did anyone else find Pete's character unrealistic?

I completely agree with you. He was the sweetest kid ever but he seemed like an alien compared to everyone else in that environment. I think his mild nature may possibly have been a result of the various types of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse he had encountered. But that still wouldn't account for his good manners and proper English.

It possible. I grew up in a rough neighborhood and plenty of mild mannered kids who's parents were a wreck. Most likely the mother taught him manners but still lived a reckless life. Everyone that lives a rough life isn't rude, mean and devious.

Pete may seem far fetched but it's not realistic to not expect some children to be like him, remember he was still very young, not yet tainted despite his bleak environment. It hadn't corrupted who he was yet. I think perhaps if he'd remained in the same hopeless, soul sucking and abusive household he was in, his outlook in life would no doubt change, I am sure much like Mister's did. I think Pete is a sort of younger Mister, or how I imagine Mister was when he was younger, but without all the nice manners.

I looked at it as a cultural thing and I don't mean to sound racist. While you may be hard pressed to find a black kid in that type of environment with such a demeanor, maybe not so much for an Asian kid. His mother most likely raised him well when she wasn't high and abusive. Sounds funny, but it could be true. To be honest, Mister could have turned out the same. His mother wasn't loud and ghetto or foul mouth, but Mister took on an alpha role to protect himself in that neighborhood. Pete was a loner and sheltered and seemed younger too. Maybe he had an outside influence besides his mother that wasn't mentioned; a grandmother or aunt that's no longer in the picture. Either way, I used my imagination and figured it was possible.

His abuser, the lady from across the hall, that made him into her infantile toy.