A junior at an elite private high school, Bijan Majidi finds himself thrown into the midst of controversy when a photograph showing his head Photoshopped onto a rifle-toting jihadist is distributed via anonymous email to the entire school community. Bijan suspects the photo was sent by one of his basketball teammates, Drew, who is jealous that Bijan is an outstanding varsity player. Bijan wonders if he was also targeted because he recently joined a group of student activists petitioning to change the school mascot—the Gunners—to something less violent, although he was motivated less by a desire for change than by his crush on Elle, one of the student organizers. He also joined to support his friend Stephanie, who is single-minded in her devotion to a cause and largely resented by the student body. Bijan’s well-drawn character, believable experiences, and raw emotional responses as he navigates the Islamophobia directed at him and works to support others experiencing homophobia and other forms of harassment solidly ground this novel. (Age 13 and older)

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

Bijan Majidi is:

• Shy around girls
• Really into comics
• Decent at basketball

Bijan Majidi is not:

• A terrorist

What happens when a kid who’s flown under the radar for most of high school gets pulled off the bench to make the winning basket in a varsity playoff game?
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.