Dirty Girls on Top

It doesn't take long to find yourself halfway through Dirty Girls on Top. It's a bit like catching up with your most disfunctional friends at their absolute lowest points and being unable to do anything but listen and watch, praying they'll make the right choices.

The problem with this is that you know that they're going to stumble. A lot. Some more than others, and some are going to be hard to like while they're down and out. Rebecca especially is hard to take in anything other than small doses, although her agony over the state of her family goes a long way in smoothing things over. Usnavys manages to be a fantastic friend and an awful wife, but just as you're ready to declare her husband a saint, you start to wonder if maybe he show more didn't help push her away more than you originally thought. It's little things like this that save the book from being too painful to read. Just as each woman tiptoes to the edge of annoyance, something brings her back to sanity. Even Sara, who spends the first half of the book being painfully misguided, has a moment of clarity, though perhaps it comes a little too late to save her from even more pain.

Dirty Girls on Top is well worth the read, though it's definitely not without moments where you wish it were possible to reach out and smack a fictional character. It's fast paced and the alternating views keep things interesting, and with the differing opinions and voices floating around in the book, there's bound to be at least one character you find yourself loving. show less

I read the Dirty Girls Social Club back when it first came out, and loved it. Even though I am not Latina, I still felt I could relate to the characters. Now, with the sequel, I still feel the same way.

I love how each character has her own voice. The author switches so easily between voices and tone for each character, that you almost feel like each woman is talking directly to you. And, the problems and situations these women face, while sometimes extrordinary, are also down-to-earth and I could see facets of my own life experiences in each of them.

The only thing that bothered me was the liberal use of Spanish throughout. I know what the author was trying to accomplish, and most of the time I could figure out meanings from context, but show more there were some instances where I had NO clue what the Spanish words meant, which was a bit frustrating.

And like the other reviewers said, this book is racy! Right from the first few pages there's sex and foul language. That didn't bother me at all, but if you are a sensitive reader, be warned.

Overall, a great book! I laughed out loud, I was sad, I was happy, I was shocked. This book has it all. Engaging plot that kept me up reading way past when I should have turned out the light. :) I would highly recommend this book to any woman, Latina or not. show less

The dirty girls are back, and there sure are a lot of them - Cuicatl (formerly known as Amber), Usnavys, Sara, Elizabeth, Lauren, and Rebecca. Cuicatl is struggling to revive her music career, which seems to have hit the rocks due to the inaccessibility of her latest songs, while Usnavys is up to no good in an irritatingly predictable subplot (though she redeems herself by the end of the story). Sara is caught up in her (literally) murderous ex-husband Roberto, while Elizabeth gives in to her passion for Lauren, and later regrets it. Rebecca, the primmest of the group, comes to terms with her infertility, and seeks alternate options.

While the cast of characters at times feels like a circus, Valdes-Rodriguez's gift for engaging show more characterization and tight plotting are on full display here. At times I was amazed by the stupidity of the women's behavior, particularly Usnavys and Sara, but the author keeps her characters self-aware and they learn even more about themselves as they go along. It sounds like there may be a sequel in the works. show less

The Sucias are here again, and as you read this story - you want to drink it in like a top shelf mojito (or at least hope it's happy hour so you get 2 for 1). I love all the characters (even the ones I don't want to like) and how they all develop and change. They've moved on in their lives from the first book, and are having new adventures. I really enjoyed the structure of the book -- each character is her own narrator, which makes the story more complete. And like with many friendships -- we all view thing differently, so having the various characters tell the story gives us the readers the full story.
Like the first book -- I enjoyed the attitude of this book and can't wait to see what the Sucias are up to in the next book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dirty Girls On Top, Alisa Valdes -Rogriquez' sequel to The Dirty Girls Social Club. The author continued the tales of the six young ladies to whom she introduced us in the first installment of the Dirty Girls, and she stayed true to the characters, their actions, and their reactions. I found this novel to be highly entertaining, somewhat thought provoking, laugh out loud funny, and absolutely engaging. I liked how Valdes-Rodriguez was able to refresh the reader's memory with subtle references to occurances in the first book without using tedious flashbacks or beating the reader over the head with in-depth details. She used just enough to bring the first book back to life and remind me why I enjoyed these characters show more in the first place. This novel does, however, contain a considerable amount of foul language and sexual scenes, so I would not recommend this novel to anyone who may find this sort of writing offensive. I will be looking for this author's next publication. show less

Woooo. This book was steamy! I read The Dirty Girls Social Club back when it came out in hard cover as part of a book club out in California. This book seems racier. I enjoyed popping back into the characters' lives. I'm a sequel junkie. I don't think this book would suit either of my bookclubs here in my Georgia suburb though - where I am sad to say "Latina" is barely in the local vocabulary and everyone Hispanic is "Mexican." Sigh . . .

Favorite character in this book (and the first) - Usnavys
Least favorite - Cuicatl
Most predictable story line - Sara's
Insightful new story line twist - Lauren's bulimia (I only remember alchohol from the first book . . . )

As a (sadly) non-Spanish-speaking white girl born and raised in a Boston suburb, I show more won't try to make comments on what the book does or does not do for the potrayal of Latina women in literature. It was a very quick read (less than a day), and I enjoyed it. Great summer beach read! show less

I might have gotten more out of this sequel to "The Dirty Girls Social Club" if I had read the first book (which I own). Six Latina friends gather at a New Mexico resort, and then go on with their busy lives in Boston and elsewhere. The narrative is lively and peppered with Spanish ("m'ija"). I get the feeling we'll be hearing more from these "sucias."