Grip: A Senior Narrative Book Jacket by Karna Chelluri (2016)

Nik is a recent high school graduate who takes his dad's car for a joyride a few days after graduation. He meets his friend Danny in the parking lot of Foothill College so that they can do their regular Sunday drive. Danny is struck by the fact that Nik is disobeying his dad's orders, but Nik assures him that he is not doing anything wrong and they start going up to Skyline boulevard. While driving, Nik reflects on the lack of rebellious attitude he had during high school. He starts to realize that he could have had much more fun during those years and now that he was going off to college, there was nothing he could do about it.

Halfway through the drive, Nik performs an illegal pass of Danny and speeds away. All he could think about is how boring his life had been up until that point and how he'd never be able to recoup the lost time spent studying instead of exploring. As Nik approaches a blind corner, he pulls the handbrake impulsively to try drifting the car, but a puddle of water underneath him causes the car to start spinning uncontrollably. When he's able to correct his car, Nik finds clarity. He realizes that not being rebellious wasn't a bad thing, but the only way he could have found that out was through stealing his dad's car and ending up exactly where he was. Nik's dad is waiting for the boys as they pull into the driveway and takes a look at the damage that Nik had done to the car. Rather than being angry at Nik, though, he tells Nik that he knew that this was bound to happen. He'd noticed that Nik didn't have a rebellious spirit because he was too preoccupied with school and saw himself as a child in him. Knowing what he did when he was Nik's age, he knew what was bound to happen.