The school district removed Junot Díaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao from the curriculum of a high-level English class at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., in response to a mental health crisis. Anastasia Tsioulcas/NPR hide caption toggle caption Anastasia Tsioulcas/NPR Editor’s note: This report is about suicide and suicidal ideation. The South Orange & Maplewood community in New Jersey has been through some very tough times. Schools superintendent Jason Bing says at least five young people enrolled at the public Columbia High School (CHS) have attempted to die by suicide this year. In December, one CHS student died in an accident; another young person, enrolled at a private school but known to many CHS students, died by suicide the same month. The School District of South Orange & Maplewood’s most immediate response to this mental health crisis: it removed Junot Díaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao from a high-level English class at CHS, which serves the suburban towns of South Orange & Maplewood about 15 miles west of …