A very modern love story centred around the tumultuous times of the Brexit vote and beyond. I liked both Lucy and Joseph and the questions their relationship asked of the reader, but I wasn't always wholly convinced by it. For me a novel of light and shade, bits I really liked and bits I was less sure about.

I found this very readable and with Hornby's usual wit.

The politics was heavy-handed at times but I really liked the different perspectives on why people voted for Brexit as well as some of the views on race and the age difference between Joseph and Lucy. I thought it was refreshing to show different viewpoints on Brexit and why some people voted to leave the EU.

I also found Lucy's two kids amusing and I liked the relationship between them and Joseph. There was some funny banter between them and I liked the fact that the children didn't notice or care about Joseph's race or age.

However I wasn't very convinced by Joseph and Lucy as a couple - I had no idea why he liked her and I didn't feel any chemistry. Also there wasn't really much of a plot to speak of. But very readable and a bit different.

I think this is the first novel I’ve read that has explicitly discussed Brexit and tried to understand the motivations of those who voted Leave. I know there have been others (by Jonathan Coe, Ali Smith et al.), but they didn’t appeal. The way Hornby folds the recent history into the romance of an unlikely couple (42-year-old white woman; 22-year-old black man) felt like a more natural way of gazing on the country’s ideological divisions. Lucy, an English teacher and mother of two preteen boys, is separated from her husband after his substance abuse problems. Joseph, an aspiring DJ, lives at home and has various jobs, including as a soccer coach, at a leisure centre, and behind the counter of a North London butcher shop – which is how he and Lucy meet.

Both main characters are mostly believable, though it could be argued that a white male author could only get inside their heads up to a certain point. There are a lot of great scenes (with Hornby’s recent screenplay work, there’s surely television or film potential here), like the dinner party at Lucy’s. A lot of witty awkwardness arises from Lucy and Joseph’s separate attempts to date people who are more age-appropriate. I wasn’t sure about the overall message of the book, though.

Sweet and sharp-witted, this is a solid addition to Hornby’s oeuvre. The best passage is the long paragraph 10 pages from the end that begins, “It was a time when everyone was vowing never to forgive people.” (3.5 stars)

A favorite random line: “She didn’t know what the sexual equivalent of Bristol Temple Meads was, but she’d somehow fallen asleep and missed the stop.”

I was looking forward to reading Nick Hornby’s latest book, having enjoyed his classic books such as Fever Pitch. I felt a little disappointed and find it hard to put my finger on why. Maybe the storyline is not quite believable enough with a feeling at times of going through the motions, or the plot not quite engaging enough. The relationship between Lucy and Joseph didn’t quite gel in my mind although it did highlight how two people with little in common are attracted to each other and have to deal with the many challenges this can bring. It’s not a “miss” as plot brings out many social issues, I was left feeling a little disappointed. It probably took me the longest time to read, no late nights up reading, which on reflection supports my feelings about the book.

At first this is a modern and thought provoking romantic story and it could’ve really made an impact but it was dull, repetitive and frustrating at times.
Lucy and Joseph meet and their falling in love story, part is cute and the best part of the book. Once they get together the book seems to lose its way. Hornby delivered the romance and then stepped into racial inequalities and politics. Bringing brexit into any story is going to lower the tone and whilst it allowed for differences between classes in Joseph and Lucy’s world it really wasn’t worth it.
The class, age and race differences were more interesting but told in a half hearted way. Lucy almost nagging about how old they’ll be in 10yrs or 20yrs and what her body will look like. Condescending to the younger generation, embarrassing to both white and black people as overly stereotypical and supporting characters were just a side note.
Disappointed with this Hornby release after some classics in the past

Despite Nick Hornby’s status as a a long time best selling novelist, and the fact that I enjoyed his early books, I have to admit I struggled with this, and was close to not finishing it at several stages. I continued because I was curious to see how he would make things pan out, but not sure in the edn that it was worth the effort. The problem for me was that it was almost entirely shown through the thoughts of the two main characters, each of them working through, ad nauseum, the reasons why this relationship between an older white woman and a younger black man should not work. There were many conversations between them in a similar. This got somewhat tedious, and also made the whole thing unbelievable - it was hard to find anything in the book that explained why they even liked each other! Deals with some important issues for our times, but it didn’t convince, I am sorry to say.

I've put off writing my review because I was unable to finish Just Like You, which has never happened with a Nick Hornby book before. I'm generally a big fan of his writing, but right away here I felt like I couldn't recognize any of his usual style in this book. It just wouldn't hold my attention. The characters fell flat and I felt no pull to find out where the story was going.

This book had promise to be good and I’ve enjoyed other books of Nick Hornsby, but this book just didn’t cut it for me.
This story is set before Brexit, and quite frankly it put me off along with the poor portray of a relationship between a single mother and a young man. I didn’t finish this book and only got as far as 30% so my opinions might be harsh and the story may have gotten better but I didn’t enjoy it.

A story about Lucy, a middle class school teacher who builds a relationship with a man very different to her in beliefs and background. This is set in brexit voting time so the differences were evident. I found this book a bit slow but an interesting topic.

Lucy is getting on with caring for her two sons and teaching English, she meets Joseph whilst buying her organic meat along with all the other middle class residents of the area. Joseph has several jobs to get by, what he really wants to do is be a successful DJ but until he gets by. Lucy ask him to come babysit her sons and that's where their lives start to get tangled together. Joseph is attracted and confused as Lucy is so different from any of his previous interests, she's older, married & educated, how could it possibly work? Set against the background of the shifting sands of Brexit, Nick gives us an insight into class and cultural differences that shaped the outcome.

Thank you so much @netgalley and Penguin for an advance copy of Just Like You in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first Nick Hornby book that I read and as excited as I was to read something by him, the cover had a lot of power over me and made me go for it straight away!

Well, it wasn’t what I was expecting. It took me a while to get into the story, into the writing style, into the way things were happening and told... I don’t know, I really struggled with it and found it confusing at times as well as my mind started wandering very easily.

I ended up skimming a little bit because I just wanted to finish it once and for all.

I have nothing against the author, the topics that are talked about or the writing style. Simply, this book wasn't for me and I could not for the sake of me enjoy it.

Good topical read
I hadn't read any Nick Hornby books for a year or so but had always enjoyed them so was interested to read and review this book thanks to #NetGalley for the chance to do so. I liked the topic of an older woman whose relationship had broken down and a younger guy. There are age, family and cultural differences to work through as political with good old Brexit rearing its head. I found it an interesting and heartwarming read - perhaps not the best that I have read from the author but a good read none the less.
#JustLikeYou

As this was the eighth book by Nick Hornby that I have read, I was looking forward to it and expecting to enjoy it as much as the others. So, it actually saddens me to say that I struggled immensely with it. His writing style is as easy going as ever, but the lack of plot and noncommittal, amoral nature of one of the central characters made it hard going for me. Also, it being set a few years ago made it feel somewhat out of date. I am hoping this was just a blip and I will come back to Hornby's next novel, because some of the author's early books are stone cold classics. Sorry Nick.

I haven't read anything from Nick Hornby for some time, so was interested to pick this one up. I did struggle at the beginning, but then was enthralled. I thought the themes were handled cleverly - the devisiveness of Brexit, colour and female/male age difference in relationships,

It's been a while since I last consciously read anything by Nick Hornby. I remember reading High Fidelity as a teenager, and then again as a slightly older teenager, and being struck by just how poignant and acerbic his style of romantic comedy writing was, and still is.

Against a backdrop of the 2016 Brexit referendum, Lucy, a white English teacher and forty-odd year old semi-divorced mother of two, meets Joseph, a young black man working a number of jobs, including one in her local butcher's shop.

Lucy works in a North London school and is used to working with a range of students from a range of backgrounds, but it's different when the man that you're attracted to is from a different class, a different educational background and a different age ... isn't it? They both assume their relationship - if you can call it that - will soon fizzle out, but is it actually something that can endure?

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I really like Nick Hornby's writing style. It's that perfect combination of being sharply observational and very witty, whilst somehow capturing his characters' insecurities and all the things that they aren't saying to each other.

Lucy and Joseph have very different frames of reference, which they slowly discover across their relationship and the book. Lucy thinks nothing of holidays abroad or in a friend's second home with a swimming pool. She's aware her friendship group isn't particularly diverse and, although she's largely able to pick up on her own unconscious bias, she worries that her friends may not remain her friends for much longer - not just post-Joseph, but also post-Brexit.

Joseph, on the other hand, fears introducing his 'grey ting' to his younger, more diverse friends. He fears she won't fit in, that she will be mumsy, embarrassing - something he perhaps need to understand about his own embarrassment. There times when he intentionally plays a 'race card' because he is a young man who doesn't know how to deal with some of the direct conversations Lucy wants to have. On the other hand, he also calls Lucy out on behaviours and phrasing that she could just do better on.

Although, in many ways, it feels as though very little happens, I did really enjoy reading this book. The Brexit backdrop is a little uncomfortable to read, but actually does a really good job of calling out middle class complacency on the topic - some people voted a completely different way because they truly believed that it would be better for them. And racism isn't just white vs black - it can go both ways (something Joseph particularly fears about his relationship with Lucy) and, using Brexit as an excuse, racism became very anti-Eastern European.

But race isn't the only stumbling block in their relationship - in fact, it's also the most minor one. The biggest barrier is the age gap, with Lucy the same age as Joseph's mother but, as was pointed out a few times, she had clearly lived a very different kind of life. Lucy's middle class lifestyle actually makes it easier for her to fit in with a more working class crowd because, despite Joseph's fears, she's not his mother, and hasn't lived his mother's life.

But more importantly, it's their different attitudes towards their relationship. I found this a bit harder to read, as it puts each age group into one category, which certainly isn't true. But Joseph is the 'youth', who engages with his phone and is really only living for the moment. Whilst Lucy is a little more middle-aged, always thinking and planning ahead, and more aware of the world around her, she thinks. It means that, when viewing their relationship, they both dispassionately assume that it will end at some point.

Learning to have a relationship with each other involves accepting their differences, accepting their attraction to each other and accepting how two seemingly different lives and influence each other into being a slightly different person.

Nick Hornby is an amazing writer and this story was another gem.
A story about unconventional love. Joseph and Laura meet at the local butchers shop. Joseph is 20 years Lucy's junior and the story takes us through both of their insecurities, their struggles with how they feel about each other, but to them the most important thing seems to be what their friends and family think of their relationship. Will their relationship stand up to their judgements?

I’ve always really enjoyed Nick Hornby’s writing so I was eager to get my hands on Just Like You. Set against the backdrop of the 2016 EU referendum, it is a warm and wise love story about what brings people together and what pulls them apart. Lucy isn’t expecting to find a partner when she meets Joseph at her local butchers; he is of a different class, culture and generation. Through their story, Nick Hornby provides an insightful commentary on echo chambers and divides in society. It’s a quick read and I enjoyed it a lot.

Not really what I was expecting. This didn't live up to About a Boy for me. I think maybe I'm just exhausted by Brexit and found the romance between Lucy and Joseph to be rather unbelievable. Maybe I'm not the target audience but I'm sorry to say it didn't hit me like Hornby's books usually do.

I enjoyed this book. As a divorced woman I could resonate with Lucy. Loved how she moved on with her life. Would recommend

Funny, clever and a times poignant. I was invested in Lucy and Joseph’s story, and thought how the writer tackled the themes throughout was artfully done. I would definitely read more of this author.