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A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg
Behind every powerful man is a trained woman, and behind every trained woman is the Society. It started with tea parties and matchmaking, but is now a countrywide secret. Gossips pass messages in recipes, Spinsters train to fight, and women work together to grant safety to abused women and children. The Society is more than oaths—it is sisterhood and purpose.
In 1926, seventeen-year-old Elsie is dropped off in a new city with four other teenage girls. All of them have trained together since childhood to become the Wife of a powerful man. But when they learn that their next target is earmarked to become President, their mission becomes more than just an assignment; this is a chance at the most powerful position in the Society. A life more influential than they had ever before dared to dream possible. All they have to do is make one man fall in love with them first.
Review from School Library Journal:
Set in 1926, this story imagines a world where women wield power without stepping out of their expected roles. The Society works quietly to prepare certain women to be Wives. The Wives compete to marry men likely to become powerful, then influence them to promote women's interests. The Society has a network of "support women" with traditional labels: Gossips send secret communications through recipes, Spinsters (queer women who won't marry men) provide security, and Mothers raise good boys who will become influential men. This interesting premise is undermined by confusing plot points. The culture in this version of 1926 is still repressive but somehow contains contemporary ideals. For example, the Society looks for positive feelings regarding racial inclusiveness and equality in the men they target. It's hard to understand why, especially when one Wife believes, unapologetically, that their work likely upholds racial inequity. A woman wanting to create a menstrual product delivery service is reminded that not all women have periods and not all people who have periods are women; it's unclear how this particular society could ever come to this conclusion. Additionally, despite claiming to desire independence from men, one woman repeatedly undermines her competitors, trying to become the winning Wife. These things muddle a potentially powerful story. Apart from several diverse secondary characters, most characters are white.
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