I started the series shortly after the first series ended. It was at that just starting to get big. So, while not the earliest adopter, I got in early. Alright, the series is older now and I have read all of the books. For newcomers to the series it might feel like a daunting task to catch up.
Well, the series isn’t flawless.
Things it does have going for it include a large and well developed world, a multitude of great characters, and the dark, yet optimistic tone. While it is not
Watership Down, there’s a lot of really good stuff here, and several of the later books have made me cry.
There’s also a lot to discuss, since there are lots of questions raised, and the characters face situations that often don’t have easy answers.
However, there are some major turnoffs.
The world has a large scope, but errors are frequent. There are minor ones, like a few misspellings here and there, and then there are major continuity ones. Prequel books will sometimes feature characters who were already dead during the time period of the prequel, or randomly forget a character’s backstory. This can be really frustrating, since you’ll get attached to some characters, only to see everything about them thrown out because the authors forget important information about them.
The book is written by six women, together Erin Hunter, and problems like this can be expected.
An editor’s job would be to keep continuity straight.
They don’t.
For example, many warriors turned medicine cats end up being shown as medicine cats in their youth.) Also, some characters are overexposed and there are sometimes pacing problems.
Overall, I’d say the good outweighs the bad, and I would strongly recommend the series, but be prepared to have some frustration along with your enjoyment of it. Also, skip Leafpool’s Wish.
Leafpool’s Wish isn’t because it’s bad by any means, but rather that it doesn’t include any important information we don’t learn by reading the main series. It’s basically about Leafpool convincing Squirrelflight to help her.
It’s not worth reading unless you have an investment in either of the characters.
Long ago, when I was a tiny 3rd grader, I was pestering my father for book recommendations, having finished whatever juvenile series I was reading at the time.
He took me down to the basement, to pick a book from his library.
It set a Foundation.
Foundation was one of those books that was prominently placed in his library.
It had an interesting cover so I picked it up and I was hooked by the first paragraph. I’ve ready every work of non-fiction by Asimov since then.
Out of the hundreds of sci-fi and fantasy books there, Asimov represented by far the largest component.
He had almost a hundred different Asimov books, and even more now. Obviously, my dad beelined for the Asimov section and looked for one he knew would appeal to me.
I was given one of the Fantasy and Science Fiction collections, maybe the Planet that Wasn’t or Only a Trillion, and I subsequently devoured all the other ones we had.
I was already hooked on Asimov before I even started reading Asimov!
~XO 
My boyfriend has a red beard, I’ll tease him about being Red Beard the Pirate, which compliments my redhead quite well.
Other than that he has dark hair. Which he thinks of as odd, but actually it is quite common. There are different genes for red hair on your head versus red hair in your beard (if you’re a guy, girls get it lasered), and the genes for red beards are much more common than red heads.
Look closely at guys’ beards; you’ll often find they’re sort of calico, a mix of black and brown and red and white and grey.
This kind of mix is very common. 
The book is essentially a fantasy for older children. But a fun read non-the-less.
The closest comparison I can think of right now is