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The Black Pearl is a young adult novel by Scott O'Dell first published in 1967 about the coming of age of the son of a pearl dealer living in the Baja peninsula. It was a Newbery Honor book in 1967.

Plot summary
The Black Pearl is the story of sixteen-year-old Ramón Salazar, who lives with his family in Baja California. Ramón's father, Blas Salazar, is the most famous pearl dealer in the region. Gaspar Ruiz, known as the "Sevillano," is the Salazar's best diver, and continually boasts of his great achievements.

Ramón's dream is to find a pearl so large that the Sevillano will have to treat him with respect. To achieve this goal Ramón convinces Soto Luzon, who sells pearls to his father, to teach him to dive for pearls in his lagoon. Soto Luzon, a superstitious Indian, informs Ramón that the Manta Diablo, a giant manta, lives in a cave in the lagoon. Ramón continues to practice his diving in the lagoon, however, and on the fourth day his dream comes true – he finds the great Pearl of Heaven.

Although Ramón offers to share his good fortune with the Indian, Soto Luzon refuses, insisting that the pearl belongs to the Manta Diablo. He warns Ramón that Manta will want it back. The discovery of the pearl brings much excitement to the Salazar family and town of La Paz. Ramón's father decides to give the pearl to one of the church workers after an unpleasant and unsuccessful attempt to sell it. It is his hope that the gesture will insure protection for his fleet. On his next trip to sea, the fleet is destroyed during a storm. Blas Salazar and all of his men but one are drowned; the only survivor is the Sevillano. When Ramón learns of the tragedy, he realizes that the Indian was right and he decides to return the pearl to the Manta Diablo. Taking the pearl from the church, he sets out by boat for the lagoon. The Sevillano, who is determined to have the pearl, soon overtakes him. The Manta Diablo appears in the water and circles the boat. The Sevillano harpoons the creature, attacks it with a knife, and is taken down by the manta. Ramón makes his way back to La Paz and returns the pearl to the church

Characters

 * Ramon Salazar- The male protagonist in the storyline. He is a 16 year old teenage boy who resides in the city of La Paz, Mexico. He helps out his father who owns a pearl business. His routine is to help out his father's business in the office but also wants to learn how to dive to search for pearls in the seas with his father.
 * Blas- Ramon's father who owns a pearl business. He dives for pearls in the Vermillion Sea in order to sell them to make profit for his business.
 * Soto Luzon-- A local Indian who talks with Ramon as he teaches him how to dive and work out a deal with each other. He warns Ramon about the dangers that lie with a pearl that belongs to Manta Diablo.
 * Gaspar Ruiz- A man known as The Sevillano, is a greedy diver who is part of the fleet that belongs to Blas. He tracks Ramon as he goes to the lagoon and takes the pearl away from him, which belongs to Manta Diablo. He takes Ramon hostage as he tries to sell the pearl for the highest price possible.
 * Manta Diablo- A large manta ray who seeks for his pearl that belongs to the possession of Ramon.

Critical Reception
A 16-year-old boy does battle with an enormous devilfish that guards a rare, black pearl. PW said this 1968 Newbery Honor Book reverberates with "proud admiration of the courage of the human spirit." Ages 10-up.

Awards
Newbery Medal Award Winner in 1967.