Behold the Dreamers, by Imbolo Mbue, is about a Cameroonian-American immigrant family, struggling through to achieve their official right to stay in the United States. The story takes place in the time of worldwide financial crisis in 2008-2009. A father of the family, Jende works as a chauffeur of a prosperous white man, working at the Lehman Brothers office in New York. He fights hard, including the help from the man to get his green card and guarantee a fulfilled life for his children in the United States. His wife, Neni, studies at a medical school to be a physician. She is also a mother of an elementary-school old son and a newborn girl (who’s born near the end of the story) and she endeavors balancing out her dream of becoming a physician and raising her children born in the United States.
Throughout the story, there are many dreadful and unexpected events raiding the family’s bond and trust. Each character is special and they all support the family. Each character, including the children. It was very interesting to explore the topics from the perspectives of an innocent child. The emotions and feelings each character had is very clear and is also dramatic, which enhances the mood of the ongoing plots. (For example, Jende, a hard working, diligent man, suddenly becomes outraged from the struggle. This shows how serious the challenges are to them, in a recognizable way) The plot is pretty understandable and fast-moving, so you would never get tired or bored reading this book.