Parkour à Paris (French), by A. Briotet
Parkour is an urban athletic training discipline developed in France, also referred to as l’art du déplacement. Parkour has inspired many modern videogames and stunt films world- wide. Parkour combines martial arts, gymnastics, and military training along with the philosophical concepts of altruism, courage, and discipline. Parkour plays a central role in this French learner’s novel. Malik is a teenager in Paris struggling to see anything positive in his life. Just when he thinks life can’t get much worse, he has a transformative experience that begins to change his outlook. However, he doesn’t have a record of making good choices. Malik must walk the fine line between making the leap towards a better life and the painful fall into failure.
This novice-mid to novice−high novel incorporates many cognates, cultural and vocabulary footnotes, as well as a full glossary at the end. Although fictional, much of the information about Parkour is based on interviews and articles about David Belle, the founder of le parkour. Level 1-2
