Darnielle, J. (2014). Wolf in white van: A novel. NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Sean Phillips is the protagonist in Wolf in White Van. In the novel, Sean shoots himself in the head, disfiguring his face, while the reason for Sean’s actions remaining unclear. While recovering in the hospital, Sean invents a video game and receives a small profit. The novel ends with Sean reminiscing before his incident, where he was then contemplating whether or not to shoot himself and his parents. I think the intended audience of Wolf in White Van might be for ages 13 and up. Recommendations for follow up reading include Tales of Love & Loss by Knut Hamsun, The old boys by William Trevor, Windy McPherson’s Son by Sherwood Anderson, and Damn!: A Book of Calumny by H. L. Mencken. A major strength of Wolf in White Van is how it is written in reverse, starting with the end and ending with the beginning and the climax. I think a lesson that might come from reading Wolf in White Van includes readers might be able to relate to Sean if they are contemplating suicide or if they are going through the same situation he is. Wolf in White Van meets the physical developmental criteria because Sean’s physical appearance permanently changes after he intentionally shoots himself, meets the mental developmental criteria because Sean is isolated from everyone after his incident and he goes experiences different psychological states in his life through time jumps, notably at one point when he considered killing his parents. Wolf in White Van also meets the social developmental criteria because Sean must adjust to other people’s reactions to his new appearance.
