How long does it take to read Alphabet of Thorn?
Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip takes about 5 hours 40 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 5 hours 40 minutes
A weekend read
First published 2004. 309 pages, about 84,975 words. Written for young adults.
12 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 9 hours 27 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 5 hours 40 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 32 minutes |
The page count is the median across 4 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Deep inside a palace on the edge of the world, the orphan Nepenthe pores over books in the royal library, translating their languages and learning their secrets. Now sixteen, she knows little of the outside world — except for the documents that traders and travelers bring her to interpret. Then, during the coronation of the new Queen of Raine, a young mage gives Nepenthe a book that has defied translation. Written in a language of thorns, it speaks to Nepenthe's soul — and becomes her secret obsession. And, as the words escape the brambles and reveal themselves, Nepenthe finds her destiny entwined with that of the young queen's. Sooner than she thinks, she will have to choose between the life she has led and the life she was born to lead..
Subjects: Fiction, Orphans, Teenage girls, Translators, Libraries, magic
