Like many teenage girls, Claireece "Precious" Jones dreams of being a model and dancing in hip-hop videos. But she has other fantasies, too. "I wanna be normal, and pay attention and sit in the front of the class," she confides. That seems equally far-fetched, considering Precious is practically illiterate, woefully overweight and growing up in 1987 Harlem, where getting an education is seen as a luxury few can afford. When Precious gazes in the mirror, she sees herself not as obese and African-American, but as a beautiful, slender blonde who might be headed for the beach in Malibu; when Precious looks at the squalid apartment she shares with her caustic, cynical mother, Mary, she realizes she's very far away from La La Land. Crackhead neighbors may push the buzzer, but opportunity never seems to knock.
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