The participatory storytelling book Se on amisjuttu! bends stereotypes about young people studying vocational trades. In stories envisioned by the youth themselves, Liisa, who is studying beauty care, finds a friend despite bullying, Jesse and the other construction guys put a stop to their teacher’s homophobia, and Ella, who is heading towards the restaurant industry, learns through experience to seek friendship outside of partying. The comic is aimed at young people and adults who want to give every young person space to be themselves.

Susi Nousiainen is a visual artist and researcher interested in participatory storytelling. He has previously published poetry, columns, and essays. Nousiainen studied the ethnography of vocational schools using comics as part of a project funded by the Kone Foundation; the result was the script for this book. He believes it is important for people to tell their own stories about their lives and not to be overly boxed in from the outside.