Hope says that her "best feature" are her "pearly white teeth".  Besides having a nice smile, she has "curly brown hair that dusts (her) shoulders", and long bangs which often hide her eyebrows.  Her eyebrows themselves are "perfectly arched by God".  Hope has a round face which people say is "sweet", with "no discernible cheekbones".  Her skin is pale, and her eyes are "light blue like (her) mother's".  At five-feet eight, Hope is fairly tall.

Addie is three inches shorter than Hope at five-feet five.  She is a solid, middle-aged woman, with "strong arms like a wrestler from lugging all those kitchen pots around".  Addie usually wears her "graying brown" hair in a ponytail (Chapter 3).  She is a no-nonsense type woman who is always working; even on her wedding day she spends little time and energy enhancing her looks.

G.T. is a man of "medium height, bean thin with a square, gentle face".  When Hope first meets him, he is "totally bald" as a result of recent chemotherapy.  G.T. has "deep blue eyes that (shine) behind the wire rims perched on the end of his nose".  His usual attire is jeans, work boots, and a work shirt with the cuffs rolled above his elbows.  He moves quickly and easily, with "the rhythm of the short-order dance" (Chapter 4).