Trace Italian Character Analysis

Sean Phillips, a seventeen year old high-schooler, is confined to his cramped home in California due to unfortunate injuries; however, he uses his vast imagination to create a prospective, barbaric America into a game. In this illusive world, he designs one safe haven in the middle of Kansas that all players strive to track down, Trace Italian. Sean produces different context for each player to analyze in best hope of survival. In return, participants send back their thought-out moves to continue their endless and traitorous journey to the mystery of Trace Italian. All players have kept their elusive fantasies of the shelter to themselves except for two teens, Lance and Carrie. Unknowing of the consequences, they both venture out in response to the game’s scenario. Their decision and radical thinking leads to the devastation of their families and friends. Phillips is blamed for the teen’s decision and now has to deal with the many hate letters to follow.
As a result, his sense of independence and social skills decrease while his depression and loneliness are inclining. Phillips become more secluded and comes to find that his only friends are his parents and his caretaker Vicky. Sean attempts to escape his reality by finding another in Trace Italian. Wolf in White Van is a humbling yet breathtaking novel where anything is possible to Sean. By telling us his stories, we learn of his struggle and are immediately taken back. His mysterious outlook on life teaches us that the future will always be unpredictable in what it can bring. John Darnielle does a spectacular job at describing Sean Phillips’s life into something we could never