Juan, born and raised in Alabama, feels one hundred percent American. But other Americans don't see him as one of them. Following some experiences with exclusion, he decides he wants to be a Filipino, like his parents. He spends a lot of time in the sun to darken his coffee-with-cream complexion and learns to speak Tagalog. During Christmas break, his mother takes him on a trip to the Philippines-a place she still considers home and that has always served as a refuge-to help him become a Filipino.

But in the Philippines, Juan finds that Filipinos, even his relatives, consider him...