Books like The Rover
If you liked The Rover, read Barber Shop Chronicles, Our Country's Good, or Sweat — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.
Closest match: Barber Shop Chronicles by Inua Ellams — shares drama
Get it on Amazon →Affiliate link: as an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Looking for books like The Rover by Aphra Behn (Realistic Fiction · grades 11–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of drama. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.
These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 11–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to The Rover
Barber Shop ChroniclesInua Ellams
Our Country's GoodTimberlake Wertenbaker
SweatLynn Nottage
Henry IV, Part 1William Shakespeare
The Taming of the ShrewWilliam Shakespeare
Death and the King's HorsemanWole Soyinka
A Door Near HereHeather Quarles
Armageddon SummerJane Yolen
BadJean Ferris
Breaking BoxesA. M. Jenkins
Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.
Listen free on Audiblestarts instantlyNew members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.
Why each is a match
Amazon links below are affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
- Barber Shop Chroniclesgrades 11–12
- Shares themes of drama, both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
- Our Country's Goodgrades 11–12
- Shares themes of drama, both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
- Sweatgrades 11–12
- Shares themes of drama, both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
- Henry IV, Part 1grades 11–12
- Shares themes of drama, both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
- The Taming of the Shrewgrades 11–12
- Shares themes of drama, both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
- Death and the King's Horsemangrades 11–12
- Shares themes of drama and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
- A Door Near Heregrades 9–12
- Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
- Armageddon Summergrades 9–12
- Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
- Badgrades 9–12
- Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
- Breaking Boxesgrades 9–12
- Same genre (Realistic Fiction), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (1990s). Amazon → books like this →
Books like The Rover for high school & teens (grades 9–12)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.
- Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of drama and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
- A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of drama and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
- Master Harold...and the Boys by Athol Fugard · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of drama and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
- Princess & the Hustler by Chinonyerem Odimba · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of drama and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
- Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of drama.
Common questions
- What books are similar to The Rover?
- The 10 closest matches to The Rover by Aphra Behn on ReadingList include Barber Shop Chronicles, Our Country's Good, Sweat, Henry IV, Part 1, and The Taming of the Shrew. Each is scored on shared themes (drama), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 11–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
- Are books like The Rover reading-level appropriate?
- Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 11–12), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
- How does ReadingList choose similar books?
- Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.
Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.