Behold the Dreamers is a political piece as much as a personal one. Jende is an African immigrant, working as hard as he can to keep his family in America. His wife, Neni, is going to school to be a pharmacist. Their dreams are bigger than their income, and they try so hard to become capital-A "Americans." 
 The first chapter draws you in--Jende in his discount suit and clip-on tie, sweating over an interview as a chauffeur for a big Wall Street guy. But this family is charming: Their joy at his employment, and the simple joy of just being together. He works long days, but his wife still has dinner ready for him when he gets home. It's almost domestic bliss, though it's overshadowed by them being illegal immigrants. 
 But everything changes. This is a tale of their struggles, and it's about the way they change. It's the desperate attempts to stay in the country. It's living as an immigrant during the financial crisis, and it's making hard decisions that will affect your life and your family. 
 I thought there'd be a strong comparison between Jende and his employer, Clark; Clark is a Wall Street guy, living the high life, with his personal chauffeur and home in the Hamptons. I regret there wasn't more comparison between their lives, with their respective struggles. Each thought the other was happy, I suppose. 
 There's a lot of Clark's family drama, which had little to do with the story at all, and those parts were honestly the weakest here. I didn't need every line of dialogue with Clark's children to know what was going on. And it's simply told--even the most dramatic plot twists are presented in a non-dramatic fashion, more like a news report than a novel. Which works for news reports, but could use a little more oomph in literature. 
 This may have taken place in 2007-8, but it could have easily been told at any time through America's history. Including present day. Do you struggle day in and day out to stay in the land of opportunity, or do you throw in the towel and go home?