Life would be simple for Bijan Majidi if it just involved basketball and figuring out a way to let the popular and beautiful Elle know that he loves her. For Bijan life means going to an elite private school on an academic scholarship and being the son of Middle Eastern parents.
Bijan spends his free time working on basketball skills, reading graphic novels, and hanging with his best friend Sean. Lately, he has been pretending that he's interested in a group of students trying to change the school's mascot, but that's really only because Elle is part of the group. Instead of getting her attention, it seems the group's organizer, Stephanie, is crushing on him.
Usually one to hang out under the radar, Bijan becomes the center of everyone's attention when the basketball coach calls him up from the JV squad to help the team get to the playoffs. Only a junior, Bijan's place on the varsity threatens several of the seniors and he becomes a target for taunts. Things come to a head when someone emails a photo of Bijan dressed as a terrorist to the entire student body.
He wants to find out who is responsible, but it may be safer to just go with the flow and not make waves. Coach wants everyone to focus on the game and Bijan agrees, but this attack on his heritage hurts more than he expected.
Author Sara Farizan captures the hate all too prevalent in today's society. Multiple storylines also highlight further racism and homophobia that make life difficult for some of Bijan's classmates as well. HERE TO STAY is sends a powerful message about the cultural divide and the need to educate people about hateful behavior.
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