SOLVED. Bit older YA novel...A girl deals with alcholic/abusive/dysfunctional grandmother and mother [s]

[The Book Maven]

I cannot remember the title for the book, nor the author. For some reason, "Hatter Fox" and "Norma Fox Mazer" come to mind, but this is neither the title nor the author.

My sister read the book back in the early 1990s. It's about a girl who is sent to live with her grandmother because her mother is dysfunctional (abusive, I think) but the grandmother is not much better. I want to say that there's issues of alcoholism with one or possibly both the adults. The young girl's father is an artist, not around much, and whenever the girl tries to dabble in art, her caregiver (grandmother, mother, or both) try to beat it out of her.

I want to say that she befriends a young teen boy, as well as a (possibly African-American) man who was a musician. Maybe her school bus driver was involved somehow, too, trying to help? I remember that there was a knock-down drag-out fight towards the end of the book, and the girl eventually was given over to the custody of people who cared properly for her. It might have been her father, but I don't remember. What stands out is that this was an hurt young girl, trying to keep her head above the water. My sister found this to be a very traumatizing read! Anyone have any ideas?

[Kristina]

Mercy's Birds by Linda Holeman sounds similar but not 100%.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Book Maven, are you still looking for this book? Was it Mercy's Birds?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

I sent a PM to TBM--who is still active on GR, so hopefully we'll hear something soon.

[The Book Maven]

The title popped into my head one day in the shower (okay, elsewhere in the bathroom, but whatevs.) The title is "Cages of Glass, Flowers of Time" by Charlotte Culin.

[Rainbowheart]

Cages of Glass, Flowers of Time for the link.