this section being in a forest or among a large group of trees. The main character is told that these are the threads that hold together reality, and that they are normally invisible to people. But she can sense them, and she is able to program the computer so that she is able to pluck the strings of reality and therefore alter the world and reality around her.

The only other thing I can remember is that I read the book in elementary school, or middle school at the latest. This would have been about 1991 - 1995, so the book would have to have been published by then.

Any suggestions on the title, series, or author?

[Ryaan1234]

Was it the Micro Adventure series? It sounds similar to what you're describing but I'm not sure. The standout thing about this series was that all the books contained programs you'd type into your own computer, which I think is a neat concept. I have one book from the series on my shelf with all my other video game-related books but I never bothered to read it.

If it's not what you're looking for then hopefully it might lead you to finding what you're looking for.

[Jorpho]

Other possibilities might be Arcade Explorers or The Byte Brothers, which also featured type-in programs.

But that description sounds an awful lot like Diane Duane's High Wizardry, the third of what was initially a series of three books. It is the only one that really deals with computers to any substantial degree, however.

[Nz17]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I appreciate the help. Turns out the one who got it right was Jorpho; more specifically, thanks to his helpful knowledge, I have found out that the exact book I read was "Support Your Local Wizard" by Diane Duane. That book is actually a collection of the first three books in the series: "So You Want to be a Wizard," "Deep Wizardry," and "High Wizardry." Apparently she's written quite a few since then, as the series is up to nine books and several spin-offs and short stories. So the good news is not only do I get to re-read some classic books from my past, but brand new adventures too!

[Jorpho]

Yay, I was right! They kind of went downhill after High Wizardry, in my opinion - but from such lofty heights there is only one way to go.

I keep meaning to read The Big Meow, which Diane Duane has so far only published online (for free).