i hate it how people criticize tori spring's characterization in solitaire, especially in the original version, when she's actually one of the most realistic teenage characters i've ever seen.
many teenagers in books either behave completely nonsensical considering their age or have an unrealistical amount of strengths that overshadow their negative personality traits.
tori, on the other hand, has a lot of flaws — her pessimistic attitude, which leads to self-destruction and constant stillness, her bitterness, and her habit of judging people too quickly. and some readers seem to disapprove a main character who has these flaws and call her unlikeable and far from reality for having them.
in my perspective, there is no character that portrays the way how your teenage years can be filled with rue, sorrow, and pain better than tori. she is realistic. most adolescents do not just get up after being neglected and ignored. and tori not only had to witness that and her brother's bullying and traumatic experiences — she also suffers from concerning mental health issues, which is a truthful response to the things she had to endure.
calling her unrealistic is like calling normal teenage behavior unrealistic because most of them do not socialize very often or find joy in things anymore. they have grown attached to their computers, writing, blogs, movies, and video games to hide from the real world that hurt them—just like tori did.
she's the perfect example of a character whose character development isn't changing her into a suddenly happy, forever grateful ray of sunshine only because of one moment where she decided that her friends and family were worth it. and some don't like to see a character fighting their mental illness without devolving into a cheery person.