Cute Mutants Vol 4: The Sisterhood of Evil Mutants by S.J. Whitby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Sisterhood of Evil Mutants by SJ Whitby is the fourth entry in The Cute Mutants Series and is decidedly darker than the previous books. Volume four finds Dylan and company in West Haven, a clandestine refuge for mutants.
And while Whitby introduces several new characters, they reduce most of them to either cannon fodder or bit players, which was a shame.
I also didn’t like Whitby’s choice to split the Cute Mutants into two groups later in the book, as it robbed the story of the camaraderie and group dynamics that made the previous books so fun to read.
Dylan, Dani, Emma, Alyse, and newcomer Feral (a hybrid of Wolverine and Beast from the X-Men) form the first group and begin robbing banks connected to DainTree, the in-universe version of Google/Amazon. They then donate that money to various charitable causes to improve the PR of Mutant kind, after a group of Mutants claiming to be affiliated with Dylan and the Cute Mutants carry out a terrorist attack on Washington DC.
The second team; that stays behind in West Haven; comprises Lou, Maddison, Gladdy, and Katie.
This could have worked if there were chapters following the second group. Instead, readers only follow Dylan’s group, leaving you wondering about the safety of those back in West Haven.
I enjoyed the political intrigue within West Haven and wished we saw more of Dylan and Dani locking head with Mystic and Far Sight, members of the council that decide what issues to bring up for votes, before the group split.
Dylan’s interaction with memory-erasing therapist Ray, were also nice to read as while they talked about Dylan’s trauma and other issues, Ray also gave them cryptic clues to the dangers hiding in West Haven and the machinations of the council.
It was also nice that we finally learned the mystery behind Emma, her powers, and her parents you in this book. Though, I predicted the plot twist near the end and thought the ending edged into Deus ex machina territory with how several characters’ deaths were reversed, like it was nothing.
Overall, while I did like this book, it wasn’t as fun as the previous ones and it has become clear to me anyone who isn’t Dylan or in their immediate friend circle doesn’t matter, which is sad as it was the OG team that initially drew me into the series.
I will read the next in the series, but I’ll lower my expectations re: other characters getting their time to shine.
I give Cute Mutants Vol. 4 4.0 out of 5.0 stars.
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