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Overdrive
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?
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
21 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Eric Walters
156 books907 followersEric was born in Toronto in 1957, which makes him "real old". But, as Eric says, "Just because I have to grow old doesn't mean that I have to grow up!" In his many roles as parent, teacher, social worker, youth sports coach and writer he is in constant contact with children and young adults. He draws from these experiences and feels that this helps him to capture the realistic interaction between young people—the conflicts, tensions, stresses and interests that make up their lives.
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
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January 21, 2018 Jack tiene mucho en común como otras personas. Jack quiso enseñar a otra persona que él puede hacer algo. Él tomó una acción que no fue pensado en que efectos puede tener en la vida de él o de otros. El puso en riesgo la vidas de otros solo para tener una competencia de carros. Un ejemplo como una persona no piensa antes de hacer algo es cuando hacen bullying a otro ser humano. Personas que hacen bullying a otra personas no piensan en cómo la vidas de ellos cambian. La vida de ellos se hace un lugar feo y puede ser peligroso. Ellos se peligran porque piensan lo peor y se lastiman mental y físicamente. Otro ejemplo de no pensar en los efectos de una acción es no levantarse a tiempo. Estudiantes que no se levantan a tiempo pierden la información en la clase y se ganan detenciones. Esto puede resultar en malas notas y perder el ańo. Adultos que no se levantan pronto para el trabajo, pueden perder su trabajo y no van a tener dinero para vivir. Resultando que sean pobres y no tener una lugar donde vivir. Estos son ejemplos de acciones tomados por personas en el mundo. Personas no piensan en lo que puede pasar dependiendo en la decisión de cada dia que toman. En conclusión, toda persona debe pensar primero antes de tomar una decisión porque puede afectar a el/ella o a otras personas.
November 29, 2017
I would recommend this book Overdrive by Eric Walters to people that like to read street racing. I like this book a lot. It has very good detail of what happens in it. It has good details about the cars and what they look like and setting. If you like to watch cars go over the speed, limit then this is the book for you.
There are three main characters in the book. The characters name are Michy, Jake ,and Andy. Jake’s older brother is Andy. Michy and Jake are best friends. Jake has his permit and can drive, so one night he takes Andy’s car out for a drive with Michy. They see so many different cars. As they are drive they come to one of Jake’s old friend that you will have to learn about. They both decided to do a little street racing to the other stoplight. As they take off, something bad starts to happen and you will have to read the book to find out.
There are three main characters in the book. The characters name are Michy, Jake ,and Andy. Jake’s older brother is Andy. Michy and Jake are best friends. Jake has his permit and can drive, so one night he takes Andy’s car out for a drive with Michy. They see so many different cars. As they are drive they come to one of Jake’s old friend that you will have to learn about. They both decided to do a little street racing to the other stoplight. As they take off, something bad starts to happen and you will have to read the book to find out.
December 8, 2020
This book was very good! The ending to the book Overdrive was awesome. The character ended up doing the right thing. The ending was effective because his counsler talked to him and encouraged him to do the right thing. Which was confessing that he was kind of the cause for the big accident that had happened because of him street racing. This book went into a lot of detail about how the crash happened and how it looked like. This book is probably my favorite so far!
November 6, 2020
This book was fun to read. I can't wait to read some of the other books the author has written.
September 29, 2009
The person that changed the most in the story was Jake. He got his drivers license and his brother let him borrow his car. Jake went somewhere with his friend Mickey and they were going to a place where they show of cars. But after all the showing of cars they new people street raced after. Jake didn't want to stay but Mickey made him. Then they were leaving and Jake met one of his former friends and they street raced. Jakes former friend got in an accident and instead of stopping Jake went away. It was on his mind for a long time and then he finally told the truth. He told the cops he was also involved in the accident. He told them he was street racing. Thats how the book would end you never know what happen to Jake. He probably changed the most because he would never street race again and he is probably going to be a safer driver. If he does get in an accident he will probably stop and help the person. He would also call the cops. He wouldn't run away. Thats how Jake changed. He will probably be more careful in life.
May 24, 2019
I read the book Overdrive by Eric Walters. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was surprised by the enjoyment I got out of such a quick read. The book describes all the situations very vividly and creates exciting and thrilling moments. I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any reader. This book is about cars, and racing, if you like either of these things the book is especially for you. A couple of things I didn’t like apply to all of Eric Walters stories, they don’t have sequels. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving me in suspense. While sometimes cliff hangers are good, this one was just a bummer as we truly don’t know what happens to Jake and Michy.
The three main characters of the book are Michy, Jake, and Andy. Andy is Jake’s older brother and Michy is Jake’s friend. Jake has his license and is able to drive. One night Jake decides to take Andy’s car out for a spin, during this adventure Jake and Michy find out many new things. They find many cars which they think look very cool. Jake accompanied by Michy see one of Jake’s friend, they decide to race him.
The book ends in a unique way that I didn’t think would happen. Jake really grows as a character in the best way possible. In such a short book a scary yet very relevant story is told. The lesson this book teaches should be taught to everyone, cars are an object of great power. They are as dangerous as something as a car. At the end of the story, this is what Jake learns, the true responsibility that comes with having your license, now you have to read the book to see if he learned it the hard way or the easy way. That’s why I would recommend this book to any reader coming of age.
The three main characters of the book are Michy, Jake, and Andy. Andy is Jake’s older brother and Michy is Jake’s friend. Jake has his license and is able to drive. One night Jake decides to take Andy’s car out for a spin, during this adventure Jake and Michy find out many new things. They find many cars which they think look very cool. Jake accompanied by Michy see one of Jake’s friend, they decide to race him.
The book ends in a unique way that I didn’t think would happen. Jake really grows as a character in the best way possible. In such a short book a scary yet very relevant story is told. The lesson this book teaches should be taught to everyone, cars are an object of great power. They are as dangerous as something as a car. At the end of the story, this is what Jake learns, the true responsibility that comes with having your license, now you have to read the book to see if he learned it the hard way or the easy way. That’s why I would recommend this book to any reader coming of age.
April 18, 2025
This book was pretty good considering it was a random find at the library.
The plot was simple but kept my attention. Jake, a freshman who got held back, and his friend Mickey, a loudmouthed freshman, accidentally caused an accident street racing. The pacing was decent and the events leading up to the crash didn’t feel rushed or boring.
Jake is a character that is just blank enough for the reader to interpret his thoughts in their own way, but not so blank that he’s a complete nothing burger of a character. He’s kind and worries a lot and isn’t the brightest. Throughout the book he struggles with making the right decision but eventually comes around in the end. Mickey is just hilarious. He doesn’t know when to shut up and is your typical apathetic teenager. He was my favorite character and a great supporting character. Luke secretly being a troubled kid with not that many friends and was just projecting his insecurities onto Jake was not the most creative twist but well executed. The scene where Jake goes to visit Luke in the hospital was cute and made me wish we could see more of their budding friendship.
My only complaint was the ending felt a little lame, but that’s come to be expected with Walter’s writing at this point. Overall this book made me laugh and was just a little something to hold my attention instead of mindlessly scrolling.
The plot was simple but kept my attention. Jake, a freshman who got held back, and his friend Mickey, a loudmouthed freshman, accidentally caused an accident street racing. The pacing was decent and the events leading up to the crash didn’t feel rushed or boring.
Jake is a character that is just blank enough for the reader to interpret his thoughts in their own way, but not so blank that he’s a complete nothing burger of a character. He’s kind and worries a lot and isn’t the brightest. Throughout the book he struggles with making the right decision but eventually comes around in the end. Mickey is just hilarious. He doesn’t know when to shut up and is your typical apathetic teenager. He was my favorite character and a great supporting character. Luke secretly being a troubled kid with not that many friends and was just projecting his insecurities onto Jake was not the most creative twist but well executed. The scene where Jake goes to visit Luke in the hospital was cute and made me wish we could see more of their budding friendship.
My only complaint was the ending felt a little lame, but that’s come to be expected with Walter’s writing at this point. Overall this book made me laugh and was just a little something to hold my attention instead of mindlessly scrolling.
June 21, 2021
I’m not the age group this book is written for, and as an English teacher I recognize that this book is great for some reluctant readers. Kids who like cars might like this story, but the portrayal of women in this book is AWFUL. That’s especially significant as there are no female characters in this story. It is how the teen boys in the book talk to women and about women...sexist stereotypes of the bitchy girlfriend...”She can turn ugly really fast if I’m not on time.” Or the reference to “the Sunshine Girl picture on page three” which is the only reason to read the paper... or how Mickey yells out “Hey gorgeous” to get a woman’s attention. Eric Walters, please don’t teach young men that this is how to regard women.
June 3, 2018
A fast-paced story about a boy drag racing and being involved in a high-speed accident. I thought this piece of realistic fiction was very interesting and a fun read to balance the morals of the story. If you are interested in cars or just like reading about morals and the human brain almost you would like this book. In my opinion, the theme of this book is how you should always own up to your mistakes.
January 30, 2019
I'm clearly not the target audience for this book, but I found it a little overly simplistic in the storyline and the characters. While I think there are some good messages in the book and I actually like that the ending isn't 100% clear, I just didn't get enough character development to really care either way honestly.
March 21, 2022
Another home run for Eric Walters. Great story about doing the right thing.
January 7, 2024
i mean it's whatever read in one sitting, didn't care that much
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October 14, 2024It was good, I really liked how they explained the drifting and how they explained two cars wrapped together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2025
Not my favorite one.
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March 9, 2009The ending to the book Overdrive was awesome. The character ended up doing the right thing. The ending was effective because his counsler talked to him and encouraged him to do the right thing. Which was confessing that he was kind of the cause for the big accident that had happended because of him street racing. He should of just did that all along instead of living with the guilt but he was scared.
In this book some characters had opinions on somethings. Jake's opinion on street racing was that it was dangerous and childish. Also he didnt like his older brothers girlfriend because he thought she was bossy. Jake thought that leaving the accident scene before anyone saw was the right thing to do so he wouldnt get introuble.
The msot interesting part was when the counsler convinced him to do a good thing. Usually one of your friends would convince you to do that kind of thing. But thats not how it was in this book. His friend was telling him not to tell. So he was living with the guilt.
This book is shocking, interesting, awewsome and scary or like the reader feels worried in some parts. Its shocking because of what the main character does when he borrows his older brothers car. Its interesting because you want to find out what happens in the accident. Its an awesome book to read. You get a worried feeling because in the accident there was a pregnant girl and she gets hurt and her and the baby may not survive. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes street racing.
In this book some characters had opinions on somethings. Jake's opinion on street racing was that it was dangerous and childish. Also he didnt like his older brothers girlfriend because he thought she was bossy. Jake thought that leaving the accident scene before anyone saw was the right thing to do so he wouldnt get introuble.
The msot interesting part was when the counsler convinced him to do a good thing. Usually one of your friends would convince you to do that kind of thing. But thats not how it was in this book. His friend was telling him not to tell. So he was living with the guilt.
This book is shocking, interesting, awewsome and scary or like the reader feels worried in some parts. Its shocking because of what the main character does when he borrows his older brothers car. Its interesting because you want to find out what happens in the accident. Its an awesome book to read. You get a worried feeling because in the accident there was a pregnant girl and she gets hurt and her and the baby may not survive. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes street racing.
November 24, 2010
The book Overdrive was a really good book, it is about a boy named Jake and he had a friend named Mickey, and another important character is Luke. Those three boys all go to the same school. But one day they got in a car crash, Jake and Mickey were in one car and Luke was in a other. And Luke was very hurt, but Luke didn't know that Mickey and Jake caused it, no one knew but them. And they don't want to tell anyone because it was Mickey's fault, and after that Jake changes.
The theme of the book is telling the truth. Because the two boys lie about it and they dont tell anyone, but at the end of the book the counselor talks to Jake.Before Jake goes to the hospital to see Luke. And Mickey was at school, they had a assembly and it talked what happened to Luke and Mickey told the polices that they were there but they only saw what happened, so he lied about being the other person to cause the car crash. And Jake talks to the counselor , because she wants to know the truth. And thats when Jake decides to tell the truth.
This book teaches that it is bad to lie, in a way.Because some day, something will happen that well make you tell the truth, and it is true. I feel bad for Luke because he had to learn from Mickeys mistake, which is having loud music in the car and not paying attention, which lead luke to the hospital.
I recommend this book because it is good and short.
The theme of the book is telling the truth. Because the two boys lie about it and they dont tell anyone, but at the end of the book the counselor talks to Jake.Before Jake goes to the hospital to see Luke. And Mickey was at school, they had a assembly and it talked what happened to Luke and Mickey told the polices that they were there but they only saw what happened, so he lied about being the other person to cause the car crash. And Jake talks to the counselor , because she wants to know the truth. And thats when Jake decides to tell the truth.
This book teaches that it is bad to lie, in a way.Because some day, something will happen that well make you tell the truth, and it is true. I feel bad for Luke because he had to learn from Mickeys mistake, which is having loud music in the car and not paying attention, which lead luke to the hospital.
I recommend this book because it is good and short.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2012
The book Overdrive was a really good book, it is about a boy named Jake and he
had a friend named Mickey, and another important character is Luke. Those three
boys all go to the same school. But one day they got in a car crash, Jake and
Mickey were in one car and Luke was in a other. And Luke was very hurt, but Luke
didn't know that Mickey and Jake caused it, no one knew but them. And they
didn't want to tell anyone because it was Mickey's fault, and after that Jake
changes.
The theme of the book is lying, an how it effects people. The two boys lie about
the car crash and they dont tell anyone, but at the end of the book the
counselor talks to Jake.Before Jake goes to the hospital to see Luke. And Mickey
was at school, they had a assembly and it talked about what happened to Luke,
and Mickey told the polices that they were there but they only saw what
happened, so he lied . And Jake talks to the counselor , because she wants to
know the truth. And thats when Jake decides to tell the truth.
This book teaches that it is bad to lie, in a way.Because some day, something
will happen that well make you tell the truth, and it is true. I feel bad for
Luke because he had to learn from Mickeys mistake, which is having loud music in
the car and not paying attention, which lead luke to the hospital.
had a friend named Mickey, and another important character is Luke. Those three
boys all go to the same school. But one day they got in a car crash, Jake and
Mickey were in one car and Luke was in a other. And Luke was very hurt, but Luke
didn't know that Mickey and Jake caused it, no one knew but them. And they
didn't want to tell anyone because it was Mickey's fault, and after that Jake
changes.
The theme of the book is lying, an how it effects people. The two boys lie about
the car crash and they dont tell anyone, but at the end of the book the
counselor talks to Jake.Before Jake goes to the hospital to see Luke. And Mickey
was at school, they had a assembly and it talked about what happened to Luke,
and Mickey told the polices that they were there but they only saw what
happened, so he lied . And Jake talks to the counselor , because she wants to
know the truth. And thats when Jake decides to tell the truth.
This book teaches that it is bad to lie, in a way.Because some day, something
will happen that well make you tell the truth, and it is true. I feel bad for
Luke because he had to learn from Mickeys mistake, which is having loud music in
the car and not paying attention, which lead luke to the hospital.
March 25, 2014
Mickey and jake, two teen boys in high school, are bestfriends. They are not the best students, but they are passing their classes. Jake is a bad influence on mickey. Mickey wants to be just like jake, so he does whatever jake does and what jake tells him to do. They are two well known bullies. They spend most of their evenings in detention after school. When their not in detention, their out getting in trouble with the law. One night they were out pass curfew racing with one of their buddies on a narrow 2 way road that is never busy at night. The boys were racing for about an hour and they were on their last go around. The start of the race was going well mickey and jake, who were in the same car, were winning. Mickey was the driver and it was his first time racing so he was excited. With his adrenaline at its highest they come around the corner and, "boom". "We have to get out of here. There's nothing we can do.", said jake, in the passenger seat. When they pulled off mickey saw red light behind him, so he busted a left turn and took off into the darkness frantically.
I think this book was pretty suspenseful. It kept my attention very well. I think this book is for an audience of middle schoolers and I wouldnt mind recommending this book to someone else.
I think this book was pretty suspenseful. It kept my attention very well. I think this book is for an audience of middle schoolers and I wouldnt mind recommending this book to someone else.
October 3, 2016
I read "overdrive" by Eric Walters. I really liked Overdrive and the intense feel of guilt that Jake had after the accident. This book also made it easy to understand and it made it enjoyable to actually know what was going on in the book. This book was by far the best book that I have ever read. I definitely will start reading more Eric Walters after seeing how he writes.
I often questioned whether Jake would tell someone that he was the other car street racing Luke. After the accident Luke felt really guilty but his best friend Mickey didn't feel bad at all. I am also in wounder of why they didn't clean the pop off the hood before going home so Jake's brother wouldn't know something was weird. In the end I think that Jake will do the right thing as his heart is telling him to.
Throughout the whole book the main points were clear through Jake and Mickey's voices. Jake never stopped thinking about the wreck after it happened, even after he found out everyone was OK he couldn't stop thinking about it. If I was in the position of Jake, I would have diffidently have told someone because I couldn't deal with the guilt and the punishment would most likely less if I just came clean.
I often questioned whether Jake would tell someone that he was the other car street racing Luke. After the accident Luke felt really guilty but his best friend Mickey didn't feel bad at all. I am also in wounder of why they didn't clean the pop off the hood before going home so Jake's brother wouldn't know something was weird. In the end I think that Jake will do the right thing as his heart is telling him to.
Throughout the whole book the main points were clear through Jake and Mickey's voices. Jake never stopped thinking about the wreck after it happened, even after he found out everyone was OK he couldn't stop thinking about it. If I was in the position of Jake, I would have diffidently have told someone because I couldn't deal with the guilt and the punishment would most likely less if I just came clean.
August 4, 2015
Overdrive
I want to rate this book by the value of 3 stars it was boring so it made my hard to follow. I don't say this book was bad, because it gave me a big lesson. Jake is a 9th grade boy who got his driven license. That same afternoon Jake and his friend Mickey got together. Jack told him that his brother would start lending him his car, they thought that they would be the coolest in all the grade because nobody got that opportunity of riding a car, instead Jake had failed the grade and he is older. They went for a spin to get something to eat. At the way back home, they saw an old Jakes classmate, Luke. He bothers Jack by saying that he hadn't pass the grade. Jake very upset propose Luke to a street-race. By the time they started speeding Jake saw that Luke didn't stop, he crashed into a car with a pregnant women and a boy. Jack and Mickey didn't stop to help, they run away.
This book teaches me the lesson that you need to be very careful in life because in a minute you aren't alive anymore, also that you need to face the reality and help people as you want to be helped.
I want to rate this book by the value of 3 stars it was boring so it made my hard to follow. I don't say this book was bad, because it gave me a big lesson. Jake is a 9th grade boy who got his driven license. That same afternoon Jake and his friend Mickey got together. Jack told him that his brother would start lending him his car, they thought that they would be the coolest in all the grade because nobody got that opportunity of riding a car, instead Jake had failed the grade and he is older. They went for a spin to get something to eat. At the way back home, they saw an old Jakes classmate, Luke. He bothers Jack by saying that he hadn't pass the grade. Jake very upset propose Luke to a street-race. By the time they started speeding Jake saw that Luke didn't stop, he crashed into a car with a pregnant women and a boy. Jack and Mickey didn't stop to help, they run away.
This book teaches me the lesson that you need to be very careful in life because in a minute you aren't alive anymore, also that you need to face the reality and help people as you want to be helped.
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December 1, 2011Overdrive
This book is good for people who like drama and racing. It tells you about the car its self and the driver Jack is the main character and he is in his teens, he go’s to a diner to get a bite and he ends up racing. An old friend Luke and after the race his old friend Luke wheat zooming past him and hits a car with a pregnant women in it. Jack is scared so he quickly drives home to get to his brother because it’s his car and he has to go get his girlfriend but she comes to him. The next day he wakes up and gets the paper and there is nothing in it so he cheeks the TV. It’s on there but their looking for a white car his car whose going in to get painted today it was going to get painted red. He go’s to the hospital and see’s Luke he lost his memory he go’s back to school and he was late for class. His teacher got mad and sent him to the office his councilor talks’ to him and he called the police.
This book is good for people who like drama and racing. It tells you about the car its self and the driver Jack is the main character and he is in his teens, he go’s to a diner to get a bite and he ends up racing. An old friend Luke and after the race his old friend Luke wheat zooming past him and hits a car with a pregnant women in it. Jack is scared so he quickly drives home to get to his brother because it’s his car and he has to go get his girlfriend but she comes to him. The next day he wakes up and gets the paper and there is nothing in it so he cheeks the TV. It’s on there but their looking for a white car his car whose going in to get painted today it was going to get painted red. He go’s to the hospital and see’s Luke he lost his memory he go’s back to school and he was late for class. His teacher got mad and sent him to the office his councilor talks’ to him and he called the police.
March 9, 2013
The target audience for this series of books is reluctant readers. This has many drawbacks upon the book, especially that one never knows what happens after, or the full climax of the book. It's not bad authors, it's the format of these books. However I really don't like that there's not a full-fledge plot, so there automatically goes one star. Also, each of these books are about "hot topics". Some of which you'll care about and others which you won't.
Overdrive is about street racing, and the consequences of doing anything once. Maybe it's because I have never shown an interest in racing or think that the idea is so completely and utterly stupid (street racing), this book's topic really didn't interest me. I read it, but nothing in the book captivated me. The right choice was always present to me, and the MC exhibited these tell tale signs of what he was going to do.
I'm just unfeeling about this book. There was a point, but it didn't touch me in any way.
Overdrive is about street racing, and the consequences of doing anything once. Maybe it's because I have never shown an interest in racing or think that the idea is so completely and utterly stupid (street racing), this book's topic really didn't interest me. I read it, but nothing in the book captivated me. The right choice was always present to me, and the MC exhibited these tell tale signs of what he was going to do.
I'm just unfeeling about this book. There was a point, but it didn't touch me in any way.
August 23, 2010
This book is terrible. one of the worst books I've ever read. It's full of obvious statements, "'a coma!' That's serious.", and "head injuries are serious."
Overdrive is about a boy who kinda-sorta causes a car accident in the first 50 pages. The remaining 50 pages are him making suspicious statements to people like, "what happens if they catch the guy?","Suppose they were racing before the accident..like a couple of blocks before the accident, and the one guy shut it down?" and "But he wasn't in the accident. He didn't cause the accident!" all in the same conversation and no one suspecting A THING. He waits for 49 pages, finds out everyone involved in the accident is fine or going to be, then decides to turn himself in.
Reading this book was torture.
Overdrive is about a boy who kinda-sorta causes a car accident in the first 50 pages. The remaining 50 pages are him making suspicious statements to people like, "what happens if they catch the guy?","Suppose they were racing before the accident..like a couple of blocks before the accident, and the one guy shut it down?" and "But he wasn't in the accident. He didn't cause the accident!" all in the same conversation and no one suspecting A THING. He waits for 49 pages, finds out everyone involved in the accident is fine or going to be, then decides to turn himself in.
Reading this book was torture.
November 28, 2011
This book is basically describing the danger of overdrive. First, Jake just gets his license, which means he does not have any driving experiences. Second, Jake is just a teenager, he is too young to drive. And the most important thing is even a skilled driving person will be in accident when s/he overdrive, and Jake is way to far to be a skilled driver. Another message in this book is people usually do not want to get in trouble, which leads them to escape from the truth and being irresponsible. When Jake and Mickey are in accident, they just want to escape, they do not want to stay there and get in trouble. They overdrive but do not want to be responsible, that is not the way that the mature people suppose to be.
October 8, 2009
it is a very good book Jake is ecxited he has his license.His friend Mickey and him went street racing with Jakes brother's car.he street races his old mean friend Luke and he ends up having an accident. Jake does not run into the cars so he is not hurt but look is.Before the police could get there Jake was already gone.it is against the law to leave an anccident when you are appart of it.Jake is so worried that he goes to the hospital and checks on Luke.No one knows that Jake was appart of the accident.
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June 16, 2010Even though this book was kinda short, the overall summary of it is good. It talks about high school people having cool cars, and the narrator borrows one from his cousin. He and his friend Mickey drive around town and suddenly bump into the guy he always hated. He raced him and got into an accident and the narrator tries to get out of it.
Overall I don't recommend this book since it's really short and can bore people easily. They could choose it if they want a book to read on the go that's fun and entertaining. Otherwise, this book's story could have been extended and detailed more.
September 19, 2017
I thought the book was not bad but not good either. In the book, “Overdrive”, one 16 year old gets his driving licence and his friend a 15 year old in the same grade. The author makes this not very interesting idea, and makes it just about as interesting as watching paint dry. The only decently interesting thing about this book is that the main characters’ freak out and feel really bad when something happens. I would recommend this book to beginning readers or people who don't like reading. If I were you, I’d read it when you are bored.
July 13, 2014
This was a really boring book. There was also quite of bit of strong language. The only thing this book has going for it is that it's a very speedy read, but that's not a reason to read a book. I wouldn't recommend it.
1.5 stars
1.5 stars
May 29, 2015
I rate this book four stars because it is very dramatic. Jake (the main character) has got his drivers license. His brother, Andy let him borrow his car. But when his so long friend-enemy challenges him to a race. when he was racing, a distraction chain reaction causes a accident to happen. Jake is trying hard to convince him self that he did not get involved.I recommend this book because there is exciting parts in it if you want to see the exciting/surprising parts go and read the book now!
December 16, 2015
I think that this book Overdrive by Eric Walters was an okay book to read. This book is about a ninth grader who had to learn his lesson about racing cars against other people. There are many races in the book because people just want to have bets or race in their free time. This book was very sad and depressing. There are many sad things that happen in this book. If you don't want to read any books that have sad endings then I suggest you should read something other than this book.
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