You Against the Old You is not only a catchy subtitle. Matthew teaches his peers that throughout their lives, the readers will face an adversary who lives in their past—a sort of ghost who wallows in the memory of the reader. That ghost is a bully—one who serves to keep the reader from trying new things and getting up when they feel as though they have failed. Matthew applies the lessons taught in the children’s book in his own life, and that is what allows him to take on new challenges and move in the direction of his dreams no matter what anyone outside of himself says and without regard to his former self’s abilities and limits.
