Here to Stay

July 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-For most of his time at an exclusive Boston private school, Bijan Majidi, a JV basketball player and good student, has kept his head down. After he's called up and subbed for a varsity player who's fouled out of a crucial game, Bijan leads the scoring in an upset victory and suddenly becomes popular. But when he gets involved in a petition drive to change the mascot of the tradition-bound school-largely to spend time near his crush, squash team standout Elle Powell-he finds he's run afoul of Will Thomas, a post-grad senior whose wealthy family includes major contributors to the school. An anonymous email sent to the entire community portrays Bijan as a terrorist, apparently based on his American-born mother of Iranian descent and a (now deceased) Jordanian father. While parents and friends pull together to out the culprit and bring those involved to justice, Bijan endures cruel pranks and crushing social isolation. 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. The text is thick with topical allusions-TV actors, brand names, recent films, comic references-as well as detailed basketball descriptions that could be opaque to some readers, but their meaning is typically obvious from context. VERDICT Recommended for all high school collections.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
Bijan is a varsity athlete at a Boston-area prep school whose otherwise ordinary life gets disrupted when a cyberbully torments him because of his Iranian-Jordanian heritage.Bijan's status as rising star of the basketball team wins him an accolade in the high school paper, new friendships on the team, and, most importantly, attention from girls. It also produces envy and resentment: He wakes up one day to a schoolwide e-mail depicting him as a terrorist. At the heart of the plot is Bijan's handling of his own emotions: a ferocious motivation to get to the bottom of the story and uncover the mysterious sender, offset by the impossible task of proceeding with his life--and the important upcoming games--as if nothing has happened. The teachers and school leadership are supportive, as is Bijan's diverse circle of friends (including a black teammate who sympathizes with the shared experience of racism) and his unconditionally loving single mom. Yet the damage is done, and Bijan slowly discovers that not everyone is outraged; worse yet, some might even agree with the unknown cyberbully who strikes again, in a homophobic attack. Fed up, Bijan and his friends launch their own investigation. 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 result is an engaging page-turner.Powerful. (Fiction. 12-18)

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August 13, 2018
A private New England high school becomes the scene of bigoted bullying in a timely novel by Farizan (If You Could Be Mine). When narrator Bijan Majidi, of Jordanian and Persian descent, scores a winning basket for the varsity basketball team, his popularity rises. It also garners him more friends and brings him closer to his crush, Elle, whom he joins in campaigning to change the school mascot, the Gunner, to something nonviolent. Then someone sends the entire school an anonymous email, captioned “Our New Mascot,” with an image of Bijan Photoshopped to portray him as a terrorist. While Bijan’s single mother and some classmates protest this hate crime, Bijan resists becoming the symbol for “eradicat campus intolerance.” But when a similar attack targets two of his lesbian friends, he realizes the issue goes far beyond himself, eventually leading him to take a courageous public stance. Bijan’s narrative voice includes imaginary live analysis from his two favorite NBA commentators, adding humor to heavy subject matter. A diverse cast of well-developed supporting characters, including several who Bijan thinks might be the cyberbully, add a suspenseful mystery to this top-notch high school drama. Ages 13–17. Agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House.

June 1, 2018
Grades 8-12 Bijan Majidi is surprised when he gets called off the bench and scores the winning points in his varsity basketball game. For this studious, goofy teen who loves reading comic books, hanging out with his best friend, and harboring a crush on Elle, this new attention comes with some popularity perks. But not for long. A photoshopped picture of him cast as a terrorist goes viral and unleashes a flurry of responses from students, parents, and teachers. Several other plots converge with this one, but Farizan (If You Could Be Mine, 2013; Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, 2014) manages to integrate them all smoothly. Islamophobia, racism, hetero- and homosexuality, 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. With the help of his friends, Bijan navigates this craziness with credibility, learning to refocus his own judgmental lens along the way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)