You are here
Here to Stay (Hardcover)
Staff Reviews
A great book about high school life today. The main character, Bijan Miajidi, is pulled from the obscurity of JV basketball to the varsity limelight, which he hopes will help make it easier to talk to his crush Elle. Instead, he is targeted by an internet photo doctored to make him appear as a terrorist. As he tells the story of what happens next, his narrator voice is joined by his internal narrators - ESPN basketball commentators Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan - providing color commentary and comic relief to the often difficult events of the novel. In short, Ms. Farizhan compassionately and effectively covers coming out stories, cyberbullying, pressure to get into the right colleges, sports, and racism, without preaching, in a true page-turner.
— From Lisa's PicksDescription
Bijan Majidi is:
- Shy around girls
- Really into comics
- Decent at basketball
- A terrorist
If his name is Bijan Majidi, life is suddenly high fives in the hallways and invitations to exclusive parties—along with an anonymous photo sent by a school cyberbully that makes Bijan look like a terrorist.
The administration says they’ll find and punish the culprit. Bijan wants to pretend it never happened. He’s not ashamed of his Middle Eastern heritage; he just doesn’t want to be a poster child for Islamophobia. Lots of classmates rally around Bijan. Others make it clear they don’t want him or anybody who looks like him at their school. But it’s not always easy to tell your enemies from your friends.
Here to Stay is a painfully honest, funny, authentic story about growing up, speaking out, and fighting prejudice.
About the Author
Sara Farizan is an Iranian American writer and ardent basketball fan who was born in and lives near Boston. The award-winning author of If You Could Be Mine and Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, she has an MFA from Lesley University and a BA in film and media studies from American University. Here to Stay is her third novel.
Praise For…
“A powerful YA novel about identity and prejudice.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“With humor, power, smarts, and honesty, Farizan has written a conversation-starter.”
—The Boston Globe
“Here to Stay tackles serious, timely issues with grace, humor, and urgency—as the best YA novels do.”
—HelloGiggles
“The novel effortlessly tackles several important societal issues, keeping them in the foreground without detracting from the main focus: Bijan's entertaining internal color commentary that reveals his thought processes. The resulting is an engaging page-turner. Powerful.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Islamophobia, racism, homo- and heterosexuality, toxic masculinity, offensive sports mascots, activism, friendship, immigration, school politics, gun rights, and a splash of Iranian history make this about a lot more than high-school sports.”
—Booklist
“Farizan portrays the richness and warmth of the Persian culture of Bijan’s proud mother. A touching subplot explores the romance and high school politics of a budding lesbian relationship. Recommended for all high school collections.”
—School Library Journal
“Here to Stay is refreshingly frank, revealing the unsettling truth that the very social stigmas we pretend we have conquered still exist.”
—The Salisbury Post