What do you get when you mix 1960s Chicago, the rural south, adulterated religion, and family? You get The Devil Stopped By, a literary fiction novel that is a glimpse into the life of nine-year-old Ruthie. The story is colorful and vivid as told in Ruthie's original and unique voice and shaped through the lens of her original perspective. The Devil Stopped By, is the story of an African-American family on the cusp of the civil rights movement. We experience the family in both Chicago and the rural south, each with its own travails and drama. Through Ruthie, we experience the effects of racism, family, and religion, even when the narrator is shielded from understanding by her own naivete.