British-Nigerian writer and hair care educator Tolá Okogwu, author of the Daddy Do My Hair and Aziza’s Secret Fairy Door series, is launching her Afrofuturistic middle grade series this month, with Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun. The first book is due out June 14 from Simon & Schuster’s McElderry Books.

Okogwu’s fantasy series opener was a “hotly contested” acquisition, according to the Bookseller. S&S bought world rights to the book along with S&S U.K. at auction. The series starter has a 50,000-copy first printing.

Children’s publishing is seeing a rise of Afrofantasy for YA and middle grade readers, with such bestsellers as Ayana Grey’s Beasts of Prey and Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch series. Okogwu’s novel has gained major pre-publication attention; it was listed by the Guardian and Book Riot as a must-read for summer, and was named one of Barnes and Noble’s most anticipated children’s books for June Onyeka has already been picked up for film adaptation by Westbrook Studios, a branch of Will and Jada Smith’s company Westbrook Inc., and Yoruba Saxon, David and Jessica Oyelowo’s production company. Both Will Smith and David Oyelowo have signed on as producers for the film, which will debut on Netflix.

Described by her publisher as “Black Panther meets X-Men,” the novel follows British-Nigerian Onyeka, who after discovering that her attention-grabbing hair has magical properties when it rescues her best friend from death, leaves London and moves to Nigeria to attend school for magical descendants like herself. As she learns about her family’s history and her new powers, she and her new friends discover secrets within their school.

“My experiences with my hair growing up were predominantly negative, and I’ve seen this play out time and time again with other Black women and girls,” Okogwu told PW. “So when the idea of a girl who discovers that the very thing she considers to be her greatest problem is, in fact, her greatest strength came to me, I knew immediately that the story would center on her amazing Afro textured hair. I wanted to take something that has been distorted and maligned for too long and showcase its true beauty. Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is a story about accepting yourself as you are and owning that power.”

Watch the newly released video trailer for Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun here.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tolá Okogwu. McElderry, $17.99 June 14 ISBN 978-1-66591-261-7