The Weight of Everything


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Advance Praise for The Weight of Everything 
 
 “Prepare to be captivated by strong, resourceful, artistic Sarah as she holds her family together after tragedy. In the minutes she can steal from caretaking, adjusting to a new school, and navigating a could-be-beautiful relationship, Sarah works on an art project that reveals her connection to Guatemala’s painful past. Written with clarity and insight, this book is driven by devotion to family, tender romance, and Sarah’s determination to use her artistic talent to right a wrong. A must-read for anyone who loves to cheer for a brave young woman!” 
 —Rebecca Balcárcel, Pura Belpré Honor winning author of The Other Half of Happy 
 “A poignant, raw, and emotional story of grief, loss, and the courage it takes to fight for our beliefs—and ourselves.” 
 —Crystal Maldonado, author of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega and No Filter and Other Lies 
 “The Weight of Everything is a beautifully told, breathtaking story about a young woman’s fight to care for her wounded family while remaining true to the call of love and an awakening social conscience.” 
 —Francisco Stork, author of On the Hook 
 
 
 Text copyright © 2023 by Marcia Argueta Mickelson 
 
 All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. 
 
 Carolrhoda Lab® 
 An imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 
 241 First Avenue North 
 Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA 
 
 For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com. 
 
 Image Credits: Joanna Dorota/Shutterstock; Olga_C/Shutterstock; croco_d_ulya/Shutterstock; Anastasiia Gevko/Shutterstock. 
 
 Main body text set in Janson Text LT Std. 
 Typeface provided by Adobe Systems. 
 
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 
 Names: Mickelson, Marcia Argueta, author. 
 Title: The weight of everything / Marcia Argueta Mickelson. 
 Description: Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Lab, [2023] | Audience: Ages 12–18. | Audience: Grades 10–12. | Summary: Following her mother’s tragic death, seventeen-year-old Sarah takes on the role of caretaker to her grieving father and younger brother, which leaves little time and emotional energy for a relationship, but when a school project helps her rediscover her love of art, her perspective shifts. 
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022023455 (print) | LCCN 2022023456 (ebook) | ISBN 9781728475356 | ISBN 9781728479187 (ebook) 
 Subjects: CYAC: Grief—Fiction. | Painting—Fiction. | Dating—Ficiton. | High schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Hispanic Americans—Fiction. 
 Classification: LCC PZ7.M581924 We 2023 (print) | LCC PZ7.M581924 (ebook) | DDC [Fic] —dc23 
 
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022023455 
 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022023456 
 
 Manufactured in the United States of America 
 1-52097-50571-9/30/2022 
 
 
 Para mi mamá, por toda su sabiduría 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter One 
 When Vic called, I thought my dad had died. Vic’s first phone call had been to tell me that my mom had died; my dad had been too distraught to make the call himself. Vic’s second call caused me to pack up everything from my dorm room into my Toyota and drive back home. 
 Vic said my dad had had a nervous breakdown, though I don’t think that’s the term people use anymore. It’s been almost three months since that call, but the heart-pounding feeling of disaster I experienced that day filters its way into my mind as I sit in first-period physics. 
 Mr. Lemmon takes attendance and starts talking about the syllabus and his expectations. I pull my cell phone out of my backpack and let out a small breath when I see there are no notifications. I keep my phone on my lap as Mr. Lemmon reviews the class weight of each type of assignment. 
 Today is the first day I’ve left my dad alone since I came back from boarding school, and this overwhelming thought keeps creeping into my mind, making it impossible to pay attention to Mr. Lemmon: I shouldn’t be here right now. 
 I should be at home. School seems like such a triviality in light of what real life has to offer—a dead mom and a broken-down dad. 
 Mr. Lemmon is explaining the projects he expects us to complete when my phone buzzes. I think about Vic’s phone call, but it isn’t him. It’s my retired neighbor, Wanda. 
 WANDA: Sarah, where are you? Are you home? Your father is outside howling. Can you hear him? 
 SARAH: No. I’m at school. 
 WANDA: Well, someone needs to make him stop. He’s scaring all the dogs in the neighborhood. Buddy won’t stop yelping. 
 SARAH: Okay, I’m coming home. 
 WANDA: Hurry. I don’t want to have to call the police. 
 I should’ve stayed home today. I knew it. Being absent on the first day of your junior year in a brand-new school is less suspect than walking out in the middle of physics. I am currently walking out in the middle of physics. I hear Mr. Lemmon’s voice trailing me down the hall. 
 “Sarah? Sarah!” he calls from the open door of his classroom. 
 But I don’t turn around. I just keep up the half-walk/half-run that’s going to get me to the main entrance. My phone vibrates, and I know it’s Wanda again. I pick up my pace and run past the cold-colored lockers. I bolt through the front doors, leaving behind the frigid hallway and plunging right into the stifling Texas heat. The sun is searing, and I put up a hand to block it while I try to remember where, in this football-field-sized parking lot, I left my car. 
 I slow down, trying to catch my breath in the suffocating