Clarissa Darling is a teen girl dealing with typical pre-adolescent concerns such as school, boys, pimples, wearing her first training bra and an annoying little brother Ferguson.
When younger brother Ferguson displays her training bra in show and tell, Clarissa hatches a plan to send Ferg-face into outer space via helium balloons and a straight jacket.
In an attempt to get around her mother's mandate that there be no TV in the Darling home for a whole week, Clarissa connects her computer terminal to the cable converter and nearly blows up the house.
Clarissa decides that news is cool, and that she'd rather be Jane Pauley than anyone else in the world. Her first story is her mother's midlife crisis, which is triggered by a college pal showing up in town as a successful modern dancer.
Clarissa is faced with the terror of a visit from her Canadian Aunt Mafalda, who's capable of hugging the life's blood out of helpless young relatives. Clarissa enlists Ferguson's help in trying to scare Aunt Mafalda out of the house.
Using her deductive powers, Clarissa determines that her parents are having a baby. She orchestrates a series of demonstrations to try to dissuade them, only to discover they're actually adding a new room on to the house.
Clarissa is determined not to wear the same old blue cardigan and knee socks for her school picture and devises a scheme to outfit herself in the coolest clothes around.
Although she's too young for a driver's license, Clarissa is consumed by the desire to aquire a 1976 Gremlin she finds in the want-ads.
When a greedy bully forces Ferguson to hand over his big sister's walkman, Clarissa decides to stand up and fight. It's not her fists but her spirit that KO's the bully, and he winds up falling for Clarissa.
An I.Q. test result has Ferguson believing that he is really a genius. His dreams of creating a model society come crashing down when he goes head-to-head with Clarissa on a game show called "Brain Drain".
Clarissa pitches in to help celebrate her parents' anniversary. Unfortunately a couple of things get in the way of the party-- her parents stop talking to each other, and Clarissa's cake nearly explodes.
When Clarissa is asked to play the part of a column in a pageant celebrating ancient Greece, she hatches a plan to get sick. The pageant turns out to be really cool, but it's too late-- Clarissa's plan has taken effect and she's grounded.
Clarissa is mortified by the prospect of her dad speaking at her school's career night. To no avail, he tries to get hip quick. His speech winds up making her proud even if he does hug his T-square during it.
In an effort to break free from the shackles of "kiddie" jobs like babysitting, Clarissa asks for permission to apply for a job at the Baxter Beach Carnival. Her parents say no, but Clarissa perseveres only to wind up running the day care center.
