Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Overdrive
    Overdrive
    Overdrive
    Ebook69 pages49 minutes

    Overdrive

    By Eric Walters

    3/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A street race ends in a tragic accident. Jake's friends tell him to run, but he doesn't know if he can—or should—run from the truth.

    Jake has finally got his driver's license, and tonight he has his brother's car as well. He and his friend Mickey take the car out and cruise the strip. When they challenge another driver to a street race, a disastrous chain reaction causes an accident. Jake and Mickey leave the scene, trying to convince themselves they were not involved. Jake finds he cannot pretend it didn't happen and struggles with deciding on the right thing to do. Should he pretend he was not involved? Or should he go to the police?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateApr 1, 2004
    ISBN9781554696864
    Overdrive
    Author

    Eric Walters

    Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 125 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over 100,000 students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

    Read more from Eric Walters

    Related to Overdrive

    Related ebooks

    YA Travel For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Taken At Birth

      Aug 19, 2021

      Taken At Birth
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Head Full Of Colours

      May 4, 2022

      A Head Full Of Colours
      3 min read

    • Article

      Friend Or Foe?

      Aug 24, 2023

      Sitting on the grass beside my girlfriend Grace, I spotted a familiar face approaching from across the park. ‘Can I join you?’ Chelsea, then 17, smiled, plonking herself down. It was March 2018 and I’d been with Grace, then 16, for six months. I was

      4 min read

    • Article

      KATE & HARRY BURY THE HATCHET

      Jun 5, 2022

      KATE & HARRY BURY THE HATCHET
      2 min read

    • Article

      Chester’s Frozen Ears

      Nov 1, 2023

      Chester’s Frozen Ears
      3 min read

    • Article

      Felix Francis

      Jan 13, 2022

      Felix Francis
      6 min read

    • Article

      Wearing Blue And Yellow To Meet Ukrainian Refugees In The U.k. kate Leads From The Heart as She Plays With Children And Comforts Fellow Mums

      Nov 21, 2022

      The Princess of Wales made a new friend last week when she shared a cuddle with a little girl who has fled the war in Ukraine. Five-year-old Zlata Yeromenko was thrilled to sit on Kate’s knee and have a photo taken together. She also gave the Princes

      2 min read

    • Article

      After the Storm

      Nov 25, 2023

      After the Storm
      6 min read

    • Article

      BABY SURPRISE I had NO CLUE I was due!

      Dec 1, 2021

      Karla Akuhata, 41, Rotorua, NZ As I lay in bed, I felt another wave of excruciating cramps. I tried to breathe in and out slowly as I fought the dizzying pain. I guess my period’s almost here, I thought, feeling miserable. For the last 48 hours, I

      3 min read

    • Article

      Benedict Arnold’s Image As Arch-traitor Gets A Makeover

      Jun 16, 2021

      Before he joined the British, Benedict Arnold was a staunch, dependable patriot. A new history explores his leadership during a critical battle.

      2 min read

    • Article

      So much LOVE

      May 12, 2022

      So much LOVE
      5 min read

    • Article

      Did You Know?

      Sep 1, 2021

      Did You Know?
      1 min read

    • Article

      Kate Middleton Can’t Vote, And Other Everyday Things She’s Not Allowed To Do

      Mar 23, 2021

      In the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in the UK on Monday, Meghan Markle described how her mental health suffered while living in the palace. “There was very little that I was allowed to do,” she claimed, say

      5 min read

    • Article

      Living Nightmare

      Aug 10, 2023

      Living Nightmare
      5 min read

    • Article

      ‘Traitors Must Die’

      Jul 14, 2020

      ‘Traitors Must Die’
      9 min read

    • Article

      All By Myself

      Apr 28, 2020

      All By Myself
      6 min read

    • Article

      Behind Closed Doors

      Mar 23, 2023

      Behind Closed Doors
      5 min read

    • Article

      ‘Too Much’: Featured Nonfiction from Rachel Vorona Cote

      Feb 25, 2020

      In Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today, Cote examines how the "unspoken rules" that govern the expression of women’s emotional and physical desires date back to the 19th century. The post ‘Too Much’: Featured Nonfiction from Ra

      6 min read

    • Article

      Cruelcruel Intentions

      Dec 2, 2021

      Cruelcruel Intentions
      6 min read

    • Article

      Storm Chaser

      May 1, 2022

      Storm Chaser
      7 min read

    • Article

      You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down

      Apr 20, 2022

      You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Overdrive

    3/5

    14 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      OverDrive is about the danger of street racing. When two old friends are side by side at a intersection and when the light turns green they know first hand the danger of street racing.

    Book preview

    Overdrive - Eric Walters

    Chapter One

    Well? Mickey asked.

    I pulled the driver’s license out of my pocket and held it up for him to see.

    All right! Way to go, Jake. You got it! he said. He gave me a high five.

    Did you have any doubts? I asked.

    I figured you could drive, but a test is a test, and neither of us ever does so well with those.

    This is one test I was ready for, I said.

    So now you have a driver’s license. All you need is something to drive.

    Taken care of.

    It is?

    I nodded. Come and have a look.

    Mickey trailed after me out to the driveway.

    Your brother gave you his car? Mickey asked in disbelief.

    Not gave. Lent.

    That is so cool.

    He said that I should have a car to drive the day I got my license, so he lent me his for tonight.

    Mickey laughed. You have the best big brother.

    He’s okay.

    Okay? The only thing my brother, Andy, ever gives me is a hard time.

    I’ve seen you two together. It looks like you give more grief than you get.

    Haven’t you ever heard that it’s better to give than to receive? Mickey smiled. But I guess it’s only fair you get to borrow it when you consider all the help you’ve given him with his car.

    It’s not like he’s forcing me. I love fooling around with cars. Besides, he’s taught me a lot of things.

    You mean your brother knows more about cars than you do? Mickey asked. I liked the way he said that. It was like he couldn’t believe it was possible.

    He knows more, but he’s two years older. I paused. So, you want to go for a ride?

    Yeah, of course…where to?

    I was thinking that maybe we could go for a little cruise along the Lakeshore strip, or even go to the Burger Barn and pick up a burger and fries.

    I am so there, Mickey said. We are going to see and be seen. Let me get changed. Mickey rushed up the driveway back toward his house.

    What’s wrong with what you have on?

    Shoes would be a good start, but the rest is only okay for hanging around in my basement. Let me get changed and do something with my hair.

    Hurry up! I yelled after him. We don’t have all night!

    I wasn’t joking. We didn’t have all night. My brother was getting off work at the grocery store at nine thirty, and I had to have the car home by ten so he could go out.

    I climbed into the car—climbed in behind the wheel of the car. I turned the key in the ignition and the motor came to life. It made a gentle purring sound. I revved the engine slightly and the purring got louder and more powerful.

    This wasn’t just any car. This was the car.

    I’d worked with Andy to redo the engine—torqued it so it put out over 300 horsepower. We’d redone the exhaust system to deal with the extra power. We’d overhauled the suspension to get the frame lower to the ground. It allowed it to be more stable at high speeds, especially around corners. My brother wanted this car to fly but not actually take flight.

    He’d put on special lights—all customized front and back. Then he’d added a rear spoiler, and last week we’d tinted all the windows. It was cool to be able to look out but not have people see who was looking at them. Now we were doing the final work—redoing the body and putting on a new paint job. The body hadn’t been bad—it had a few rust spots and a couple of little dents and scratches—but he was redoing it completely. We’d taken off all the emblems and letters that identified the make of the car. Andy said that Chevy may have made the car originally, but he’d made it better and he didn’t want to share credit with them. There were patches of body filler and primer paint, and it had all been sanded down in preparation for the

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1