Girl in the arena

I loved this book right up until the end, and then I was thrown. We watch this character train and prepare herself mentally for the fight of her life and then, at the last minute, she sends a hologram in to fight in her place????
That felt untrue, but there is some great stuff in this novel. The world is very believable, the premise is great, and I was hooked by the Chuck Palahnuik reference. I will look for more to read by this author in the future.
The literary world needs more tough female characters! It was nice to see one who was strong in mind and body.