Riding the Rough by G Brassi

This is a novel for upper primary or lower secondary. It is told by Angie who is 13. In the two years since her father left them, Angie Flynn has been expected to take more and more responsibility for the running of the house and the care of her younger brother and sister. When Robert finally coaxes his boat, Assassin, into starting, she joins Mo and the Williams family in learning to water-ski. It is then that Angie finds her mother’s unfair demands and expectations run contrary to her dreams. Their relationship sours further, until the school parent interviews, when Mrs Flynn realises how Angie has become more of a mother than she is and she takes action.