girlunderground

I finished this entire series in a day and a half and I couldn't resist making an account just so I could reply to this forum . I am going to apologize beforehand for this long ass and how it sounds like I am ranting in some places . This story has been bothering me for the better part of the day, and I couldn't understand why I feel so upset about it. I understood all the (protagonist) characters and why they did what they did. Yes, I even understood Riley, Dexter and Ember. I should be happy for Spencer when he was saved by Nix and they lived happily ever after (for now), and definitely satisfied that he finally found true friends. But as I was reading, I noticed how much humility Spencer had; helping Riley with his calculus work, easily forgiving Nix time and time again for not standing up for him. But this all seemed understandable to me at the time where Spencer is concerned because the reason for his humility seemed to be because he desperately craved friendship. But then in the end, Spencer forgives all the people who genuinely apologized to him for their wrongdoings. I remember this one part where Spencer thought to himself that these people were human and sometimes humans make terrible mistakes. He's definitely not wrong there. But what upset me is that I feel they (meaning Riley, Dexter, Ember, Hagan, Trudy etc) didn't really pay for what they did to Spencer in the two years his life was made hell. So what? They apologize from the bottom of their heart and Spencer, as expected, forgives them? Where's the justice in that? This kid was beaten, raped, humiliated, tortured in the span of two years and he just says "okay"? If you turned the story around to make it seem like Artie, Dean and Collin were somehow super sorry for what they did to Spencer, would he have forgiven them too? I feel that while a lot of the bully protagonists did lack a certain amount of humility, Spencer also had a little too much of it. This could also be said about the argument of whether Riley and Dexter are really "good" people. I read some of your responses, and I do get that they are considered good because of their overall character. I might have believed that their bullying was to defend Reese's honor, but the way they acted so violent towards Spencer, physically shoving, punching, beating and tasering him... it was really almost too much to read. Almost as bad as the rape scenes. Another part that bothered me was the scene when they were at the hotel and Porter and his gang grabbed Spencer and whipped him to hell on the bed. Nix found him, released him blah blah.. and then I realized that Parker was helping to free Spencer. What happened with that? Did Spencer ever think that maybe the bullying was getting a little too much? Even if Riley and Dexter had nothing to do with that scene, why didn't Parker start noticing that the treatment of Spencer was unusually harsh? Is Nix the only character besides Spencer with an actual heart? I know this is such a minor detail in an otherwise large story but my point was that it was very small things like this that made me feel really depressed for Spencer. I feel that the others should have paid a little bit more for what they did, and I think that losing Spencer as a potential friend could have taught them an even better lesson, especially if Nix decided to not leave Spencer's side or something like that. If Spencer maybe told them he couldn't be friends with them, that would say a great deal on how much he grew as a character. I really wasn't trying to find loopholes in your plot or anything, that was certainly not the case! I was just sad about the story and thought I'd try letting it out . I really do love this story though.... I know I have a funny way of showing it, but I love any story that can get me thinking long and hard. I believe that is an author can't strike up a good argument with their stories, then they aren't doing their job . And you got me to start an account just so I could talk about this story - which says a lot about how powerful your writing is. I can't wait for you to continue this series and will be sure to follow it and possibly come back to discuss it in the future.