Cover of Ground Zero

Ground Zero

by Alan Gratz

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Among the most widely assigned — 10 curriculum lists · 9 states

#46 most-assigned book in America — on school reading lists in 8 states (2026-07-13 study of 13,258 assignments).

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Virginia Readers' ChoiceWilliam Allen White Children's Book AwardOklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book AwardVolunteer State Book Award+6 more

Ground Zero by Alan Gratz is assigned in US schools at grades 6–8. It appears across 10 curriculum references and 9 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Ground Zero 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 6–8
Pages
304
Reading time
about 5h 35m (est.)
First published
2021
ISBN-13
9781338747690

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

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Where this book is assigned

Show 4 more awards & assignments

Ground Zero by the numbers: pages, reading time and where it is listed, on Book Statistics.

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Common questions

What grade level is Ground Zero?
Ground Zero is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 6–8. It appears on 10 school reading lists across 9 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read Ground Zero?
It takes about 5h 35m to read Ground Zero (304 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 335 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Ground Zero?
Ground Zero appears on reading lists for Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award, Great Lakes Great Books Award, Great Stone Face Book Award, and 6 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Ground Zero banned in schools?
Ground Zero has documented removals from at least one public-school district in 1 state (FL) per PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. Policies vary by district.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

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 6–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 10 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 9 states ELA frameworks or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
Documented as challenged or removed in 1 state per PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans — see the full banned & challenged books list.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: award-winner, book-club.

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