A Glass Darkly

Selected for inclusion in Our Choice 2006

Awarded by The Canadian Children's Book Centre

Nominated for the R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature

(Writers Guild of Alberta)

"With a fantastically stylized narrative and a diverse cast of characters, Albertan Gail Sidonie Sobat brings her gorgeous Ingamald trilogy to a close. Picking up after the cliffhanger ending in A Winter's Tale, witch Ingamald and six-fingered, mind-bending Yda have been transported to the world of Gyldden. They're in a search to find a solution to the frozen conflict of their home land. But, along the way, the witch and child find things in Gyldden are not as they should be – more specifically, there are no children in the world. Ingamald is forced to find a solution to Gyldden's problem while pondering her own issues back home. With Sobat's style further developed in a new world, she addresses moral and ethical dilemmas not seen before in young adult literature. The cast – a blend of circus performers, forest fairies and childless townfolk – is dynamic and unique, and their dialogue is A Glass Darkly's greatest strength." - The Calgary Herald

"The third book, like its predecessors, is written in that lyrical voice that Gail does so well…shades of Old English/Anglo-Saxon, and mythology, and romance all blended together….you really feel like you’re in that magical world she’s created, and that magical is more than real. Very, very well done." - Winnipeg Review

“The novel adheres to conventions of fantasy literature providing a quasi medieval setting for the richly developed fantasy world complete with laws of nature that allow magic and sorcery; a well-defined main character, appropriate secondary characters, and stereotypical stock characters; an invented language rife with dialect, complex vocabulary, and mystical words and phrases; and strong themes involving the conflict between good and evil. As in the previous entries in the series, A Glass Darkly features Ingamald, an appealing and dynamic heroine, who uses her considerable abilities and powers to benefit her fellow creatures. Strong and independent, she can certainly resort to brutal means when necessary, but she constantly struggles against abusing her skills. She strives to maintain a high standard in using her sorcery and subjugates her personal romantic aspirations in favour of pursuing her self-perceived responsibilities.” - CM Magazine