AL CAPSELLA TAKES A VACATION

In his third appearance, the 16-year-old Australian and his friend Lou hoodwink their parents into letting just the two of them vacation at Scutchthorpe, which a friend has glowingly described as a beach paradise with discos and an abundance of compliant girls. Lugging their surfboards, the boys embark by bus for what proves to be a tiny community 200 miles from the coast- -where their motel reservations are for the only room in a converted ``chook'' (chicken) house; the one swimming hole has leeches; they must cook their own meals using the sparse provisions from the general store; and, with nothing else to do, they're reduced to reading women's magazines and doing their laundry. Despite Clarke's considerable gift for wryly comical description, the resulting farce isn't as funny Al Capsella and the Watchdogs (1991), nor does it have its predecessors' insightful, bittersweet overtones; here, nothing's more exciting than Lou realizing that his Swedish pen pal may be only seven years old, and the story peters out with the boys seizing the chance to go home early. Fans may enjoy this, but it's a weaker effort all around. (Fiction. 12-16)