NEHS has officially announced its 2026–2027 Common Readers, and this year’s selections promise to spark meaningful dialogue and deep reflection in classrooms across the nation and around the world. The chosen works, Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater (for the Fall Awards Cycle) and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (for the Winter Awards Cycle), offer powerful explorations of resilience, identity, moral courage, and the lasting impact of individual choices.
The selection of Accountable and The Nightingale sets the stage for a year rich in literary engagement and personal growth. Though distinct in context and voice, these texts invite students to confront complex realities, consider multiple perspectives, and reflect on the consequences of both action and inaction. NEHS encourages all chapters to embrace these texts, participate in upcoming programming, and take full advantage of available resources to deepen their shared reading experience.
Fall Awards Cycle
Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater
Slater’s award-winning nonfiction work that examines the real-world consequences of online behavior, centering on a racist Instagram account created by a high school student that quickly spreads beyond its intended audience. As the account is exposed, it impacts an entire community, affecting victims, perpetrators, peers, educators, and families alike. Slater’s text traces how harmful online actions can escalate and reveals the complexities of addressing them once they come to light. Through Accountable, she explores the far-reaching effects of digital choices and challenges readers to consider what accountability really means in the modern age.
Winter Awards Cycle
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Nightingale is an historical novel that explores love, sacrifice, and resilience during the Second World War. Set in Nazi-occupied France, the story follows two sisters whose differing paths and choices lead them into danger as they struggle to survive and resist. Through their stories, Hannah illuminates the often-overlooked experiences of women in wartime, highlighting both the brutality of conflict and the enduring strength of the human spirit. The novel celebrates courage, survival, and family bonds.
Copies of each text can be purchased from Bookshop.org.
Exclusive Webinars with Dashka Slater and Kristin Hannah
NEHS is hosting free webinars for all student members and Chapter Advisors featuring award-winning Common Reader authors Dashka Slater and Kristin Hannah. These events offer students and educators a unique opportunity to engage with the authors, gaining insights into their creative process and the themes explored in their work. Details about the webinars, including registration information, will be available on the NEHS website soon.
NEHS Scholarship Updates
Two rounds of NEHS scholarships await the Class of 2027! Yet again, seniors will have two opportunities to display their brilliance:
Fall Cycle: Respond to Dashka Slater’s Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed with a critical and analytical essay.
Winter Cycle: Explore Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale with a critical and analytical essay.
Students can submit to one or both cycles. In the case they submit to both, the highest scoring essay will be used in the scholarship evaluation process.
In both rounds, students will respond to one of a series of thought-provoking prompts (to be released on the NEHS website) and upload a short video reflecting on a meaningful text of their choice and the impact of NEHS on both their academic and personal growth.
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