Here to Stay

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.

A Booklist Top 10 Sports Book for Youth, 2018“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