Thanks Disney and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I'm being honest, I wanted to like this story a lot more than I actually did. I do think it had lots of potential. Overall I did like the premise of Meg having to go on her own quest to become a god, and getting to explore parts of Meg that I haven't seen anyone explore yet. She had a unique and interesting backstory that I think is fun for readers to get into. However, I didn't really connect with Meg or any of the characters in the story, everyone felt a little flat for me. It's cliche, but I think a big part of why is that the author seemed to rely on telling more than showing, and so I'm told why a lot of Meg's different relationships or interactions are important, and she mentally reflects on them, but I'm not shown it in a way that I found emotionally impactful. I also didn't understand a lot of the characters' decisions as a whole. Every action that moved the plot along either felt weirdly impulsive or a tad too convenient. One thing I will say, I do think Percy Jackson ruined me a little bit for this book, because the gods felt out of character to me because I'm more likely to imagine a PJO version of them than the Disney version. I think this book had a similar goofy humor, but it just didn't hit as well for me. Relatedly, something I didn't like was that this book really relied on the reader having watched the Disney movie Hercules. I haven't read much in the Twisted Tale series, so I don't know if this is true for most of them, but there is a lot in this book that's not going to make sense if you haven't seen the movie. It assumes you will know specific jokes or character names and doesn't take the time to explain any of them. It made it read a little like fanfiction to me. Well-written fanfiction for sure, as the writing itself wasn't bad at all, but if you want to read this it would be helpful to watch or rewatch the movie first.

Overall I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I'd give it a 2.5 stars. It's not a long or difficult read, though, so if anyone is curious about a take of Meg's history, it could be worth a read. It's more of a middle-grade read to me than a YA read, but especially for someone who really loves Disney's Hercules movie and could use a book to catapult them into reading more, I might recommend it.

*thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Go the Distance follows Megara after Hercules becomes a god. She is given a quest from Hera to become a god in order to be with Hercules on Olympus.But along the way, she has to confront her past in order to achieve her goal.
Megara had such great sarcastic humor in this book which reminded me of the movies so much. I enjoyed her banter with Pegasus and Phil and well as her witty responses. I was surprised how much I would relate to Meg’s struggle with love in her past and truly enjoyed the great humorous retelling of the various gods in this book.
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One of my favorite quotes in this book was:
“Loving someone does not make you any less strong. It means you trust in another and they trust in you—that you can give and you can take.”
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I found this book to be such an easy and enjoyable read because of the witty banter in this book. I would definitely recommend Go the Distance to those who loved the Hercules movie as much as I did. Although there were some slow parts during this plot, I gave this book 4/5 ⭐️!

These Dinsey alternate universe retellings are a huge hit at my library. This Hercules retelling with a all new story will be another great one. I loved it!

Hercules proved he was a true hero and became a god like his parents, Zeus and Hera. Meg is thrilled for him and shocked when he says he wants to stay with her. The problem? Zeus won't let Hercules go back to being a mortal, and Meg can't join him in Olympus because she is a mortal. Hera offers Meg a quest to become a god: she must once again journey to the Underworld and then save the wife of her ex boyfriend, the one she gave up her soul to save. Meg must battle literal demons and her own inner ones if she wants to stay with the god she loves.

As soon as I saw Hercules was next up in Disney's Twisted Tales series, and focusing on Meg at that, I was ecstatic. Hercules is one of my favorite Disney movies, and Meg is my favorite character. There was such joy in reading this book. In GO THE DISTANCE, we get so much more information about Meg. We see what her childhood was like, how her previous relationship developed, and how deep her fear of being abandoned is. For the first time, she has to stop running and face her past in order to move forward. She has to learn hard lessons on accepting help from others, opening her heart, and being vulnerable. Her emotional arc is beautifully written, and I was ready to sob in the last couple of chapters.

Not only do we learn more about Meg, but we also get to see more of the women in the movie who didn't get much screen time: Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, and Katerina, the woman Meg's ex moved on with who isn't originally named in the movie but mentioned. I love how the gods in particular work together and help Meg in her journey, reluctant as she is to accept help at first. Especially in regards to Hera, sometimes someone else has to see something in you that you don't recognize yet in order to find it yourself.

While I love the ending of Hercules the movie, I almost like the conclusion GO THE DISTANCE leaves us with better. A hero's hardest quest is often fought on the inside, with ourselves, and the journey can change us completely.

This was a fun story! I've enjoyed all the stories in the Twisted Tales series, and this was no exception. The atmosphere from the movie stood up, as well as the characters and their motivations. That being said, this was a super quick read and I think the book needed to be a bit longer to establish the plot and the world a bit more. Still, I really enjoyed this one, and did I mention that cover? It's gorgeous! (less)

I will begin by saying I have read a lot of books from the Twisted Tales series. This one by far was my favorite so far. I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars. The writing and plot were amazing.

The story does have some jumping timelines, but you have tell when I happens. Usually I don't like books that do that but this one didn't bother me one bit.

The story starts off with when Hercules is becoming a God with Meg by his side. Zeus doesn't want mortal Meg to stay in Mount Olympus, but Hera offers her a trial to become a God herself. She has two quests she must do to get this within 10 days time. Meg goes through so many emotions and you can feel those emotions with her. She beats so many obstacles and often puts others before herself. She feels love, pain, loss, and happiness all in one book.

This is a book I would for sure recommend to my friends and family especially those who love retellings or even the original Hercules story. It is a great woman empowerment. Women can be just as strong as men.

While a touching tale of overcoming your traumas and fighting for what you want, this novel really hovers the line between middle grade and YA. It isn't what most would consider YA today, minus a few mentions of hell and some marriage included. I am aware that these novels merge the movies with a fictionalized telling of some part of it that was never shown, but there were times I felt I had to double check this WASN'T middle grade. I'm not into middle grade for a reason and, having requested this from the YA category, was a little concerned. The language and the plot were simple, nothing the reader couldn't understand or predict, respectively. There's a part of me that, having read the description, was willing and craving a massive feminist read of Meg and her journey to still remain true to herself, but accept the love she was given. And, while an attempt was made, it just wasn't as moving as you thought it would be. Maybe my expectations were high, but so, it appears, were everyone else's according to the overall rating. It's a good read if you were curious about Meg's life after the end of Hercules.

Thank you to Disney and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Go the Distance is the twisted tale of what would have happened if Zeus didn't allow Hercules to remain on earth with Meg. As no mortal is allowed to reside on Mt. Olympus that leaves Meg only one option: take the quest Hera offers her in hopes of achieving Godhood. Meg would do anything to stay with Wonder Boy, even journey back to the Underworld itself to retrieve a soul. But will Meg be able to maintain focus and complete her quest in the time allowed when that soul is revealed to be the wife of the man Meg sold her soul for? And will she be able to escape the Underworld without envoking Hades' wrath?

I will admit, most of these Twisted tales are a massive miss for me. They tear apart the very fiber of the classics I know and love to a point where I disconnect completely. However, when I saw the latest twisted tale would take on an all time favorite in Hercules I knew I had to give this a fighting chance. Disney, you did not disappoint! There is so much of the characters that you know and love from the movie that you can hear the voice of the actor who portrayed them as you're reading. No characters were written in a way that was off-putting or out of character for them. The added characters really enriched the world Meg and Hercules grew up in and getting to learn more about Meg's past was a great addition. The pacing was great and I never fell into a mid-book boredom which can happen to my pretty frequently (which is why I read more than one thing at once).

"Two thumbs WAY way up" as Hades' would say, and a bright new constellation in the sky for the readers to know and cherish. Thank you, Disney. This is like the sequel I never got. I recommend this for anyone 12+ who loved the movie or just loves Disney in general. This book definitely goes the distance.

I was a bit hesitant about this one because Hercules is one of my favorite movies and I didn’t want to be disappointed but I ended up LOVING IT! I loved how the author wrote Meg’s backstory and how it all connected with things we know from the movie. I loved getting to spend more time with the gods (Hermes, my MAN) and also spending time in the Underworld! Hades is my fave villain and his snark and comedy was totally nailed in this. I looooved the addition of Persephone and I just enjoyed this story so much! Funnnnnnn!

This was a great middle-grade book for anyone who enjoys Disney or Greek mythology. The plot started out somewhat slow, but the story got better as the book progressed. The journey Meg takes is easy to connect to, especially for people who have a hard time being vulnerable with others. My only complaint is that this is written at a very middle-grade level, but some of the content is higher than that in my opinion. Other than that, this is a very fun read!

I absolutely loved the writing style of this author, it made the story easy to get lost in. I finished this book in a day because I couldn't put it down. I definitely needed to hear the story of Meg and her journey, and this author wrote it beautifully.

This is a book I have been excited for since I saw it had been announced. Hercules is one of my favorite movies, and Hades is one of my favorite villains. This book far surpassed my expectations. I love how it truly felt like it could be a continuation of the movie if the ending was just barely tweaked. Plus how they incorporated a Greek myth involving one the goddesses, and put Megara in the story made me very happy. I would highly recommend this book to anybody, especially if they love Hercules or Hades

Okay, this was cute.

I seem to be in the minority of people that have enjoyed this one, surprisingly. I think a lot of that stems from how much *younger* this book reads than other works in this series. Which makes sense since Jen Calonita is most well known for her middle grade series, "Flunked". People most likely went into this expecting something a little bit darker, a little bit more graphic, and felt, instead, like they were reading a children's book.

Which is fair.

Even though I enjoyed this, I still felt myself rolling my eyes at how juvenile some of the scenes were. And the nicknames. My gosh. I get that it's a cute thing in the movie but somehow reading it four times on nearly every page completely loses all charm. If I had to read "Wonder Boy" or "Peg" or "Red" one more time, I was convinced I was going to lose it.

However! This was still one of my favorite Twisted Tales I've read thus far?

Admittedly, the plot is quite similar to my favorite Twisted Tale, "Reflection" (no one can hold a candle to Elizabeth Lim and I would like that to be known) so perhaps I am a fan of the 'character has to travel to the underworld and learn about themselves in the process' plot. But that wasn't what I appreciated the most about this book.

My favorite aspect was seeing Meg be forced a bit out of her stubborn independence. I know other reviewers have said that she was far too hot-headed in this book, and I agree, but I don't necessarily feel like it was out of character. At the beginning of the book, we see her far less... rash than at the end of the book. As she feels like she's failing, she becomes more and more desperate to prove just how much of a failure she isn't, thus creating many of the scenarios that got on other reviewers' nerves. Which, again, is valid, but it's also - from my experience, at least - realistic? People tend to do stupid things when they're desperate, especially when said person feels that being vulnerable is a weakness.

In my opinion, it was a very in-character thing for Meg to do. I mean, my gosh, she traded her soul for her boyfriend's life out of desperation and you're shocked that she jumped into things?

Anyway, that brings me into my next (and final) point: the characterization. Whenever someone's adapting characters from such a beloved film into a book, people are going to have problems with it. I'm not too picky when it comes to these things, but I'll be as annoyed as the next person when Ariel seems nothing like herself (that was 100% a dig at "Part of Your World")

And when it comes to this book, it reminded me of the direct-to-video sequel. The early morning, poorly animated tv show sequel. The characters were... sort of the same, but also... not quite. It can feel quite forced at times, but the outline is still there and it's still a fun time.


To sum up my thoughts, this book was sweet. It reminded me of watching a VHS in my room at night with only the light from the tv, cuddled in blankets and honestly? That's exactly what I wanted it to do. So even though this book is far from perfect, I'd still recommend it to Disney lovers and maybe people in need of a little dose of nostalgia.

Go the Distance is a really cute book that I would definitely recommend to all readers who love Disney and Hercules. The concept of this story seemed really sweet and fun, and this book did not disappoint. I loved that Meg learned both about her own strength and the strength that comes from asking for help. Meg's character also seemed very realistic, and I'm really happy with how her character progressed throughout the story. I would've loved to see a little more of Meg's relationship with Hercules, whether it be just a few more flashbacks or more at the end of the book. I also think this book is more suitable for younger audiences. Regardless, I still really enjoyed reading this book, and I think Jen Calonita did an excellent job with this book!

Thank you to NetGalley & Disney Hyperion for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this book! Hercules is one of my favorire Disney movies, and I love how this book gives the reader more insight on who Megara is and why she does what she does. And I’m willing to admit I got a little teary-eyed at the end. I would highly recommend this book.

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

I was excited beyond belief to get approved for this book! I have loved Disney and this series since it came out! This story is about Meg and if she needed to become a God! I thought that was so creative! I really enjoyed her writing style. The words just jumped off the page and I never wanted to put the book down! With these books I am nervous because some people that write about Disney Characters don't put the right feeling into the story. The love we get from those characters gets lost in other peoples writing but it seemed Jen Calonita really did her research and put everything I expected into the story! I cannot wait to see what the next book is going to be! I hope they keep making these for as many characters as they can because so many people can read them!

I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for honest feedback. As excited as I was for this book, I felt that there was much left to be desired from it. The story is okay at best, and doesn't hold the same "twisted" feel that the series has. Meg has always been one of my favorite characters, but this book makes her very unlikeable and rather annoying. Meg's backstory did flesh her personality out, but overall didn't capture the Meg we all know. The story also feel more aimed towards a younger audience, instead of young adult/teen. It was a good idea, poor execution.

I had really high expectations for this book because Hercules is my favorite Disney movie. I couldn't wait to read what happened after Hercules rejected his godhood. The book was just ok. Meg was a bit more jaded in the book. I did like the story of her ex. The thing that kind of killed it for me was how repetitive the book was. It used the same lines over and over. It wasn't bad, and I will recommend it, I just wanted more out of it.

I have not read the other Twisted Tales books but I have many students who loved them. However, after reading this one, I want to go read the others. The premise is making Meg from the Hercules story the main character and giving her a chance to be a hero. The storyline was great, but I would have assumed that the story was about Hades based on the cover. I was more confused in the begging as I waited for Hades to appear before realizing that wasn't the intended main character. I did appreciate learning more about Meg and her backstory. Is it the same Meg from the 90's movie? No. Is it the same Meg from any other itteration? Not really. Is it still a good story in itself? Yes.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers of #GoTheDistance for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.