Cute Mutants Vol 2: Young, Gifted & Queer (Cute Mutants Vol 2) by SJ Whitby
- Publisher: Self-Published, October 1st 2020
- Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, LGBTQ+
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 418 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
This review contains minor spoilers to Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride.
Content warnings: kidnapping, self injury, dismembering, reference to HP series, acid attack, misgendering, homophobia, death, death of prominent character, murder, blood, gore, forced hospitalization, forced captivity, nonconsensual medical experiment, mind control, manipulation/threats, talking people into suicide, mention of deceased family member, off-page amputation
Do you ever feel like there is something missing in your life, like, maybe an ancient, noble Japanese sword who is by your side at all times? Even if you didn’t, I’m sure you do now. In this sequel of Cute Mutants, you can live vicariously through the mutants and see Onimaru “Oni” Kunitsuna (鬼丸國綱) work his magic.
At the end of Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride (my review here), Yaxley Corporation coerced the Cute Mutants into joining their training programs. Since we all know that powerful corporates and the government are often shady and cannot be trusted, nothing goes smoothly as the gang struggles to do what is truly right under Yaxley’s incessant tracking and fights fiercely to keep each other safe and alive.
We’re here, at their mercy, and have no power in this situation.
The story starts out in the closet, not because Dylan Taylor (17-18, pansexual, gender questioning?) isn’t out, but because she doesn’t want to make out with her girlfriend Danielle “Dani” Joo-hyun Kim (lesbian, Korean) in bed with the watchful Pillow dreamily commenting on everything. As in Vol 1, the cast is beautifully queer and racially diverse. The Cute Mutants we’ve seen previously include Dylan/Chatterbox, Dani/Marvellous, Emmaline “Emma” Jing Hall/Goddess (Kiwi-Chinese, ace), Alyse Sefo/Moodring (pansexual?, Pacifika), Lou Patterson/Glowstick (trans), and Bianca Powell/Wraith (sapphic). Each of them have mutant powers connected with their own insecurities after kissing Emma in Vol 1, and in this sequel, we see all of them grow in both their understandings of their own powers and the strength of their friendship.
One of the things I love the most about Cute Mutants is that the first-person narrative of Dylan is snarky, slangy, and incredibly relatable. I lost track of all the times I bursted out laughing because of Dylan’s perceptive yet hilarious comments. But beneath all the jokes and fun, there are also heavier themes running through the series, including figuring oneself out and dealing with grief and loss. Being a mutant is a parallel to being queer, and these teenagers are trying to understand who they are in terms of gender and sexual identities as well as their mutant powers.
All the wonderful mutants are totally lovable morally gray characters. I love that Bianca, who has little demons living in a hole in her chest, is dubbed the emotional support himbo, or Eshie (for ESH), by Dylan. I love the fact that Emma is ace and that part of her identity plays seamlessly into the bigger picture, too. There is also the open communication between Dylan and Dani that makes their romantic relationship even more adorable. And more mutants are introduced, including the fiery Kathryn “Katie” Sandhurst, Madelaide “Maddy” McLean (sapphic?), Gladiola “Gladdy”Quick (sapphic?), Alex Beaton (enby), and Charuka “Cha” Lakmal (Sri Lankan). I adore all of the interactions and cannot wait to see them bond more in future books. I am also pretty certain that all their mutant powers have more potential than they realize. With these new characters, I’m also sensing one potentially developing romance on top of one that no one wants to admit and another confirmed couple. Then there is the precious Pear (non-binary), who is Dylan’s parent, and basically all of the mutants’ human buddy and support system.
I really appreciate that there were also comments on police brutality (ACAB), disproportionate minority incarceration, racism (not seeing color & assimilation), and gun control. I love that Whitby purposefully included these conversations into the story, making sure to depict a world where not everything is rainbows and unicorns. It makes me so happy and relieved to see real-world problems reflected and discussed in the CM universe.
Cute Mutants Vol 2: Young, Gifted & Queer is a thrilling sequel and a roller coaster of emotional ride. I absolutely love the radiating queerness of the mutants and their very real dynamics and actions—they fail, they mess up, and they question themselves. None of them are perfect teens who knew what they were doing, but they are a team, and no matter what happens, they always have each other’s backs.
I received an e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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