What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Read this novel about 2000, but I'm no sure how old it was because I bought it from a second hand book store. It is set in a non earth planet which seems quite poor. An orphan boy is raised by an old man and taught to beg and steal and generally have street smarts. The boy gets in trouble with law enforcement and the old man is killed or dies as a result. I vaguely remember that his tunnel/underground home collapsed on him. The boy had some mysterious back story that wasnt revealed (maybe in sequels?). There is a spaceport.

It was an enjoyable book because of following a normal person (not a king or other leader) and it wasn't a war or anything like that.

Thanks for any help you can give .

Sounds like 'Citizen Of The Galaxy' by Robert Heinlein.
The boy is called Thorby. The old man is Baslam, and he's actually spying for Earth. They catch and kill him, and ransack his home.
Thorby turns out to be the heir to a huge busuness conglomerate, who was capstured as a baby and sold into slavery.
"SLAVE: Brought to Sargon in chains as a child -- unwanted by all save a one-legged beggar -- Thorby learned well the wiles of the street people and the mysterious ways of his crippled
master . . .
OUTLAW: Hunted by the police for some unknown treasonous acts committed by his beloved owner, Thorby risked his life to deliver a dead man's message and found himself both guest and prisoner aboard an alien spaceship . . .
CITIZEN: Unaware of his role in an ongoing intrigue, Thorby became one of the freest of the free in the entire galaxy as the adopted son of a noble space captain . . . until he became a captive in an interstellar prison that offered everything but the hope of escape!
"

Concur. This sounds a lot like "Citizen of the Galaxy".

Are you sure that he was raised by an old man? This sounds a lot like For Love of Mother-Not

He's a slave and an old woman purchases him and raises him.

Here's a link to Citizen of the Galaxy too, to check it out. Citizen of the Galaxy

I'm thinking Citizen of the galaxy, too. Mostly because spaceport mentioned.

if no spaceport, maybe Take a Thief if not too recent. The old man inTake A Thief was crippled if that helps.

Or in the Thieves World series at http://www.goodreads.com/series/40813.... Actually is theme in a lot of books by authors like Orson Scott Card, Trudi Canavan, and any of the authors writing books in all the D&D series like http://www.goodreads.com/series/49136... or http://www.goodreads.com/genres/dunge... .

I'm going to hop in and side with all the others who are voting for Citizen of the Galaxy. Definately NOT For Love of Mother-Not since she doesn't die in it.

Thanks do much everyone - it is definitely Citizen of the Galaxy, and it was good to be reminded of For Love of Mother Not. I never finished that series.

Solved, many thanks.

Citizen of the Galaxy is generally considered one of Robert A. Heinlein's "juvenile" books -- the intended audience was younger than his other more adult novels. I think it would be more appropriate to have this in the young adult folder.

I love this book!

Thanks for moving it for me.

Fayley wrote: "Thanks do much everyone - it is definitely Citizen of the Galaxy, and it was good to be reminded of For Love of Mother Not. I never finished that series."

Hey, for Love of Mother Not series has a fairly new release (2009) with