Author: Scott O'Dell
Title: The Black Pearl
Rating: 5
Reviewer: TK Grade: 6
Review:
In this story, a boy named Ramon Salazar who lived is La Paz finds the Pearl of Heaven. This led to the Manta Diablo fighting against two people; the only two people who have ever seen him. The adventures of this sixteen year-old boy let to a disaster as they struggled to keep the pearl.
Ramon Salazar found the 62.3 carat pearl in the cave of the Manta Diablo. The pearl had one flaw and that disappeared when Ramon's father cut that away with a curved knife. Also, Ramon's father tries to make the other pearl dealers buy the pearl for twenty thousand pesos. When the dealers keep the money low, Ramon's father sends Ramon to the church to get Father Gallardo and gives the pearl to the church. Ramon, though, later steals it and goes with Gaspar Ruiz, also known as the Sevillano. They later meet Manta Diablo and struggle with him.
Ramon's father was the most famous pearl dealer on the Vermillion River. He opened up a new business called Salazar and Son. It later broke up after four months was put together again, and later broke up again for good. One of the reasons of why it did not last long was because Ramon wanted to learn how to dive for pearls when he was sixteen. He later took part in a storm with the Sevillano in the Santa Teresa.
There was an old man who was an Indian. His name was Soto Luzon. He lived at a lagoon seven leagues from La Paz. He looked for pearls, but never in a cave where he believed the Manta Diablo lived. Without Luzon, Ramon would not have found the Pearl of Heaven in the cave, even though Luzon warned not to go in there. For Ramon to dive and get pearls, he had to learn about "taking the wind," which was hard to do. The old man advised Ramon to throw the pearl in the water, but Ramon would not listen.
The reason that people called Ruiz the Sevillano was because he came from Seville in Spain a month before, or so he said. His boasts were all lies, but Ramon learned from his father that you should listen to them as if you believed in them, for he fought a lot, and one of them was fatal. He wanted to steal the pearl, but Ramon stole it first. Later, Ramon and Ruiz were together because Ruiz forced him to.
The pearl of Heaven led to fighting and stealing. The old man was clever, but the others were not. Eventually, though, the pearl goes to one owner.
8/31/03