Braverman is the cook at the diner.  He is a big guy, young and reasonably handsome.  Hope describes her first impression of Braverman, saying that he is

"a very tall guy - six-four at least...He looked a little older than me and was the most angular person I'd ever seen - every bit of him seemed to have pointy edges.  He had wavy black hair and amazingly thick eyebrows.  He was wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and sneakers.  I'd place him, at first glance, around a 6.7 on Jocelyn Lindstrom's male cuteness scale.  Ten being a rugged yet sensitive world-class surfer (preferably wet); one being a toad" (Chapter 4).

Braverman is completely at home in the kitchen of the "Welcome Stairways", and he flips pancakes, turns bacon, and fries eggs with skill and efficiency.  He graduated from high school the year before, but has been unable to attend college because of family and financial reasons; he is thankful that G.T. has given him a job at the diner.  Braverman is attractive, intelligent, and energetic.  He and Hope develop a strong friendship during the long hours they spend working together, and he helps her come to terms with the pain of being abandoned by her parents.