Ship Breaker
by Paolo Bacigalupi
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi is assigned in US schools at grades 9–12. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Ship Breaker is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 9–12
- Pages
- 179
- Reading time
- about 3h 15m (est.)
- First published
- 2011
- ISBN-13
- 9780748129386
Where to find this book
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About this book
In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota - and hopefully live to see another day. But when he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .
Where this book is assigned
Michael L. Printz Award
- recommended·9th gradesource: Michael L. Printz Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2011 Printz Award
- recommended·10th gradesource: Michael L. Printz Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2011 Printz Award
- recommended·11th gradesource: Michael L. Printz Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2011 Printz Award
- recommended·12th gradesource: Michael L. Printz Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2011 Printz Award
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Common questions
- What grade level is Ship Breaker?
- Ship Breaker is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 9–12. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- How long does it take to read Ship Breaker?
- It takes about 3h 15m to read Ship Breaker (179 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 195 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Ship Breaker?
- Ship Breaker appears on reading lists for Michael L. Printz Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Ship Breaker banned in schools?
- Ship Breaker does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 9–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: award-winner.