Here at the Scenic-Vu Motel

The seven high school studentsfour ""Dudes'' and three ``Dudettes,'' but known collectively as Bear Flatters (of tiny Bear Flats, Idaho)live too far from Pineville to take a school bus every day, so they spend Monday through Thursday nights at the Scenic-Vu Motel in Pineville. Jake Callahan, 17, the oldest, is the group's leader, and he works diligently at enforcing its two (and only) rules: Study Hard and Have Fun. Jake is the lively, albeit unwilling, chronicler of the Bear Flatters' activities; his senior English assignment is to keep a journal. The frequently hilarious goings-on are rendered in Jake's wry style, and characterization is excellent, from the motel's landlady to the snobbish town girl whom Jake adores, to his wise-guy roommates. Readers won't wonder why Jake receives a standing ovation for his journal at the end of the school year. Ages 12-up. (April)