A thrilling YA fantasy set in a world where the wind whispers in your ear and promises your greatest desires, about a young noblewoman who must travel across the perilous wilderness with a devious conman after her carriage is hijacked.

WHAT THE WIND SAID
by Caitlin Chisling
Simon & Schuster BYR, Summer 2026
(via JABberwocky)

Emmeline Ward is a conman’s dream.

The sheltered daughter of a wealthy family, she’s never been on her own before. When an attack on their carriage ends with her parents dead, her brother kidnapped, and her own life saved only through luck and fear, she needs help, but it only comes in the form of people she shouldn’t trust.

Like Benjamin Barrow, who makes a living off people like her, bottling false hopes and profiting from broken dreams. He’ll do anything to survive the predatory wind that haunts Mercen and promises its victims all they can desire, even if it means using the same tricks to make a profit. When Benjamin meets Emmeline, he pledges to help rescue her brother – for a price, of course.

Together, Emmeline and Benjamin delve into his world of liars, thieves, and traveling snake-oil shows to retrieve her brother from his captors and the devouring, whispering wind. Faced with dangers both human and inhuman, Emmeline must decide whether she can trust Benjamin – and herself.

Caitlin Chisling is a Canadian author of young adult fantasy fiction. Inspired by sharp-toothed fairytales and her own experiences as a neurodivergent woman, Caitlin writes stories featuring strange magic and stranger girls. Her work has been published in multiple online publications such as Neurodiversified, Destigmatized, The Writing Cooperative, and The Good Men Project.