Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride by S.J. Whitby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cute Mutants Vol. 1: Mutant Pride by SJ Whitby is the first entry in the Cute Mutants series of YA fantasy novels about a group of teens who gain superpowers after kissing the same girl at a party.
Initially, I found Dylan’s personality off-putting, but slowly I came to love her geeky adorable ass and the rest of the Cute Mutants.
I did think the pop culture references were a bit much and sometimes came off as a crutch for lack of worldbuilding/characterization. And because it’s told in first person with Dylan as the POV character, a lot of the other characters come off a little flat, especially Dani who’s barely in this first book.
However, I did like all the characters, and they acted like how teens are supposed to act: reckless, arrogant, and messy.
This is especially true when it came to the relationships. Lou and Dylan are best friends turned lovers who are the other’s only friend. And when the cute mutants get their powers and Dylan befriends them, Lou’s jealousy was understandable, if a bit over the top.
Likewise, the love polygon between Dylan, Lou, Alyse, and Dani felt authentic without veering into soap opera territory.
I loved that Dylan and many of the other Cute Mutants were LGBTQ+ and how organically Whitby incorporated that into the mutant plot.
Another thing I loved was how the characters had to face the consequences of their actions and deal with real world moral and ethical decisions. So often in stories like this, issues like mortality, collateral damage, and interference from police/government agencies are either ignored outright or severely downplayed.
My biggest complaint is that the book’s antagonist, Tremor, was very two-dimensional and at times was outright cartoonishly villainous in his motives and actions.
That said, I liked this book a lot and already bought the next in the series. I highly recommend this book if you like YA books with sarcastic geeky humor and diverse queer characters.
I give Cute Mutants Vol. 1: Mutant Pride 5.0 out of 5.0 stars.