It takes the average reader 3 hours and 51 minutes to read Ellie's Elf by Richard Green
Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more
A note from Richard - This is both a heartbreaking and a heart-warming 'feel-good' story for Christmas about a young girl and the little elf who becomes her best friend. However it deals with bullying at school and domestic violence at home, and therefore is not written for younger readers. I've attempted something quite difficult here! A story about an elf that is written for everyone from advanced middle-grade readers upwards. And yes I mean everyone! I'm hoping this story has a genuine appeal to all age groups. Perhaps if you decide to read it you will write a review to let me know what you think? The story begins in the present day - Eleanor Parkin takes her two young children to a friend's party with a 'pixies-and-elves' theme. It's a hot summer's day, she decides to stick around but while watching the children at play in the garden she suddenly sees something that chills her to the bone. It's just an innocent boy; dressed in an elf costume - but it is identical in every way to the clothes worn by someone she once knew. Unable to look away, as she watches him at play awful memories come flooding back; memories of a time so horrific she thought she'd locked them away forever. Now a smart, confident woman in total control of her life, for Eleanor it hadn't always been that way. Once upon a time it was all very different... It's 1992, and eleven-year-old Ellie lives a life in hell. It is the week before Christmas and the snow is falling. But for Ellie that just adds to the nightmare. She hates the snow and she hates Christmas, because a year ago her parents were taken from her as they were driving home from present-shopping on snow-covered roads. Forced to live with her elderly grandparents, she has no friends and is bullied at school; then suffers the same violence at home from a grandfather who, unable to cope with the loss of his only daughter, takes his belt to his granddaughter at every opportunity. After a particularly bad day at school and at home, Ellie is close to the end of her rope and cries herself into a fitful sleep. But in the early hours she is woken by a tiny elf sitting on her bedside table who tells her he's come to help her change her life. Far too old to believe in such things; despite her disbelief she nevertheless finds herself grateful that someone actually cares. The next day, after a horrific attack as school closes for the holidays, Ellie finally reaches the end. She makes an epic decision to run away, believing she will be better off living rough with her destiny in her own hands. But as her journey to a new life begins late that evening, fate takes a hand - in more ways than one - and Ellie slowly begins to discover there are people who care about her after all. What she doesn't know is that one person who really cares is caught up in a frantic race against time to find her before she boards the last train for London and disappears forever.
Ellie's Elf by Richard Green is 226 pages long, and a total of 57,856 words.
This makes it 76% the length of the average book. It also has 71% more words than the average book.
The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 5 hours and 16 minutes to read Ellie's Elf aloud.
Ellie's Elf is suitable for students ages 12 and up.
Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.
When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.
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