Yes, but what you're describing is how things should be. It's okay for a fictional character to begin the story with flaws, so long as the narrative is aware and they experience growth. Fiction isn't about the ideal circumstance, but about perceptions. In reality, maybe my best gradeschool friend did start out liking me despite my difficulty talking. That's not irrational. We were 8. It was a huge stigma at that age. She took the journey with me, she didn't just jump into our friendship thinking my stutter was just another irrelevant characteristic. >But the point of the book is that this is not an acceptable position to take But again, this is fiction. The point isn't to tell us it's unacceptable, it's to *show* us. This can be a journey for Monty just as much as it is for Julio. This isn't necessarily wrong, it's just a depiction of a three-dimensional character. Children probably aren't going to see stuttering as simple a characteristic as brown eyes. Monty doesn't have to think like an adult and he doesn't have to be perfect... definitely not right from the start.