Smash or Pass, Birdie Schae
Smash or Pass, Birdie Schae
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Smash or Pass

Author: Birdie Schae

Narrator: Elena Rey

Unabridged: 7 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/12/2026

Synopsis

For 16-year-old Ellie, beach volleyball camp is a disaster until she's paired with Sierra, an athletic prodigy who teaches her that volleyball...and love are about taking the right shot in this sporty sapphic romance.

Ellie dates the Right Guy, says all the Right Things, and acts the Right Way to avoid being ridiculed for her autism. When that Right Guy unceremoniously dumps her right before they're supposed to go to beach volleyball camp together, Ellie's perfectly curated world comes crashing down and she's labeled the boring, weird girl. 

Desperate to regain her good reputation (and yeah, sure, the boy...), Ellie goes to Camp SMASH, which is nothing like she expected. There, she's paired with Sierra, a mysterious, standoffish volleyball legacy who makes Ellie's quest to get her boyfriend back even more complicated...

Dive into this sporty summer romance full of the classics: a ragtag group of friends, a tense game of capture the flag, and a swoon-worthy sapphic love story.

About The Author

Birdie Schae had big dreams from the moment she was born in a small town in Belgium. Now an author and a student in the Netherlands, she spends most of her time writing love stories, analyzing all sorts of fiction through tears, or listening to a truly concerning amount of music. Smash or Pass  is her debut novel. You can find Birdie online as @birdienotabird or at birdieschae.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Birdie on January 05, 2026

dare i say... smash?!......more

Goodreads review by alaska on January 17, 2026

autistic sapphics we BALL!!!!!!......more

Goodreads review by Sam’s Sapphic Reads on January 13, 2026

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up “Nobody has the right to make you feel like you have to become smaller. You have as much right to take up space as everyone else.” What an incredible read! I am truly so surprised with how much I liked this book. I knew going in it was going to be a YA, a genre I tend to not read, bu......more

Goodreads review by Bree on January 18, 2026

I loved everything about this book. Ellie is an autistic high school student who attends a volleyball summer camp, where she learns not only more about the sport but also how to love herself and embrace who she truly is instead of trying to conform. There was a lot of LGBTQ+ representation, which wa......more

Goodreads review by Cam on May 12, 2026

I seriously could not put this down!!! This has been one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint. I quite literally teared up a few times reading this because I saw myself in Ellie in ways that really hit me in a deep way. This is the kind of book I wished was around when I......more

Quotes

★ "A bighearted....deeply tender coming-out story that celebrates neurodiversity, friendship, and sapphic love. High school readers will relate to and cheer for its characters." —School Library Journal, starred review

★ "The narrative is written with easy prose and gorgeous reflections on neurodivergent and queer existence....Readers won’t want to pass on this gem." —Booklist, starred review

"Schae’s pleasant debut offers a humane, compassionate view of teens supporting each other in pain and joy. A solid, warmhearted Sapphic romance showing how joy emerges when the bullies aren’t in charge." —Kirkus Reviews

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