Years ago, I read Fever Pitch, mainly because of the film. Not an Arsenal fan, as the author is, but enjoyed it nevertheless. Nick Hornby has written more since, of course. About A Boy, for example. All good stuff, but how would he handle a relationship novel where one character (woman) is 20 years older, one character (man) is black, and several other characters (woman's ex, man's father) are ardent Brexiteers?

Lucy and Joseph meet in the butcher's shop where he has a Saturday job. Joseph has several jobs and also fancies being a DJ. Lucy is an English teacher and has 2 sons, and her husband - the two are separated - is a recovering alcoholic. It seems an unlikely pairing at first, until Joseph hits it off with Lucy's sons whilst she goes on an evening out with her boring, snobby middle-class friends.

The two become a couple and it works for a while, then doesn't, then picks up again when both have tried being with someone else. It then goes through another mini-crisis but they manage to negotiate it. Do they end up together? You'll have to read the book.

All of this happens with Brexit taking place and the storyline discusses the various attitudes towards it. Brexit seemed to me to be a metaphor for the relationship. In or out? Did it really matter so much?

Both Lucy and Joseph seemed uncertain of whether the relationship would work or not. How would their friends and family react? It took most of the novel for Lucy to meet Joseph's churchgoing mother. Joseph was reluctant to meet Lucy's friends because he felt he'd be a spare part, sat on the side whilst conversations went on around him.

In the end, what the novel did well was expose the flaws in human relationships, the things we think we understand about those around us and the world we believe they inhabit, when in fact they often aren't anything like we thought them to be.

Lucy and Joseph's relationship is flawed, but then most relationships are. That makes it believable. The dialogue points up their differences, but at the same time exposes their similarities. In the end, what matters is being with someone who understands and loves you for you. Lucy and Joseph manage to negotiate that bit, even though it takes a while.

One small criticism was the amount of Brexit talk. Given the time period of the novel, however, Brexit was inevitable. Now we are out of the EU, reading this novel is like taking a trip back in time, revisiting the old cliches and arguments that divided people then and, to an extent, still do.

I laughed quite a bit in places as well and that always helps.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Penguin General UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

This was an ok read but not one of my favourite's by Nick Hornby. Not as engaging as I would have liked, Thought provoking and an easy read.

I used to like Nick Hornby and was looking forward to reading this book published in the midst of a global pandemic, but it was just so DEPRESSING. Brexit, aging, alcoholism, divorce, racism, dead-end jobs, doomed relationships and unrealised dreams (not to mention sagging body parts!) - this is what this book was. Moreover, I found all the characters spoke and thought in the same voice (despite the difference in opinions) - except one young lady, who stood out.

All in all, I found this a very bleak book.

The premise of this book is a really clever one. There were so many obstacles standing between the two MCs like age, race, political views. Their love story was sweet. While the whole Brexit angle was interesting, this book came at a time when Brexit fatigue was at its highest.

This is a contemporary romance.
The two main characters Joseph and Lucy are poles apart. Lucy is a 42 year old teacher, separated from her alcoholic husband. Joseph is a 22 year old who lives with his mum, and works at a Miriad of jobs including working in a butchers and lifeguarding. As 5he relationship grows, Nick Hornby gives an insight into the problems which can occur with differing ages, cultural backgrounds and political views, all set against a backdrop of the Brexit referendum.
Nick Hornbys writing style brings humour , but did not cover the thoughts and feelings of Lucy and Joseph . A lot of topics were covered in this book ageism, alcoholism, cultural differences and Brexit to name but a few . At times the story was slow moving and mediocre. A nice easy read but nothing special.
Thank you to Netgalley, and Penguin UK for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Set against the backdrop of Brexit Britain Lucy and Joseph meet, start dating and become an unlikely couple. All so simple so far, however when they come from two completely different worlds the cracks start to appear. Joseph is a 20something aspiring musician and doesn't really have a focus in life whereas Lucy is in her 40s, a divorcee with two children. Their lives seem so completely different that it is hard to see just how they could possible work in partnership.

I really enjoyed Just Like You. It was an interesting concept that has been explored paralleling the difficulties of a Brexit society. The time setting shows just how disparate and divided society is and because of this the relationship barriers between Lucy and Joseph appeared more realistic. It was especially frustrating when you empathised more with one character (for me, Lucy) when Joseph didn't seem to have formed a view point on certain contentious topics. This cleverly showed the distance between age and experience between the two characters. However, you did kind of root for them as a couple. Even with their differences they seemed better together than apart. Just Like You ends in a really positive and hopeful way with you enjoying the possibility that a world entrenched in diversity can still come together.

Just Like You by Nick Hornby is available now.

For more information regarding Nick Hornby (@nickhornbt) please visit www.facebook.com/nickhornby.uk
For more information regarding Penguin Books (@PenguinUKBooks) please visit www.penguin.co.uk.

This started well, but in between brexit, inter racial relationships, a 20 year age gap, it just became boring. Unfortunately it simply didn't hold my interest and I found myself speed reading it to see if it picked up again. Not for me which is a shame as I usually love nick hornby's books.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

It’s a complicated love story. A story that shouldn’t be. Because how could it possibly work out between a 22-year-old wannabe DJ and a 42-year-old divorced mum? And if only the age difference was the only problem…
The interesting thing about Nick Hornby’s Just Like You is that by the time you notice what the story is about, you are already way into it, but looking back, all the elements were there all along. Literally from the first page, we are introduced to some of the main themes: status (or class, if you prefer) and race.
Between all the big headlines about Brexit and Black Lives Matter, this is a small story of just two people living their life; this is small, and personal, and real. It starts with a line at the butcher’s, Joseph being described as Denzel Washington and a customer willing to pay more than £100 for meat, while Joseph is almost ashamed to ask for such a big sum. Such simple two lines of dialogue laid out the themes without anyone taking any notice of it. And then there is Brexit. We are taken back to that time (which now feels like a lifetime ago) when the vote was coming up and some started rallying, other took voting “in” as such an obvious choice, they weren’t even sure it was worth going to vote for. Surely there was no way Brexit could happen?
So here they are: She is white, middle-class, a well-read teacher and head of English, he is young, black, working class and babysitting her sons. Yet somehow, they end up together and suddenly, they have a lot to face. Can you make a relationship work when two are so different? Is it even a relationship? Or is it a bit of fun? Surely it is just temporary… but does that mean you need to end it, just because you know it will eventually?
Yes, this is about a relationship, but much more it is about what it stands for, and to me it was almost a social experiment: At what point do you notice the themes? Which scene makes you uncomfortable? What shocks you? This takes us away from the international debates and takes us right back to two people who are dealing with everything on the small scale of their relationship. And it turns out, the problems are there. Right there in front of us are racism and the clashing of social classes. We just try to look away.

This was an average read for me! I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t wow me either. I think the relationship between Lucy and Joseph just wasn’t believable enough for me.

There were some funny moments throughout the book which made me smile, but I didn’t enjoy the setting of 2016 and all the boring Brexit talk! I thought I’d left all that behind!!!

Not Nick Hornby’s best work in my opinion and sadly a mediocre read!

Loved this book. I got lost in it instantly and Hornby is really gifted at making the ordinary extraordinary. I thought the theme of age difference in couples was an interesting one to explore.

This was my first Nick Hornby book and although it was a good read I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a brilliant read.

At first I found it hard to get into the style of writing and I did enjoy the characters but just didn't fully connect with it.

If your a Nick Hornby fan though then this is well worth a read.

Thank you Netgalley.

This is an interesting and enjoyable book about an unlikely relationship between a middle-aged slightly cultured woman and a young man of colour who works in the local butchers. It all takes place in London against the background of the socially divisive Brexit referendum.

The woman is Lucy, recently separated with two children. She likes theatre, reading and is liberal in her outlooks and beliefs. She probably reads the Guardian and is unlikely to even conceive of voting to leave the European Community. Joseph, the man, is almost twenty years younger than she is, and works in a gym as well as at the butcher’s shop. He is largely self-taught, likes and composes music, and has aspirations to be a DJ.

They both have family and friends, one set very middle-class and the other clearly working class but, unlikely as it may seem, they are clearly attracted to another. Nick Hornby enjoys exploring their relationship and how it gradually becomes common knowledge with family and friends. As it does so, a whole range of reactions can also be explored mostly, but not all, fairly predictable. There’s a lot of personal angst and self doubt, as well as some setbacks, while they work out what kind of relationship they are capable of.

There’s a danger in all this that the characters are lost beneath the weight of all the social and political positions they have to carry. Lucy, in particular, seems to spend a lot of time weighing things up with a fair bit of should she, shouldn’t she getting in the way of her desires. Alongside this, Joseph sometimes looks a bit obvious, as if less educated people have fewer and less complex doubts and that gets a bit tricky in places.

Also, the politics are a bit black-and-white. Nick Hornby obviously wants to show the reader why working class people in, relatively at least, socially deprived areas might vote leave but he doesn’t really get into how their views might have been shaped by the right-wing press and, now we look back, Russian hackers as well. It can all end up a bit simplistic.

The ending is sort of happy and compromised and maybe the overall view is that life is a bit like that and we hold onto our values whatever and it will come good in the end. In that sense this is a positive and an enjoyable read although I suspect that the target audience is likely to contain more Lucys then Josephs!

Honestly I kind of struggled to finish the book. The overall story is just not my type. The story involves the love story between a 22 year old black guy Joseph and a 42 year old white woman Lucy where the woman is almost twice the age of the guy. I wasn’t at all convinced about their romance as to why they fell or loved each other. The book also includes racism, whole lot of politics, Brexit and Trump election etc. the only part I liked was the relationship between Joseph and Lucy’s sons. I

Warm and gentle, this story centers on two lost souls who find each other. Despite widely varying ages, social statuses, and race, they continue to care for each other, finally realizing that maybe it's okay.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book just left me cold. The title was apt it could be just like you or you or you there was no individuality to the narrative or the characterisation. I spent the whole book wanting it to be over.. I have read many Nick Hornby books but this is far fromhis best

Lucy is 42 and a teacher, she has 2 children and is divorcing her husband who suffers with alcohol dependency.

Joseph is black, in his twenties and has several jobs, babysitting, working in the butchers, which is where he meets Lucy and dreams of becoming a DJ.

Lucy asks Joseph about finding a babysitter as she has a date. He offers to babysit for her and her boys soon start loving spending time with him, Lucy finds herself attracted to Joseph.

They start a relationship, but will the age gap and the fact that they are at different stages in their lives, doom their budding relationship.

I was swept away with this book, the attraction between two people that are chalk and cheese and come from very different backgrounds intrigued me and the romantic in me wanted them to have their happy ever ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

If you love Nick Hornby you won’t be disappointed. His story is funny, well told, charming and sharp the same time. What is the best- the dialogues, characters- you won’t regret to read this story. I also like the fact its action is placed in North London. This is the story about how the opposites attract each other and the results....

I hadn't realised how much I'd missed reading Nick Hornby!

It's been a long time since 'Fever Pitch' and 'About a Boy', and there was of course the wonderful 'State of the Union' on tv last year, but this book felt like such a treat.

Lucy and Joseph meet across the counter in the butcher's shop. She is a teacher, separated from her alcoholic husband and is bringing up two children. He is 20 years younger, works a number of jobs in the hope of fostering a music career. Oh, and he's black and she's white.

They don't seem suited and have little in common, but their attraction grows. Can they make this a lasting relationship?

A funny and tender account highlighting the prejudices, preconceptions and expectations we can all attach to our relationships. The foibles of human nature and the details of middle class life in London are sharply drawn. The characters are charming and you feel safe in their company. It's just wonderful. A delight to read. Just didn't want it to end.

Just as Lucy, an English teacher and a mum of 2 boys, thinks life has come to an end after a marriage breakdown with someone exactly like her, she meets Joseph, a young guy- half her age and quite the opposite. Joseph works in the local butcher's, where Lucy buys her meat and that's how they meet and start a relationship. Everything goes well but there are some hurdles to be overcome if they want their relationship to succeed. One of them is the fact that Lucy is as old as Joseph's mum.

This book is not your regular romance fiction. Set in 2016, pre-Brexit and apart from the fact it breaks the conventional code of relationships and social expectations, there is too much talk about Brexit and the vote, Personally, I found it quite superficial and was not very impressed with it.

Thank you #Netgalley and publishers.

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.