Conation — Rick Johnson

When an intuitive teenage girl leaves behind her day-to-day routine of high school, soccer practice, and friends to set out on a harrowing journey through the dangers of terrorist violence and government mind control, she ends up learning that her only real hope lies in finding the strength to believe in herself. Seventeen-year-old Ren Sterling's life is shattered when her scientist father is assassinated by Conation, an antigovernment terrorist organization. Yet even before her father's murder, Ren has found herself increasingly dissatisfied with what she sees as the contrived and limited nature of her existence in the government-imposed social structure, called The Order. And she is more and more confused by the competing realities that have been foisted upon her-while the government and the President of The Order try to convince Ren to become the face of the status quo, the terrorists and her mysterious love interest, Zian, encourage her to see the truth behind the government's lies and manipulations. Both the terrorists and the government try to sway Ren through the use of neuroprocessor technology, powerful computer chips that are implanted in each citizen at birth. Over time Ren learns that the government is using these neuroprocessors to quiet the public's existential anxiety and limit individualistic thinking. She eventually also discovers that her father was working with Conation to undermine the government's control. All the while her dreams begin to reveal her emerging intuitive abilities, and as Ren struggles to discern these dreams from reality, she courageously fights to reclaim her freedom. The answers she uncovers during this journey reveal shocking truths about her life and relationships and teach her the value of embracing and believing in her own choices.