Faber Faber The Restaurant At the Edge of the World.

by Oliver Gerlach, Kelsi Jo Silva

At seventeen, Soup is at a crossroads, eager to make her mark on the world, yet reluctant to leave the restaurant she calls home. The last thing on her to-do list is to overthrow the patriarchy, but when her elven boss snaps at her she begins to see his pattern of abuse, starting in the kitchen. Something's got to give, and the answer is simple: a bet for the restaurant.

If Soup wins the cooking competition, she'll claim the business and protect her village. If she loses, she'll have to leave her home and stand by as the food community she loves is razed to the ground.

With friends and chosen family rallying around her, Soup has a chance to win. Yet, everyone knows villains don't fight fair and this restaurateur is not going to give up his throne so easily . . .

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Young Adult, Comics, Queer, LGBT, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published January 2, 2025

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun to read 📚 😄 ☺️.
The food all sounded delicious 😋 wish I could try it *pouts*

Would recommend this, a warm hug of a read!

Hopefully the author writes another installment with these characters someday.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soup is a girl who was found and raised in a restaurant. Things are okay—she's busy as ever and getting busier by the day—when the restaurant's celebrity boss reveals himself as a total jerk. As Soup digs deeper, she realizes just how awful she is—and challenges him into a cook-off. If she wins, he leaves. If he wins, she leaves. Should be easy, right?

I enjoyed this. There's a lot going on and it's a robust fantasy world centered around food. It's very cozy, very queer and the villain looks like a blue Gaston. Some elements didn't feel as developed as others, but overall the narrative was about banding together as a community to take down an entrenched and seemingly beloved bully.

[Hari Conner]

A cosy fantasy debut for young readers with really sweet, warm illustrations and atmosphere. The setting is fantasy, but with a VERY real plot about terrible working conditions and bosses getting away with awful stuff, where the characters must band together to make things better. Keen to see whatever the creators do next.

[Verelien · Rating 4 out of 5]

subtiele non binary rep

[Ess Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

adorable💖

[Amber (ambervgn) :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

dit was zo een leuke en mooi geïllustreerde graphic novel. er zaten niet mega diepgaande thema’s in of plots dus vandaar de 4 sterren. gewoon een heerlijke cozy read 🍲

[Manon (bookswithonno) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is so cozy! The art has an autumn vibe, which makes it the perfect book to read with a blanket and a cup of tea. A little warning: you might get hungry when you read this one...

[Corn Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to read this ARC through Rivendell Books and Baubles! Thank you for the opportunity!

Wow! Talk about representation! Love seeing a diverse comic with multiple body types, genders and queer reps! The story itself is so wholesome a great read for young teens. It gave a much needed representation of working under pressure and looking to your community for support. I can't wait to buy an official copy when it comes out!

Favorite character: squillace
Favorite chapter: 5

5 stars from me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really gorgeous cosy fantasy read. Great for fans of Legends and Lattes, and Delicious in Dungeon 🥘

[Riz]

There's a lot to like here: an absolutely adorable art style, found family, lots of platonic love, lots of delicious looking food, and a queernormative world.
What I didn't enjoy was Soup's focus on having to be a better cook than Heldritch; I would have preferred a narrative arc focused on learning to see yourself outside of specific achievements and recognizing your worth without needing the the approval of others.

The much bigger issue for me and the reason I am not giving this graphic novel a star rating, however, it its usage of antisemitic tropes.
Heldritch, the villain of the story, falls into stereotypical depictions of Jewish people, both in terms of visual character design (skin color, the nose, overall in the angular shapes) and behaviour (greed, blackmail, an overall shady-ness, and the "taking magic from other being to get steonger" trope felt too close to blood libel to me in terms of its narrative function).
Unfortunately, this is all too common in fantasy graphic novels, especially if goblin-esque, witchy, and/or alien characters are included.

I hope illustrators and character designers become more aware of these stereotypical depictions of Jewish people and avoid the use of antisemitic tropes in their designs in the future.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

Sooo much positive! The colours and the art were so beautiful and comforting, the atmosphere was a cosy mix of Legends&Lattes and Sookie’s kitchen in Gilmore girls, and the queer characters made my heart melt.

But I was a little bothered by the plot holes: why is the chef all of a sudden evil, and apparently has been known to be evil by every single person apart from Soup who literally grew up in his house? Why did Soup’s best friend who she shares everything with never told her about the fae? It had sooo much potential and was such an enjoyable read, but these made it a bit awkward at times. Still, if there was a second volume I would definitely read it!

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a perfectly fine, fun little cozy fantasy graphic novel about a chef who seems to find her adventure in helping the people she cares about and in her love of cooking. It's sweet, the plot is very simple and straightforward, no big surprises, perfect for young readers wanting something a little unique, or just a quick easy read.

[Alexandra Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cosy, warm and inviting read! The inclusivity, queerness and beautiful art made this graphic novel a fun and comforting read!

Some plot holes and unexplained things such as why the boss was suddenly so cruel was a bit odd but I guess it’s difficult to summarise a whole world into one novel!

[Kierston Foutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seem to be having a fascination with cooking books recently.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆

[Meliss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story and art.

[Rosalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars. I'm being generous with three. I found myself continuing to read this, just to finish it. I love books revolving around food and cooking, but I wasn't really interested in this world. The story wasn't that unique.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cozy graphic novel focused on the workers in the restaurant you and your team might stop by during your next D&D session. Soup has grown up among recipes and kitchens, and when the restaurant's celebrity boss reveals himself to be a jerk who steals ideas, Soup is determined to stop him once and for all.

While I liked the atmosphere and natural queerness in here, the story felt lacking. Soup says that she's grown up here and had "so many parents," but we never get a special idea of her relationship with any of them. She's been around the evil boss, Heldritch, her whole life but is just NOW realizing he's abusive to the staff? That just felt a little sudden.

The only relationship given any focus in here is Soup and her best friend, Clarion. Their friendship was sweet, and I love a good subversion of actions with a character initially advocating running away changing their mind and having to convince the MC to stay). But I really wanted more from the surrounding characters; everyone else except Soup, Clarion, and Heldritch felt like NPCs. I think paring down the background characters would've given the book more of a chance to flesh out those guys and make them shine.

While I liked the kitchen environment, Heldritch felt too comically evil to be taken seriously (and from his design, the writer clearly isn't fond of Gordon Ramsey). He rises to such heights that his takedown comes from Soup tricking him into loudly announcing his evil plan in front of everyone. It's corny, but I guess it works.

Ultimately, I think I just didn't like the art style in here. It has this loose, dreamy structure that didn't appeal to me.

3/5 stars.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a baby, Soup turned up in, you guessed it, a soup pot in a restaurant’s kitchen. She was taken in by the crew and grew up cooking. Now she’s faced with a bad boss whose corruption threatens the integrity of the work they all do.

Soup and her friend Clarion form a David & Goliath-esque plot to tackle this abuse of power, but at times Soup feels like she’s bitten off more than she can chew (pun intended, I am hilarious). She powers through by leaning on her social supports, coalition-building, and trusting the expertise of all sorts of chefs and cuisines.

This read a little more like middle grade than YA to me, mostly because the morality of the characters is so on the nose. They are really spoonfeeding you the morals (again, pun intended). That knocked my rating down a star.

Still, Fenston and Meston are highlights, and Clarion losing their mind about Soup repeatedly being like “No, I do not win.” at the end was hilarious.

For fans of Mooncakes and Bloom, or any DND loser.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute cozy story! I love the fantasy setting mixed with food, it makes it feel so cozy. It has nice creative details to the story and the art. And the drawings being so warm toned adds to the cozy feel as well. I love the little dishwater elemental Squillace, so cute! I love all the details like giant frogs on the street.

Around the middle the transitions were very jarring, it would switch from one kitchen to a different kitchen with no transition at all so I was confused. But other than that I had no issues. The ending was so good! I loved it so much, it made me giggle and smile. The story is such a feel good nice story. I really loved the ending and creativity in all the drawings and the elements of the story. I would love to read more from these authors and from this world if there were to be a sequel!

[Debby Tiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being cute and sweet, this story did deal with some important issues, like working together and recognizing toxicity in your life and putting up boundaries. I really liked the art style and the diverse representation, and all of the food made me hungry even though I had just eaten!

My one complaint is that I wished that everyone worked together MORE, because that’s such a big theme in the story but it’s unclear whether everyone actually all gets along magically by the end.

Speaking of magic, I did love all the magical elements in the story and especially the fae.

Favorite character: Squillace, the little dishwater elemental. Soooo cute!!

If you like the movie Ratatouille or The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught, I would recommend this graphic novel.

[Raaven💖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute and cozy graphic novel about a girl wanting to help improve her community and spark her love for cooking again while taking down her corrupt boss. I feel like I read a book with almost the exact same plot recently but I don’t know what more you could do for these cooking graphic novels. I liked the art and the characters had heart. There’s plenty of laughs and tender moments and this was a great read!

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet — I like the art, the theme of disempowering an abusive boss and an inclusive, creative replacement. I like that it’s honest about how hard it is to build trust and collaborate. I like that friendship is one of the strongest powers in the book, and it’s not a romance. Goat friends are adorable. Food is a wonderful connector. It’s hard to lead, and hard to ask for help, but worth the effort.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely charming. I love books about food, and the whimsical elements were really well done. Writing felt a little stilted at some points, but overall plot and resolution were very satisfying. I'm familiar with Silva's work via social media, so it was really fun to see her style come to life in a sustained format. Would recommend.

[Starr ❇✌❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
This was cute, and an interesting new angle for a fantasy world. I thought the cooking contest was a nice plot device for some good tension and opportunity to learn, and the friendships/found family was nice to watch. I do feel like Heldritch was a bit one note, and learning more about him and his lie could have added a lot.

[Makenzie Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet graphic novel! A cozy fantasy world focused on the town's culinary scene. Many local food carts are against one popular restaurant that turns out to be founded on evil. Soup is in the middle, figuring out the restaurant's bad beginnings while also connecting with those from the local food carts. I loved the art of all of the food!

[marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars but i could say 4 too

it was a quick easy read but the art is beautiful and i loved soup’s adventure to make everything right, even going against someone who gave her a home and a job. she was easy to root for!

[J MaK · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.0) Elements of food and fantasy offer a rare glimpse into a rousing kitchen in a busy mythical restaurant, where, a “foundling” (named Soup) takes us on an intimate journey of resilience and vulnerability.

[Kaitlin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Hannah Rials Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy, cute, warm art style, unique fey depictions. I can’t help loving a cozy magical food story!