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Liked It “This book would be great when doing different cultural studies and students could compare and contrast the differences in the lifestyles of the people in the book vs. how they spend their time. This book would also be great for reader's workshop cause there is so many difficult decisions that the...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “This book is about a boy, and his family. His family is one of the wealthiest families in there town because they sell, and find pearls. For the boys 16th birthday his father teaches him how to hunt for pearls. They dont really find anything, and his father has to leave the next day. The next day...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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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 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.
Dana A wrote this review Sunday, November 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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.”“This book would be great when doing different cultural studies and students could compare and contrast the differences in the lifestyles of the people in the book vs. how they spend their time. This book would also be great for reader's workshop cause there is so many difficult decisions that the main character has to make in terms of keeping the pearl or giving it back to the manta ray. It would be cool to have the students discuss and write about what they would do if it was their choice.”
kendra C wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Black Pearl By Scott O'Dell was a very interesting book. It's unusual plot drags you into the story bit by bit. Everyone who lives on the coasts of Baja California have heard stories of the el Diablo. The El Diablo has never been seen untill now. Ramon has heard stories on how this monster manta ray looked, and of the fabulous stories his mother told him. His mother warned him that if he was bad, she would call upon the El Diablo and have a word with him. It was said that the monster had 7 rows of giant teeth and more than 1 eye. When Ramon turned sixteen, his father promisede him to teach him how to go pearling. Ramon Finds a Giant black pearl known as "The Pearl Of heaven" right inside the manta diablo's cave, The manta diablo comes tracking him down. Should Ramon sell the pearl and take his chances of surrviving the manta diablo? or should he just haul it back in sea in order for the manta diablo to take it back? Read the black pearl to find out. I recommend this book for students studying marine biology and want a little horror to their sea travels. ”
Sebastien B wrote this review Sunday, October 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I like books with Jewels in them.....only because I want some!”
Michael S wrote this review Saturday, October 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“when a young boy desperate to prove his worth finds a black pearl the size of a bowling ball he is flung head first into trouble. when he was young he was told stories about the manta deablo. the manta deablo is a huge manta he has seen many of these but none as huge as this or as violent; and after a tragedy he must face it and make an impossible choice between beliefs and wealth. an amazing and powerful book and its only 100 pages! ”
AC wrote this review Sunday, September 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“it was good and very educational. A little hard to understand. I suggest this 4 a social studies class!”
pengwen wrote this review Sunday, June 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“DIDN'T READ YET......NO RATING.”
Katelyn P wrote this review Tuesday, May 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book is very interesting and I really enjoyed reading it!”
Jacqueline K wrote this review Thursday, April 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book is about a kid who finds a great black pearl in a underwater cave when he goes diving. However this pearl belongs to the "manta diablo"...(sea monster) and it wants it back. Eventually he returns the pearl but not before a bunch of chaos occurs. i liked this book a lot. ”
Andrew M :) wrote this review Tuesday, April 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This book is about a boy, and his family. His family is one of the wealthiest families in there town because they sell, and find pearls. For the boys 16th birthday his father teaches him how to hunt for pearls. They dont really find anything, and his father has to leave the next day. The next day he goes out to sea with a guy he just met, and he found the biggest pearl.
AmAnDa :) wrote this review Tuesday, April 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
NOT FINSHED”
