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.

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

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Why each is a match

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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 →
Selected Storiesgrades 11–12
Both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Overstorygrades 11–12
Both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), 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 →
The Yieldgrades 11–12
Both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
Waiting for the Barbariansgrades 11–12
Both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?grades 11–12
Both on the Cambridge AS & A-Level English Literature (9695) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (11–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Rover for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

  • Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Sharing Susan by Eve Bunting · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Tangerine by Edward Bloor · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raúl the Third III · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like The Rover for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

  • 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents by Lee Wardlaw · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Attaboy, Sam! by Lois Lowry · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Drive-By by Lynne Ewing · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Flying Solo by Ralph J. Fletcher · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).

Books like The Rover for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

  • 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents by Lee Wardlaw · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Attaboy, Sam! by Lois Lowry · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Drive-By by Lynne Ewing · grades 3–8 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Flying Solo by Ralph J. Fletcher · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).
  • Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Same genre (Realistic Fiction) and the same era (1990s).

Books like The Rover for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

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 Selected Stories. 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 2026-08-11. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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