Beautiful Graves

Joe is the 25-year-old male love interest of the novel. He works long hours at the docks in Salem as a longshoreman, loading and unloading ships. Joe is described as attractive and “tailored to [Ever’s] taste” (10). While she means this in a physical way, this ends up being true of his personality and their mutual interests as well. Joe understands Ever in a way that no one else can. He’s further described as being tall and lean, with “dark-blue eyes and a square jaw and a nose that is a little too long and pointy” (10). The imperfect nature of his nose gives him a unique attractiveness that Ever believes is more relatable and approachable.

Ever struggles throughout the novel to open up and be herself, even with Dom, to whom she becomes engaged. However, from the moment she first meets Joe at the age of 18, she is unable to conceal her honest thoughts from him.  As the novel progresses, Joe continues to be the one person with whom Ever can be fully herself, even after six years of no contact.

Joe has a complex relationship with Dom. Though the brothers are very close, Dom has dealt with many health issues throughout his life, including two instances of cancer, and these experiences have impacted his outlook on life and have changed the way his family treats him. Dom “[i]s the golden child—the overachiever, the prom king” (309). By contrast, Joe has never had to worry about his own health, which he has always taken for granted. He smokes in front of Dom and also drinks excessively. However, Dom’s sickness compels Joe to live his own life to the fullest and take what he believes he deserves. This dynamic creates a sense of competition between the brothers, especially when it comes to Ever, the woman whose affections both men want.

Dom is Joe’s brother and the secondary love interest of the novel. He is described as having marble-colored eyes, short and neatly cut hair, and a sculpted face. In comparison to the rugged, bad-boy looks of his brother, Joe, Dom has “a midwestern, all-around-good-guy vibe about him” (49). At age 29, Dom’s outwardly polished demeanor and altruistic life choices make him both impressive and slightly intimidating to Ever. She views him as a symbol of hope because he has survived great adversity and gained a deep well of compassion for others. He works as nurse practitioner in the pediatric oncology clinic, an avenue that he has pursued due to his own past struggles with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Dom and Ever have little in common, and throughout the novel, Dom acts as a foil to Joe, and his differences from Ever also highlight all the ways in which Joe is a perfect match for her.

Pippa is Ever’s best friend from childhood and young adulthood. They first met in kindergarten and were inseparable up until the death of Ever’s mother six years ago. Pippa is described as having ombré hair, which is indicative of her spontaneous personality; she “starts fires; [Ever] put[s] them out. She runs hot and messy; [Ever is] as emotionless as an ice statue at a royal wedding” (5). Pippa is the definition of “mainstream,” while Ever describes her as a “shining, Technicolor Ariana Grande” (5). Both women were enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley before Ever dropped out and moved to Boston and then Salem, where she became determined to hide from her grief, guilt, and shame after her mother’s death.

Ever admits that she would be being willing to take a bullet for Pippa, though her grief compels her to abandon this friendship. Even after six years, Pippa continues to send Ever texts to show her support, but Ever never responds. At the beginning of the novel, Ever despises these texts because Pippa “pretends like […] nothing happened. Like [Ever] could still have nice things for [her]self. Friends, family, a social life” (42). Pippa’s friendship represents the version of Ever that she abandoned on the day her mother died. In contrast, Ever’s new friend and roommate, Nora, represents the person Ever has become as a result of the complicated feelings she struggles to face. As Ever continues her healing journey, she eventually reconnects with Pippa and reclaims aspects of who she used to be. She learns that Pippa has become a web designer for a secondhand designer apparel site and lives with a boyfriend named Quinn in San Francisco.