The Black Pearl

Author: Scott O'Dell

Main characters: Ramon, Luzon (the old Indian), and Sevillano (the diver)

It is set in La Paz, Mexico (interesting because I have a friend with the same last name). Ramon and his father own a pearl diving company. They sell pearls that they find from the coves. He has recently turned sixteen and his father has made him a partner in the Salazar company. Luzon comes from a neighboring cove to sell pearls. Ramon decides to ask Luzon to take him to his cove to teach him how to dive. During this time he hears that the infamous Manta Diablo lives in the cave near there. I believe that the manta is what we would call a mantaray...or a large sting ray. I am not sure but it is what I imagined it to be. Apparently, in their culture there is the largest and meanest manta they call Manta Diablo. It is a legend mothers tell their children, sort of what I would guess to be like the big bad wolf. During his last dive, Ramon finds the largest pearl he has ever seen and he takes it. Luzon warns him that it belongs to the Manta Diablo and that he should give it back. Sevillano turns out to be Ramon's adversary in the story. One of the last scenes of the book has Sevillano fighting the Manta Diablo while Ramon watches from the boat. It is an interesting story. I think a middle school student would like it, though I did not enjoy the story as much as some of the others. The ending was not finite enough for me because the author does not actually say what happened in the scene near the end of the book. This was another book from the science literature list. I will probably not use this one.