Content Warning: This section mentions the death of a parent and a car accident.

Images and descriptions of the ocean repeat throughout the novel. The ocean is a motif that the author uses to represent peace and comfort. It is Arianna’s favorite place because it feels full of possibilities and hope. She particularly loves how “nothing changes” in this setting, while “it’s also never the same” (86). The movement of the water feels both “[s]trong and dominant, yet soft and fragile” (86). Whenever Arianna feels upset or confused or simply needs time to think, she ventures to the beach. The setting helps her feel calm and process complicated emotions. The ocean often assumes human qualities, too, as Arianna feels that it is “welcom[ing] [her] back” whenever she returns to it (318). Water is an archetypal symbol of washing and cleansing. Arianna feels renewed whenever she spends time at the ocean.

Arianna and her friends’ beach house is symbolic of friendship. Her, Brady’s, and Cameron’s moms originally “bought [the] beach house together” when they were in college (4). Their lives changed over the years, but they held onto the house “as a spot to always come” back to (4).