The Black Pearl

Pretty much your standard coming-of-age story. If I were recommending Newbery's to someone, I wouldn't start them off with this one.

Ramon Salazar is 16 years old and lives off Baja, California. His father is in the pearl diving business, and Ramon is eager to help him by being a diver. He finds a very expensive pearl that ends up bringing a lot of trouble to his family and community. Or does it?

This was a Newbery Honor book in

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1968. I enjoyed the story very much, but it is hard to write a review on a book so short without giving too many details away. It is a brief, but very enjoyable read. Scott O'Dell also wrote Island of the Blue Dolphins, a Newbery Award winner.

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What a perfectly beautiful story. It is perfect. Short, meaningful...carefully chosen words. This is the Newberry honor book, makes me wonder what won. This is classic literature for kids and YA.

An exciting story about a young pearl diver and his family. Thrills and chills.

This book is about 16 year old Ramun Salazar that wants to become a pearl diver. Ramun finds a huge black pearl. The story talks about his journey to return it, because he fears that the Manto Diablo is making bad things happen to him and his father. Ramun thinks that if he returns the pearl, their

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bad luck will cease. However, returning it is not as easy as Ramun would like....

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The Black Pearl is about Ramon, who is 16 and lives in La Paz. In La Paz, everyone believes in Manta Diablo, which is monster in the ocean that protects the pearls. Ramon wants to be a pearl diver just like his dad, but his father does not want to teach him, so Ramon works behind the desk weighing

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pearls. Then one day, Ramon gets his friend to teach him how to dive and while he is diving the finds the Pearl of Heaven. His friends thinks he should throw it back, but Ramon doesn't want to. I think this is an ok book, I would probably have it in my class library, but not one of my favorites.

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Available on cassette and CD. An adaptation of this book was made into a film in 1977.

In this short novella Ramon seeks to prove his worth, finds an amazing treasure, loses his father, and confronts the wicked bully. And yet the story is told in spare lines and the myth (or reality) of the Manta Diablo infuses it all with a curious mixture of faith and disbelief.

an exciting book about a boy diving for pearls.

A short book, geared for young adult or adult, with an interesting premise: a young man learns the family business, 'pearls' but longs to dive for the best, the black pearl.

Entertaining, although I was a little 'let down' by how it ended.

Worth a read.

This story is about a sixteen-year-old named Ramon Salazar's. His misfortunes begin when he retrieves an enormous black pearl from a secluded lagoon. This lagoon just happens to be the domain of a giant devilfish, which the locals call Manta Diablo. When Ramon realizes that having taken the pearl

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from the sea has caused unforeseen consequences for him, he attempts to return it. But in attempting to return the pearl, Ramon further imperial his life and his soul. I would recommend this book for those students in grades five through eight.

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Ramon has just turned 16. The promise that Ramon’s father made is to be done now that he is 16. Ramon’s father has promised that he would teach him about pearls. But this wasn’t enough. Ramon wanted to learn how to pearl dive too. After Ramon’s father thought about it, he decided to take

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him out to sea where he watched others pearl dive before he could. One night, Ramon snuck away to the sea of manta diablo. The manta diablo is a myth, he was known as a giant sting ray that lurks the sea. As Ramon dived into the sea all alone, he came across the great black pearl. The black pearl was measured as the biggest pearl he has had. Ramon hid the pearl for several days for his father wasn’t around. When Ramon’s father returned, it was announced to the village: “the black pearl, the pearl of the universe, paragon of pearls, and the great pearl of heaven.” When Ramon’s father decides to sell the pearl, he was soon disgusted with his idea so he went to father Gallardo of the village. Ramon’s father bowed to him, giving the pearl to him for free where it was put in the Madonna for the whole village to admire. A celebration was held five days later. And soon after, storms hit the village killing many, including Ramon’s father. Ramon got the urge to steal the pearl, so he did. He wanted to return it to the sea. But he was followed but the Sevillano. The Sevillano wanted it too. Ramon was basically held hostage. When Ramon and the Sevillano are out in the sea of the manta diablo, fierce things happen when a giant sting ray begins to follow them. It all leads down to the pearl returning to the Madonna as “a gift of adoration, a gift of love.” – This book, “The Black Pearl, by: Scott O’Dell,” was a very good book. You think it’s some boring story in the beginning. It goes by so slow, but as you start understanding the village and all the characters, it’s very entertaining. I could not put the book down. I highly recommend this book to anyone!

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“The Black Pearl” was a book of faith and mystery, honesty and friendship. A book that amazed me, for I would never have thought of such a story! The beginning was very unique, the characters were very interesting, and the story itself was just beautiful!

It begins in the future, after the story

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happened, as Ramón, a 16-year-old boy, gives us, the readers, a small bit of information about the Manta Diablo, the monster devilfish, and the Pearl of Heaven. His father is a pearl dealer, and Ramón must follow his footsteps one day. Ramón wants to learn to dive for pearls as he was promised when he was sixteen, but he never was taught. And is being taunted by one of their best divers. So one night, while the fleet is gone on another mission for pearls and his mother and sister are away , Ramón leaves with Luzon to learn how to dive.

At the lagoon where Luzon lives is where it is said the Manta Diablo dwells in its caves. Ramón didn't believe Luzon, and dove carelessly and without caution. One day, Ramón explores an underwater cave and comes up with a large clam. Inside is the Pearl of Heaven.

Luzon believes that Ramón took the clam from the cave of the Manta Diablo. When Ramón insists on keeping it, Luzon takes Ramón home. After celebrations back home, his father tries to sell it. When people wouldn't pay the proper price, he gave it to the church as a gift for Madonna.

Soon after the gift was given, the fleet goes on yet another mission for pearls. That night a chubasco sweeps through the land and over the seas. Only the best diver survived.

Out of all things, I wish there would have been more drama with the Manta Diablo and its rage for the pearl. It was a very well thought out book that I really enjoyed and was fun to read. All-in-all, a must read.

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It is around the turn of the twentieth century, and sixteen-year-old Ramon Salazar lives in the town of La Paz on the Baja California coast of Mexico, with his father Blas, the owner of a lucrative pearl fishing business, mother, and two sisters. Blas Salazar had promised his son that when he

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turned sixteen he would make Ramon a partner in his business, allow him to sail with the fleet, and teach him how to dive for pearls. However, following his birthday Ramon gets to go only once, staying on the boat, and afterwards is left home to work in the shop because his father is afraid of losing his only son to the sea. So Ramon makes a secret arrangement with an Indian diver named Soto Luzon to learn how to dive for pearls from him while his father’s fleet is out.

One of Senor Salazar’s divers, Gaspar Ruiz, a young man who is called the Sevillano because he came from Seville, Spain, claims to have found a giant pearl the size of a hen’s egg in the Gulf of Persia which he sold to the Shah for a lot of money. Also, in the Vermilion Sea off the shores of La Paz, there is a giant ray known as the Manta Diablo, stories of which mothers in La Paz used to frighten their children into obedience. Soto Luzon says that the Manta Diablo lives in and guards the lagoon near his house, so Ramon goes there to dive and finds The Pearl of Heaven. When Senor Salazar is not offered enough money for it, he gives it to the church. But after the Salazar fleet is destroyed in a storm and everyone, including Ramon’s father, is lost, except for the Sevillano who manages to escape, Ramon finds that the pearl has brought him two enemies—the Manta Diablo and the Sevillano. Then the pearl is stolen. Who took it? And what will happen to Ramon?

Author Scott O’Dell has written some great books. We liked Island of the Blue Dolphins, although we did not care for its sequel Zia quite as well, and we really liked The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day about William Tyndale. I wonder if O’Dell based The Black Pearl on the same Mexican legend that John Steinbeck used for his book The Pearl. It is an interesting adventure-type story with a touch of suspense that has little objectionable. The Spanish phrase “Madre de Dios,” which means “Mother of God,” is used a couple of times as an exclamation, which I understand is fairly common in Mexico. As one might expect, there are several Roman Catholic beliefs and practices mentioned, with which those of us who are Protestants would not agree. In fact, one person suggested, “Treatment of the Madonna by the people could be impetus for a paper on the theology errors in the book.” However, I choose to look upon these things as simply O’Dell’s depiction of the religious customs of the people in a historical fiction setting. It won a Newbery Honor in 1968. Another individual said that it contains “elements of The Old Man and the Sea and Moby Dick” and is a “heavily symbolic tale about evil, art, the artist, greed and nature.”

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The Black Pearl is a well-written coming of age story, even a bit of a page turner. The book grabbed my attention quickly and then held it by steadily tightening the stakes. Yet somehow I finished the book with a shrug. As with O'Dell's Sing Down the Moon, there's no pathos to the prose. You're

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incredibly close to the protagonist, but you're never really in his head. I did my best to fill in the blanks, especially after tragedy struck (as it always does in his books). Just think of this as an emotional DIY project while enjoying the story itself, which I found quite compelling.

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I liked this book for three main reasons. First, I really liked how O’Dell once again ensured the main character of the book was well developed. The reader could really see how young Ramon Salazar grew into a man throughout the book. The book starts with Ramon reminiscing about the past and then

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he retells the story of the Black Pearl. But throughout the story, the reader is able to see the different situations he dealt with and how he handled them. The decisions he made and how he acted emulated how he was maturing. Second, I thought it was very interesting how there were illustrations dispersed throughout the book. They were more abstract-type illustrations and appeared as if they were drawn with pencil. I thought that they enhanced the story because they enriched the mood of what was happening in the story. Also, by using black pencil drawings/sketches I thought it dramatized the ominous feel of some things that happened in the story. For example, one illustration depicts the Manta Diablo and it appears as if the creature encompasses the entire sketch. This gives the feeling of how dangerous and large the creature is. Lastly, I felt the descriptive language, paired with these intermittent illustrations, helped to activate the readers’ imagination. For example, when describing El Diablo in a passage it says, “The Manta Diablo is the larger than the largest ship in the harbor. He has seven rows of teeth.” This passage, and many others alike allow for the reader to create a picture of this massive beast in their minds. The main message of the book is something may not always be as it seems; nature can be beautiful and offer great treasure but it could also be dangerous and cause tragedy too.

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Set in the city of La Paz, Baja that the California Sur, Mexico at some unspecified time in the past, The Black Pearl centres on the alleged fortune of finding a very large and valuable pearl. At 16, Ramón Salazar is made a partner in his father's business but still forbidden the dangerous

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activity of diving for pearls. Among his father's employees, the best diver is Gaspar Ruiz ("The Sevillano"), a braggart who likes to tease Ramón by calling him a spoiled, inexperienced child.

Enraged by such insult, Ramón takes the first chance he gets to learn how to dive. When his father is away on business, he leaves the family home and becomes friends with Soto Luzon, an Indian who lives on a secluded lagoon. He can convince Luzon to become his teacher, and Ramón turns out to be a quick learner. However, the Indian warns him of a certain underwater cave, where he believes the Manta Diablo, a giant manta, lurks. According to the Indian, any pearl taken from there will prompt the Manta Diablo's rage, and the devilfish will pursue the thief until the pearl is returned. Ramón dismisses the warning as sheer superstition, and on the fourth day, inside the cave, is fortunate enough to pry open an oyster and extract a black pearl the size of a grapefruit—"the great Pearl of Heaven".

When he arrives back in La Paz, rumour spreads quickly, and after removing a slight flaw from the pearl, Ramón's father cannot resist showing it to the crowd which has gathered outside the Salazar home. Subsequently, however, the Salazars are unable to sell the pearl as none of the four other pearl dealers in town is willing, or able, to pay the price demanded by them. Furious, the older Salazar presents the pearl to Father Gallardo, who places it in the outstretched hand of the Madonna, a statue of the Virgin Mary sitting in a niche of the local church. In return, Father Gallardo bestows God's blessing on the Salazar pearling fleet.

Made reckless by the blessing, Ramón's father decides to set sail despite a gathering chubasco, and although known as a fine captain, he cannot save his fleet of five boats from being wrecked in the storm. He drowns together with his 30 men, with Gaspar Ruiz, the ablest swimmer, the only survivor.

Soto Luzon utters another warning and insists that the storm was brought on by the Manta Diablo who wants his pearl back, and Ramón now believes him. He steals the pearl with the intent to return it to the manta, but Gaspar Ruiz, armed with a knife, meets him at the lagoon and takes it from him, intending to make his own fortune. Ramón is compelled at knifepoint to paddle their boat to the city where the Sevillano wants to sell the pearl, but the manta follows them, to recover his pearl, as Ramón is convinced. The Sevillano laughs at his fears, and when the manta does attack them, he harpoons it, and ends up accidentally strapped to the manta when it eventually dives under. Both he and the manta die. Ramón stays in the area for a while to see if the Sevillano, known for his long dives, might reappear. When he does not, Ramón brings the pearl back to the church, feeling that only now has he finally become a man.

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From the depths of a cave in the Vermilion Sea, Ramon Salazar has wrested a black pearl so lustrous and captivating that his father, an expert pearl dealer, is certain Ramon has found the legendary Pearl of Heaven. Such a treasure is sure to bring great joy to the villagers of their tiny coastal

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town, and even greater renown to the Salazar name. No diver, not even the swaggering Gaspar Ruiz, has ever found a pearl like this!

But is there a price to pay for a prize so great? When a terrible tragedy strikes the village, old Luzon’s warning about El Diablo returns to haunt Ramon. If El Diablo actually exists, it will take all Ramon’s courage to face the winged creature waiting for him offshore. (Amazon) Kari recommended in author presentation

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I thought this was an interesting book - not great. Ramon is a young man who's taken into the pearl business by his father. Not content to do the book keeping, Ramon wants to do the 'manly stuff' - diving for pearls. While his father is away, Ramon asks an old pearl diver to teach him. Reluctantly

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the old man agrees and while diving on his own for the first time, Ramon finds a huge black pearl. Unfortunately, instead of being a boon for his family and his people, the Black Pearl is a harbinger of doom.

Obviously and rightly geared toward a younger audience, the book still left me with more questions than I would have expected.

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Ramon Salazar works for his father, a pearl fisherman and dealer, but is always working in the shop instead of out fishing for pearls with the men. He longs to be a pearl diver. He heads off on his own one day to fish in a secluded lagoon and finds the ultimate pearl, smoky black, perfectly round,

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and enormous. The Pearl of Heaven however, seems to come only at a dear price for he who finds it.
Reminiscent of John Steinbeck.

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