How successful can a relationship be when there are age and cultural differences?
Lucy and Joseph are about to find out.

I found the characters and their differences really interesting.

This is quite an engaging book about an unlikely couple. Lucy is a mum of two, in her forties, Head of English at a state school, separated from her alcoholic husband and displays many of the characteristics of a white, middle class left wing idealist. Joseph is 22 black, attractive and has a variety of part time jobs while he fosters hopes of becoming a successful DJ. The book charts the development of their relationship with all the attendant difficulties caused by their differences in age, race, education and background.
There is much to enjoy including humour and some poignant issues. It's an easy read but a bit underwhelming overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC to review.

Nick Hornby is undeniably one of the most important British authors of the past 25 years, and this, from the reviews I've read so far, is set to become one of his finest works. Sure, the topic of a Brexit has been dealt with before, but for me, Hornby has made a better fist of things than, say, Jonathan Coe, whose 'Middle England' was nominated for the Booker Prize last year. In addition, his study of race-relations in post-Brexit Britain could not have come at a more important time, given the incredible response to the recent BLM movement. This was a funny, clever and timely novel, and I hope it will gain all the attention it deserves when it's published in September.

A modern love story, set in London against the backdrop of Brexit. Lucy and Joseph who despite being from different backgrounds, being different ages and races, and with different interests and political views, fall in love.

This is the second Nick Hornby book I've read since About a Boy when I was around 14! It's a simple premise and to be honest, not a whole lot happens, but I absolutely loved it. I totally warmed to the main characters, it made me laugh out loud (and that is rare for a book!) and it's just a lovely feel good read.

Top marks to Nick Hornby!

I didn't really get this book, I'm not sure what the story line was meant to lead to and feel that while it is set during the Brexit referendum the political chat took away from the purpose of the story? Or maybe it was the main purpose of the story? I also felt very uncomfortable with the age gap between the characters.

I was excited to see a new release by Nick Hornby having enjoyed several of his books before. Just Like You tells the story of Lucy and Joseph's relationship against the odds. Lucy and Joseph are very different; their backgrounds, family life, friendship groups and age are starkly different to each other. This tackles those differences head on and the insecurities of starting a relationship with this knowledge. for the most part, the story takes place in 2016, either side of the Brexit Referendum. The Brexit issue serves to highlight the differences between Lucy and Joseph's communities - Joseph's scaffolder father and nurse mother are both strongly in favour of leaving the EU, whilst Lucy's social circle and her neighbours in her North London suburb cannot entertain voting to leave.

I'm not sure how I felt about reading a fiction set around Brexit. There were times that political opinions felt oversimplified and unnecessarily shoehorned in to a good story (the mention of Trump becoming President particularly jarred on me). That said, I did really enjoy the book. I especially enjoyed reading from Lucy's perspective where embarking on a new relationship made her question previous accepted truths - did she even like her circle of friends, etc? An enjoyable read, sure to be a hit amongst Nick Hornby fans.

This book was a welcoming change from all the thrillers I have been reading. A lovely story about two people from different worlds falling in love even after many hiccups.
As much as I loved a good love story and felt the plot was fitting to start in 2016 when Brexit was amongst the big topic. I felt this book held to heavy on the Brexit background, it was only too much for me.

Excellent observations and a whole mix of life, romance and politics and everything you would expect from Nick Hornby within his fabulously astute writing style. It’s all brought together to make a great story in Just Like You, with relatable characters.

Thank you very much to the publicist at Viking Books for allowing me to review Just Like You.

Full Review
What an opening paragraph!!! It’s powerful, enigmatic and thought-provoking, all with one question that is posed in Spring 2016.

Lucy and Emma are characters so many women will be able to relate to as they talk about things you only would with a best friend. Lucy is on the look out for a man, encouraged by Emma. Written down, the list of attributes and desires in someone in the male species of humans, is so funny! True and to the point, but full of wit, when it’s actually in written. The atmosphere is jovial to begin with and gets deeper as the book progresses, whilst the writing shows Nick Hornby has observed people very well and all is written so naturally, in a way that these people could be within your own street.

It’s an interesting observational book that takes readers into the world of blind dating and society quirks of schooling and the private and comprehensive systems, that Nick Hornby gets spot-on.

There’s also a comprehensive look into society when it comes to attitudes of sport and race through the butcher – Joseph and his dad and other events that have happened politically. At the heart of it all however, is a moving and deep romance that also covers a considerable age-gap, which I feel works well is quite refreshing to read about, since this is a book that covers a lot of what is happening in the world and has very nicely also not shied away from this too.

Moving back to the dating. there’s also the conversation within the book that consist of how people view each other about who is dating who, in terms of skin colour and the way words are phrased. It’s a deep story. Somehow, I expected it to be a romance with deep undertones. It’s such an emotional book with plenty of humour. It’s also about how you think a person is very similar to you would be the one, without a doubt, and yet, it doesn’t always work out like that and sometimes complete opposites really do attract and shows very honestly that all is not always simple when it comes to that tug of the heart-strings. It has a solid realistic story of romance, not one that’s so unachievable and yet desireable all the same like in the movies, but romance that isn’t always so perfect and this is what makes it all rather compelling and so likeable and want to get to know more and more about the characters lives.

It’s written well, as there are clearly emotive points being made, but the plot of the story as a whole is rather like an honest observation of society and bravely doesn’t hold back in its astuteness.

tried really hard to like this book, as it’s written by the guy who wrote high fidelity, about a boy, etc... BUT it was all just a bit DULL, wasn’t it ???

Set in 2016 during Brexit (which is only really talked about when people are asking other people what they voted *YAWN*) - I’m not huge on politics in books, I read as a form of escapism...

ANYWAY, If you’re going to write about interracial relationships, please FFS banish stereotypes or at least try and disrupt them a little - felt so cliche. A working class black guy that’s extremely passionate about music. A middle class white woman, who’s a teacher and extremely passionate about reading.....

YAWNNNNNNNNNNNNN
can tell this was written by a middle aged white male.

I was disappointed in this book.
The two main characters, Lucy a forty something white school teacher meets Joseph, a 22 year old black man who works in the butchers. Lucy is separated from her addict husband and has two young sons. Joseph starts to babysit for the family and they start a relationship.
The storyline holds no great drama or excitement and is fairly predictable. The main themes are the age difference and the difference in race and background.
Not an uplifting read in my opinion.

I read this in one day — partly because Nick Hornby is such an easy read and partly because I'm currently going through something similar in my personal life. I was more than a little curious to see how a relationship with a huge age gap would be depicted.

I thought the set-up was believable. I could easily see how these two people would end up together even if they were each looking for something different. It's no grand romance but realistic look at how important compatibility is.

I'm curious to read other reviews to see how other people felt about both Lucy and Joseph's characters. Was Hornby playing to stereotypes a tad too much? How different would the story have been if Lucy had wanted more children? Or if Joseph had a demanding career?

Setting it against the backdrop of Brexit and Trump's election was interesting too. The story really needed something to showcase the difference in age and class, so it worked as a handy tool to illustrate this. But did it end up overshadowing the story too much? Possibly so.

The dialogue with the children were some of my favourite sections. These parts jumped off the page for me and were so easy to imagine on screen or in real life.

A strong three stars from me. Almost a four. The perfect lazy weekend read.

I really enjoy Nick Hornby's books, and I find his writing a complete delight.
However, i really didn't enjoy this. I just didn't feel like it was up to Hornby's usual standard here.

I found the plot to be a little flat, and the characters very one dimensional.
It all just felt very surface level, and I didn't really feel any emotions toward the characters or elements of the plot. I wasn't routing for the main protagonists, as I just didn't feel their connection. Maybe if I had empathised with the characters more I would have been more invested in their journeys.

This book was just ok for me.

However, it won't stop me reading Nick Hornby in the future.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre,  however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different. Characters were so well developed that I felt as though I knew them. I love when a book draws you into the story and it feels like you are living it with them.

This is the story of Lucy and Joseph. Lucy aged 42 a white, middle class English teacher. Divorced with two kids. Mixes in circles with professionals, writers, people with country houses. Joseph aged 22 a black, working class young man working various jobs to make ends meet. Mixes with, well nobody really, he keeps to himself and goes to church (reluctantly) with his mum. That we believe in Joseph and Lucy and don't think it is a ridiculous match is down to the author. The story is told in such a way that it is pure and simply a love story. It's not perfect, we see the problems, we laugh with them, we feel for them, but we feel they are destined to be together. It's also not a drama, the relationship just happens. The acceptance is wonderful and shows that progress has been made despite the problems we hear about. And then there is Brexit. I actually felt I learned something about why some English people voted to leave - I have never understood this mindset. It saddened me even more to see how people really had been taken in by the hype. So a love story of hope amidst the despair. #netgalley #justlikeyou

Although I’ve heard of Nick Hornby, I’d never read any of his books but I’m not really sure why. I love stories that depict the tiny details and idiosyncrasies of human relationships and that appears to be exactly what he specialises in, if this latest release is a reliable source to go on.

41-year-old English teacher Lucy has always dated men who share many of the same traits as herself but this approach has never really worked out too well for her. Now with two young sons, she realises that maybe she needs to take a chance on something -or someone- different. Then she meets Joseph, the 22-year-old who works at the butcher’s…

Amongst the myriad differences between our two protagonists, race is one of the most obvious. Joseph is black and there are several incidents in the book that address the casual racism and ingrained assumptions that white people don’t even notice they’re making. There is also a scene with two police officers that clearly represents the systemic racism that is so prevalent. The fact that this scene was so believable should wake up anyone who is in denial of its existence in the UK.

Lucy’s internal monologue often revolves around fears about being a woman who is getting older. What she wants appears to be at odds with what she feels she ‘should’ want. I couldn’t help thinking that, were she a 40-something man, she definitely wouldn’t be worrying about wanting a no-strings-attached fling. So many of Lucy’s fears about her relationship with Joseph have to do with other people’s potential reactions to it and I just willed her to get past it -to ‘take the weight off’ and have fun.

As if to confirm my suspicions about Lucy’s doubts being a female thing, Joseph’s musings on his dating history, which consists of a string of casual relationships and an apparent fear of any level of commitment. Of course, this is highly realistic for a 22-year-old, perhaps of any gender, but it is still more acceptable and less a cause of concern, if it’s the history of a 22-year-old guy. I had so much hope that his romance with Lucy would encourage Joseph to consider something a little more serious, especially as he had such a wonderful bond with her sons. I became really invested in them working out and therefore much of the rest of the novel held a kind of suspense that I hadn’t really been expecting at the start.

The book mostly takes place during the months leading up to the EU referendum, a time of great divide and uncertainty. It was a very strange time to be British and Hornby captures the essence of it perfectly throughout the novel. As you might imagine, Brexit and the many opinions surrounding it continuously crop up in the narrative. Until the pandemic hit and focus shifted, Brexit was still something that everyone talked about all the time in every day life. Four years after the referendum, we are still none the wiser as to what is really going to happen and of course, the division is still very much present. I think this is the first time I’ve read a book set during 2016 that places so much focus on it but may we please have more of them, only if to remind us of what it was like during this very unsettling time.

Lucy and Joseph’s romance is beautiful to watch but is haunted by a sense of impending doom. On paper, they are hopelessly incompatible in so many ways but they seem to genuinely really care about each other and enjoy spending together. Towards the end, things that may become issues for them in the future are brought up and I found myself nodding along with them and realising that perhaps they shouldn’t be together. However, shouldn’t we all really be living for now? Tomorrow is never guaranteed after all.

Just Like You is ultimately about stepping out of your comfort zone and simply living in the present. It’s about taking ‘perceived’ risks for a chance at happiness despite what other people may think. Hornby illustrates every day British life in such a vivid, recognisable way. The dialogue is so realistic, which helped the characters leave the page and become real human beings who I cared about. As someone who gravitates towards character-led stories, I believe this makes up for the distinct lack of plot. It’s true that nothing much really happens on the outside but I’d argue that a hell of a lot happens on the inside.

Set in London 2016 in the run up to the Brexit referendum, the story centres on an unlikely relationship - not just relating to the division of Britain from the EU, but the division of mid-40s, white female Lucy from her alcoholic husband and the romance she instead forms with 20-something black working class male Joseph. This isn't a traditional 'boy-meets-girl' romance, and instead the issues that divide the nation are echoed in their romance. The pair form an unlikely couple - they appear to have little in common - different classes, different jobs, different stages of life and different views on Brexit.

The interracial relationship faces its difficulties for these reasons and the story focuses on them overcoming obstacles like family introductions. There isn't any real plot to the book I'd say, and instead once the relationship has been formed you're given insight into these trials and tribulations and their differences are crucially explored through conversations and activities. There was also a lot of time given to Brexit, and whilst yes it does lend itself as the context for the novel, it was overly repeated so it felt much more like a Brexit novel rather than a romance one.

This just seemed to muddle over the 'everyday' rather than the revolutionary, and it was a little flat.

This was, unfortunately, a tough read for me. Format-wise, I had difficulty navigating through the ebook version because of weird spacing issues, spelling errors, and it was often hard to tell which character was talking and I therefore found myself needing to go back and re-read passages to try and figure it out. Story-wise, I had a hard time caring about the characters, or even what was happening in the plot. There wasn't much plot at all and I felt like many of the conversations between the characters just went around and around in circles without anything really being said. Overall, this seems to be more of a character-driven book, but I wanted to see more substance in the characters.

Lucy is a white, middle class 42 year old single parent and successful teacher.

Joseph is a black, working class 22 year old who lives at home with his mum and has a number of jobs, but dreams of being a successful DJ.

They know each other from the local butcher’s shop (he works there, she’s a customer) but get to know each other better when he starts to babysit for her children. Their relationship develops to a physical and emotional one.

And that is the whole story! Yes, Brexit is rumbling in the background, but doesn’t have much (if any) impact on the novel. I thought that the novel could have made more of the interracial nature of the relationship, however, the hang-ups all appeared to belong to Lucy. The age difference is touched on a bit more, but again focuses on the hang-ups of Lucy and Joseph, rather than anyone else.

The abrupt ending was a total anti-climax, although I may have just been waiting for a twist or a great reveal.

I am not sure what this book was supposed to be about. Maybe it wasn’t about anything much, however, with so many potential issues raised, I feel that something has been missed, or not fully explored.

I’ve never read a Nick Hornby book before, I have an earlier novel on my bookshelf which I am now less likely to try.

I’ve highlighted a particular sentence in the book “ Lucy was halfway through a book that she wasn’t enjoying“ and I’ve made the note “life is too short to worry about age gaps (as long as it’s legal) or to read books you’re not enjoying”. Well, I didn’t enjoy this book but I did continue with it but have concluded that it just wasn’t for me.

devoured Nick Hornby’s books in the 90s and early 2000s, from Fever Pitch to About a Boy, I loved his relatable style and knack of getting under the skin of male and female characters alike. However, from A Long Way Down onwards I’ve not been so keen and I’m sure there are a couple I’ve not read along the way. Just Like You caught my eye because of the topical issues covered including race, class and Brexit and I’m pleased to say it has rekindled my love of Hornby’s writing.

Lucy, a 42 year old English teacher and mother of two, has recently separated from her troubled husband Paul. Despite going on a few half-hearted and unsuccessful dates, she’s not really looking for another relationship. She meets 22 year old Joseph when he serves her in her local butchers shop (a trendy deli-type shop in North London), and soon her is babysitting for her two sons (who adore him) and the relationship between them moves onto the next stage.

The majority of the book is set in 2016 just as the Brexit vote is taking place, and the disparity between Joseph’s working class out-voting family and Lucy’s middle-class Remainer friends only serves to highlight their differences further. However, despite all this the relationship between them is portrayed as funny, friendly and very real.

Thus is a story set in 2016 in the months leading up to the Brexit referendum.
Lucy who is 42, white and single find a love unexpectedly with Joseph who us 22, black and has several part time jobs. The story follows the ups and downs if their relationship.
The problem for me was that in my opinion there wasn't really a story and a large proportion of the book was about Brexit which I an fed up of hearing about.