When 15 year old Forrestina Bradley runs away from her Missouri home in 1906, she dreams of becoming a circus aerialist. She joins up with the Ringling Brothers and soon begins training on the tightrope. Forrestina loves her circus life and the freedom it offers her. However, after a bad fall and a worse marriage, Forrestina finds her way into the carnival world where she runs a rat game. Now known after her fiery hair color, Red settles on the banks of the White River in Arkansas with a new husband, a dance hall and a moonshine operation. After another bad divorce, Red settles in town becoming a local legend providing entertainment for kids and families.

As soon as Forrestina's character burst onto the page, I knew her story would be entertaining. Forrestina's story is told through her point of view as an older woman with a newspaper reporter, Betty gathering her stories in 1972. From her perspective as an older woman, Red had the opportunity to reflect on her whole life and choices, the good and the bad. Red's exuberance, love of life and precocious nature shone through from the very beginning and was evident throughout her life's story, even when things weren't going well. Red's story is a lesson in being a good person, following your heart and living the life you choose. I was pleased to learn that White River Red was a real person and while her story was fictionalized, her larger than life personality and contributions were all real.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a review.

I would give this book more stars if it were possible...it was that good. There is so much heart in this story.

The story of Forrestina “Red” Bradley is truly memorable. This story swept me away. I laughed, I cried, and I longed to have the privilege of meeting someone just like Forrestina Bradley. I thoroughly enjoyed the way this story was presented, as a female reporter interviews Red, and the reader learns her tale. Forrestina was a 15-year-old runaway who literally ran off to join the circus. Her fascination with the high wire acts soon had her soaring high above the heads of her audience. She was fearless. She was bold. And she was unstoppable. She didn’t care about convention. But she had the biggest heart. Her life was far from easy, but she never wavered in her drive. That this story was based on a real-life person is remarkable. She is an inspiration. ( )

Forrestina runs away from her family to join the circus. At first she works as a ballet dancer, but quickly moves up to a tightrope walker. When she is injured, she finds work running a carnival game and falls in love with the wrong man. The story follows her life through a second marriage, running a campground near the White River in Arkansas. 50 years later, Betty, an aspiring journalist interviews Forrestina at the end of her life.

I generally do not like books that alternate between time periods, but I thought it worked well here. Both Forrestina and Betty were interesting characters. Although Betty's storyline was very secondary, she served to flush out Forrestina's character. Overall, 5 out of 5 stars. ( )

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence my thoughts in any way.

White River Red tells a fascinating true story about an extraordinary woman. Forrestina Bradley was 15 years old when she left her affluent life and joined the Ringling Brothers Circus. The book follows her through adventure, happiness and heartache. This book was so interesting and Forrestina was such an inspiring person. She overcame many obstacles and never let them get her down. I loved this story. ( )

Oh. My. Word. I am wiping the tears off my face as I write this review, because I have been sobbing over having to say good-bye to a character I love so very much. Red felt very real, like she was about to hop off the page and onto my front porch for a glass of lemonade and a long chat. She is everything I want in a main character, flawed and yet inspiring, a woman who endured so many hardships and heartbreaks and came out the other side toughened and not completely whole, yet still kind, loving, and generous in her own way (even if she would slap anyone who called her those things). I am a very character-driven reader, so I was pleased to find that Red was not the only vivid character in this book; each character started to come to life from their first descriptions, and I loved many of them and HATED a few. Yet even the characters I wanted to punch were spun with a thread of compassion and the understanding that humans are nuanced and never all good or all bad. (Although Rocket George, who has my whole heart, is an exception to this human nuance rule, as I refuse to believe he has even an ounce of bad in him.)
The pacing of this book was also really good, which I think is sometimes difficult in stories that span an entire lifetime. The little breaks that gave Betty's side of things and glimpses of the older Red made me excited to see what Betty would find out about Red's story next. The descriptions were also lovely and lyrical, which is always a bonus--I could picture the crystals glittering in Forrestina's red hair, feel the snuffle of a horse's lips on my hands, and smell honeysuckle on the breeze. I just loved this book so much, and I am going to have to read it again soon because I devoured it way too quickly and now I am going to have a terrible book hangover.

Favorite quote: "It's a pure mystery of life to find out that those whose hearts you think are the hardest wind up being the kindest." ( )