A modern day, social media whodunnit featuring a Muslim high school kid who is part geeky, part sporty, and wholly realistic and believable as he grapples with crushes, school, and race-based bullying.

This was good! Bijan was a likable character who was easy to root for, and I thought it was cute how he always had sportscasters in his head narrating the action. Some of the secondary characters were a bit too over the top. Will totally recommend to sporty teens and ones who like realistic fiction about social justice issues!

This was a really well done portrait of what racism and bullying can look like in a high school. Bijan just wants to fit in at his mostly white, mostly upper class high school. He has a love interest and has a best friend and basically wants everyone to forget that his parents are Iranian and Jordanian. But someone at his school circulates a really awful picture, and all of a sudden he is, in his words "a poster child for bullied children."

This book, thank God, transcended being an after school special and was a thoughtful, heart-wrenching story. I got to know and like Bijan, and enjoyed learning about his struggle to figure out who he was and where he fit in in the schematic of his high school. 4.5 stars.

REVIEW
Here To Stay by Sara Farizan is good YA fiction. It tackles important topics like cyberbullying and racism. It also tells about a regular teenager who likes comics and basketball.

PRAISE
“A powerful YA novel about identity and prejudice.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“Here to Stay tackles serious, timely issues with grace, humor, and urgency—as the best YA novels do.”
—HelloGiggles

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.

I love Bijan. The amount of side characters was a little overwhelming at the beginning. Loved the color commentary.

In Here to Stay Sara Farizan (Lambda Literary Award winner for LBGT YA fiction) introduces JV basketball player Bijan Majidi who enjoys newfound popularity when he scores a winning basket while subbing on his prep school's varsity team. He also attracts the attention of his crush Elle Powell, who enlists his help in her crusade to change the school mascot The Gunner to a something non-violent. However, Bijan's Jordanian and Persian background provokes a cyberbully to post a picture of him as a terrorist entitled "Our New Mascot." His outraged single mother wants him to protest this hate crime, but he resists until the bully also targets two of his lesbian friends. He then realizes the issue goes beyond himself and he launches a courageous public campaign to find out who is behind the attacks. Bijan's first person narrative alternates with a humorous imaginary live analysis of his life from his two favorite NBA commentators. The suspenseful mystery examines a variety of societal issues in an engaging timely read.

Originally posted on Forever Young Adult on 2018 September 18

BOOK REPORT for Here to Stay by Sara Farizan

Cover Story: Easy Layup
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Slam Dunk
Bonus Factors: Basketball, Student Activism, Confronting Social Ills, The Tami Taylor Award for Amazing Motherhood
Relationship Status: Courtside Fan

Cover Story: Easy Layup

I mean, what you see is what you get: a teenage boy who plays basketball and is also of Middle Eastern descent. But the title placement isn't just convenient; the 'Here to Stay' T-shirt is actually prominent in the book. Although I'll be honest—I almost didn't recognize this as a Sara Farizan book due to the lack of photorealistic body parts. (But it's a change for the better!)

The Deal:

Picture this: it's the final quarter of the basketball game, with a ticket to the playoffs on the line. The home team is all but defeated, even having to resort to playing a benchwarmer on loan from junior varsity. They can't possibly mount a comeback...could they? But they do, and that kid from JV is the catalyst who propels them to this improbable victory.

And that's where the story ends, right? But it's only the beginning for Bijan Majidi, who's become the talk of the school—and the target for bigotry, because OF COURSE UGH.

BFF Charm: Yay!

Basketball-obsessed Bijan is a good kid with an impulsive tendency to mouth off, so we were basically the same teen, minus any athletic ability on my part. But even if you have no interest in hoops, you might at least empathize with Bijan's quest for teenage 'normalcy'—amplified a bajillion-fold when racist schoolmates keep calling him a terrorist. (YEAH, THEY'RE AWFUL.)

Honorable mention to Stephanie, one of the not-trash students at Bijan's prep school that he eventually befriends. Sure, she's an overachiever who can be too intense, but I'm always in awe of anyone who's so young and yet already so woke.* Basically, Stephanie's a Leslie Knope in the making, so obviously I love her.

*Back in my day, we were skittish about even calling ourselves feminists. Such misinformed babies we were!

Swoonworthy Scale: 3

Bijan has long crushed on smart and kind Elle from afar, but his elevated social status has created actual opportunities to hang out with the popular crowd that she belongs to. What it can't helped, though, is how flustered and awkward he gets whenever he's around her, which is EXTREMELY. But they're not the only romantic pairing to cheer for, either.

Talky Talk: Slam Dunk

If you're wary because this is a sports book, don't be because it's not about actual sports. (Think Friday Night Lights, aka the oft-cited example as the sports thing that people like despite it being a sports thing.) There's plenty of humor to balance out the heavy subject matter, which would have made it easy for me to breeze through the book, if not for constantly stopping to save quotes that had me saying, "YES YES THIS EXACTLY."

(Also: I see you, Zombie Killers shout-out.)

Bonus Factor: Basketball

It's always cringe-y when real-world references ring just a little false, but Bijan knows his shizz. He lives and breathes basketball, sometimes even imagining his favorite NBA commentators providing play-by-play for his life, which is both ridiculously dorky and endearing. (Someone needs to get a copy of this book to Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan ASAP!)

Bonus Factor: Student Activism

As the creator of No Tradition of Violence, Stephanie is petitioning for Granger* School to change its mascot from the Gunners—evoking both similar real-life campaigns, as well as high school students organizing to affect change regarding gun violence.

*Appropriate, since this cause is very much Stephanie's S.P.E.W.

Bonus Factor: Confronting Social Ills

With each passing day, it seems painfully clear that there's a LOT of bad behavior that we as society have to acknowledge and unlearn. Racism and Islamophobia are the obvious ones at Granger, but its students also encounter male entitlement and blatant nepotism.

Bonus Factor: The Tami Taylor Award for Amazing Motherhood

Dr. Majidi is one fierce mama bear, having raised Bijan on her own since her husband's death twelve years ago. She already has one book club, but she's def. welcome to join ours, too.

Relationship Status: Courtside Fan

Look, I already got my figurative Sara Farizan jersey after her previous book, but this one made me splurge for season tickets. (Can't stop, won't stop with the sports metaphors!) You could even say that, just like my terribad jokes, I'm...here to stay.

heretostay

Sara Farizan’s third novel explores a number of the author’s interests, and with her personal passion at its core, the novel is deeper and richer. Bijan, the son of an Iranian dentist mother and a (long deceased) Jordanian father, is a keen basketballer, a high achieving academic nerd, and a little bit keen on the popular Elle. He has lived all his life in America, and attends a private school called Granger, (go Gunners!), and while he might privately wish for fame and popularity, he’s actually quite happy flying under the radar with best friend Sean.

Bijan is a generous, shy and thoughtful character. Throughout the story, we see him consider his choices carefully, and a lot of them come down to how his mother will react. We can see their close relationship is a positive force on him, and when confronted with bigotry, violence or cyber bullying, Bijan often makes the sensible decision. However, she doesn’t expect him to cower or run away, and the conversations between them, when awful incidents start to occur, are excellent examples of two people talking and listening to each other, as there is clearly respect on both sides. Not that he doesn’t keep a few secrets from her. He is after all a teenager, but mostly they are about protecting her from worrying about him.

I mention the ‘Gunners’ above because it Bijan’s involvement in trying to have this name and the accompanying mascot (a colonial soldier carrying a gun) changed to something more appropriate and inclusive that drives the narrative. As well, it’s his starring on the basketball court for the team bringing them to a tournament final. Jealously, ignorance and racism rears their ugly heads, and Bijan has to navigate this journey, but as he discovers, he’s not alone. His friends and peers show support, and Farizan tries to balance the two views evenly, although clearly the bad guys are those who post images of Bijan as a terrorist, and who try to get him expelled from the team.

Interestingly with the gunners sub plot, Farizan doesn’t mention school shootings, and I would be interested in knowing why. Even knowing this was written before the Marjory Stoneman High Douglas school event, there have been others that could have been referenced. On the other hand, the author is more interested in trying to breakdown stereotypes and generalisations, so perhaps bringing that into the mix might have muddied her waters.

Another pleasing aspect to the novel, is the slow moving and very cute romance. I liked how the friendships with other people were equally important to Bijan. There is a lovely mix of ethnicities, which aren’t token or didactic. It’s just a realistic mix of young adults of varying races and sexual orientations. The title of the novel is taken from the slogan that appears to defend the gunners as mascot. Ironically it could also serve as a motto for Bijan. He is here to stay. He is American-born, this is his country, and with the support of his family and friends, he doesn’t need to explain or justify his existence. So move on, nothing to see here.

Thanks to publisher Algonquin Young Readers and Netgalley for the advanced copy. Highly recommended for readers who love their sport, especially their hoops, and like a challenging social issues story that makes them think and laugh (Sean is a riot, as well as a very good friend). There are plenty of positive representations, and even some of the bad guys are shown to be misunderstood and troubled. It’s concludes with a satisfying open-ended resolution, leaving Bijan ready to take on senior year from a safe and happy place.

Here to Stay is out on September 18.

This is a story that is happening in schools all over the country. Until our students start to recognize the overt racist comments and behaviors they have, our country will not change. Books like this help students see into the lives of those who are different from themselves and hopefully build more empathy for those around them.

This book deals with harassment, which some call bullying. There are several reasons that I like this book in particular for harassment prevention. The author includes a variety of groups of people commonly targeted by hate crimes rather than an individual person. She also entertains the concept that the victim doesn't always have to be a doormat, and recognizes that the harassment is still a crime even if the victim fights back. While white privilege is hinted at in this book, it is not spotlighted. On the other hand, she points out that it is the right thing to do for everyone to stand up against hate. My favorite thing she did was pointing out that just punishing the perpetrator is not the answer to preventing hate crimes. An atmosphere of universal acceptance and sensitivity must be created by the community at large, and an understanding that intolerance will not be tolerated. She also indicates that it is important for people to speak up and take action for meaningful change to happen.

Bijan just shot the winning basket during the playoffs. However, he didn’t expect to be the subject of an email which went viral which depicted him as a terrorist. Here to Stay covers a lot of ground over the course of its pages. While the main storyline is about how Bijan confronts the Islamophobia of his classmates, there are also plot threads involving romance, cyberbullying, high school cliques, and team building. Farizan does a great job with creating interesting characters with distinct voices and experiences. She really captures the dynamics of high school, including some of the nuances that many writers gloss over. For example, she acknowledges there are high school cliques but even within those cliques some within them are closer to each other than others. That becomes clear when some of Bijan's varsity teammates openly express their hateful feelings toward him. Bijan wants to be an asset to his team during the playoffs but at the same time he knows that some of his teammates and other classmates don't want him around because he is of Middle Eastern descent. The focus is on how the e-mail affects Bijan and the people immediately in his orbit but there's also the mystery of who sent the e-mail that might appeal to those who enjoy mysteries. Bijan and his classmates feel very real; Farizan does an excellent job in making them come alive from Bijan's point of view. Overall, Here to Stay is a strong piece of realistic fiction with enough elements of romance and mystery which is engaging enough that readers will get its multiple lessons without being hit over the head by them.

Bijan Majidi is an up and coming basketball star, just recently added to the varsity team at Granger. But not everyone is thrilled about the change. Some of his teammates aren’t so happy to have him on the team, and when a petition to change the school mascot from the Gunners to something less divisive gets headed, Bijan becomes a target. An anonymous email featuring a photoshopped image of Bijan holding a gun reveals some deep-seated intolerance within the school. Bijan just wants to forget it ever happened, but that’s not easy when people start filling your locker with raw bacon and calling you a terrorist. And somehow equally worrying to Bijan is the fact that he still can’t seem to string together a single coherent sentence around his crush. As he grows closer to the team and faces both triumphs and increasing difficulties, Bijan will have to decide when—and whether—it’s worth it to speak up.

Incredibly relevant and timely, Here to Stay shows the full gamut of what it means to be a teenager, from their ability to be terrible bullies to incredible forces for change—even when the adults around them are resistant to it. Sara Farizan tells a beautiful, moving story with characters that are all too relatable. I fell in love with Bijan and his sports commentator inner monologue, his sweetness, his desire to be a good friend and stick up for others while simultaneously not wanting to make waves. The friendships and crushes and relationships between characters are so lovely and really rang true to high school—from the unconditionally loyal friends to the awkward crush interactions to the fake friends and class bullies.

This is a book for now and perfect for anyone who wants to read a book about what it means to be a teenager in America. I highly recommend it.