When I still lived with my parents, in my teenage years not too long ago, I once came upon a book my brother brought home from school, a curiosity, because he rarely brought home anything at all. It was a book like any other, of the young adult vein, and without so much as a whiff of indecision I opened the book and started to read. It was a book, after all. I can hardly refrain from touching them as I pass by sideboards and bookshelves rife with them. Little did I know that this book was Harry Potter – or, to be more exact, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – and that the next three hours of my life would be spent with my nose interminably stuck to the flipping pages as I read the story in its entirety, from beginning to end. The feeling I had upon completing the book was sheer exhilaration, a rejuvenation of sorts, from this breath of fresh air in children’s literature, this excellent and imaginative evolution from the days of R.L. Stine. Over the next few years I became one of the many Harry Potter fans, eagerly awaiting the next books at midnight openings – with or without Hermione getup and Griffindor scarf wrapped around my bushy locks – and quivering with anticipation every time I read through spoiler columns of the upcoming Harry Potter movies. When the first movie of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released, you can be sure I will be camping overnight, like Star Wars all over again. So, it goes without saying I was eagerly anticipating Harry Potter Spells for the iPhone.

The Harry Potter movies are not stellar by any means. Each director – it seems there are many – took his own creative liberties in interpreting both characterizations and the book’s events, oftentimes in ways the audience found highly disagreeable. The movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix made a huge error when it had Harry’s prophecy spoken aloud as soon as Harry touched the orb when he and his motley comrades were in the Hall of Prophecies. The whole point of the prophecy was only the person for whom it was predicted – in this case, Harry – could touch it, and only when the orb itself was shattered, could the prophecy be released and heard. That’s why the Death Eaters needed Harry to grab it and give it to them, they being unable to hear it for themselves. In the movie, the prophecy rings out for all to hear, eliminating the reason the Death Eaters needed Harry’s assistance. It was preposterous. Not to mention, the adventures Harry and his friends encounter in the Department on Mysteries are gripping to read, and yet none but the Hall of Prophecies were included, and even the director ruined that. But, my quibbles are my quibbles. It’s only too bad the Harry Potter Spells apps falls into this disappointing trend of digital interpretation.

The app starts off promising. A snazzy WB introduction followed by the typically hazy shroud that encases the title Harry Potter Spells put me in the right, magical mindset, and a voice saying “Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” with the Harry Potter theme music was just icing on the cake. Even better, the app showcases its raw Harry Potter fan-dom by putting its users through the Sorting Hat ritual. I was horrified to be placed in the House of Slytherin (“but, but… I’m a Ravenclaw!”), but if I really disliked this sorting, there’s an option to be re-sorted. It’s all in good fun, anyway, even if the Slytherins tend to be evil. Really evil.

Before even downloading the app I was impressed with the clever idea to use the iPhone as a wand, using motions to mimic the wand casting of spells. I mean, how utterly cool is that? My excitement reached a pinnacle of intensity after I checked out the spell chart, which included various offensive and defensive spells read about in the books, spells like the ever-popular (almost a household term) Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Confundo, Petrificus Totalus and Alohomora. A guide is provided with drawings of a vintage, yellowed design prompting you to the proper movements for wand casting. It seems simple enough in theory: hold your iPhone horizontally at all times, parallel to the ground, and cast spells by pressing your thumb onscreen and drawing shapes in the air, without too much wild gesticulating. You can even record your voice when casting a spell so your own voiced yells “Expelliarmus” instead of the stock, default voice. My boyfriend kept casting me aggrieved looks when I would cast spells, hear my voice, and nearly die from a fit of the giggles. But, my elation soon subsided because it was only until I tapped the Learning tab – used for unlocking spells – that I learned just how misleadingly easy these directions are.

Learning a new skill is always hard. It requires finesse, patience, and constant practice, but I’m beginning to understand why Hermione is always so frazzled. Casting spells is rough. The Expelliarmus movement is easy enough in writing – just a simple dash to the left and then down, but after countless episodes in the Learning module, with the app yelling “Incorrect!” I was bristling with annoyance. First, I cast my wand and the app tells me it’s too slow. I pick up the speed and it tells me I’m too fast. Then it tells me cheerfully to, “Try Again!” three more times, and then I receive a failing grade and must try all over again. Next thing I know I’m throwing my iPhone across the room and yelling, “Oh look! My phone was flung from my hand and I didn’t even have say Expelliarmus!” followed by many expletives. If I were Harry Potter, objects would have started levitating around the room, papers would have mysteriously appeared out of thin air and started fluttering is a flurry, and electrical sockets would have started snap, crackle popping.

It was only after an hour or two did I realize the patterns drawn on the spell chart weren’t limited to a two dimensional plane (thanks, brain). For the Lumos spell, it appears that you have to shoot your wand forward and back, when really, you must lift your phone up and then down, abruptly. I guess the “hold your phone horizontally at all times” confusingly made me lean toward the inclination that your castings, as well, should only be horizontal. In other words, don’t look straight down at the spell castings, and mime that movement exactly. Think three-dimensionally.

For moments like these, the app directs you to the Practice “room” or tab, where you can wave your wand around to your heart’s desire without a set time limit or end result. To aid in your practice, the Spell Chart is visible in the background, giving you all the movements for each spell. While the freedom to wave as you please is a nice touch, it leaves much to be desired. You can wave your wand endlessly, but unlike in the Learning section, there is no feedback to your maniacal waving. For all you know, you could be performing each wave differently, without consistency, and think to yourself, “yea, okay. I have the hang of it,” only to get a pathetic 40% accuracy in your Lumos demonstration. Apparently, practice does not make perfect. There aren’t even spell castings like in the Learning Module, which is the whole point of Harry Potter Spells – we want to see the cool special effects, that cool jet of cool blue light shooting from our wand’s tip. The Practice section should be exactly like the Learning module, with all its Incorrects and Too slows and spell castings – just without a set amount of tries.

Once you feel confident enough in your skills (I’ve unlocked as far as Protego, with most of my rankings 80% and above), there’s the awesome option to duel. Even people who don’t like the Harry Potter series can appreciate an impressive wizard duel, with shooting beams of light and exploding objects (come on LOTR fans, Gandalf’s magic wasn’t nearly impressive enough in the movies). I recommend memorizing the spells, because looking through the spell chart is a pain, and will usually result in your wand being knocked from your hand. Oh, that Expelliarmus.

To duel, you may either play with someone nearby, online, or all by your lonesome (this could actually pose as the real practice space, more so than the Practice tab). At the top of the screen is your opponent’s health bar, with your health and energy bar at the bottom. Alerts at the top left of the screen warn you about incoming offensive spells so you can quickly retaliate with the appropriate defensive spell to counter it. If you’re good, you could have an epic battle of yellow, blue, white and purple lights (thankfully, the game has different animations for each spell. I would have immediately boycotted the app if all the spells looked the same). For those not in the know about spells in the Harry Potter world, here’s a brief rundown. Offensive spells include Petrificus totalus, Expelliarmus, Confundo, Stupefy, Incendio, Oppugno, and Confrigo. Defensive spells include Protego, Finite incantatem, and Aguamenti. Some defensive spells are better suited for one offensive spell over another, such as in the case of Aguamenti. I would recommend using this water spell against the fire spell Incendio, more so than against Petrificus totalus, a spell that locks you up like a stone, rendering you immobile. Water versus fire, okay. Water versus total body lockdown? Not so much. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.

Dueling online can be slow and very choppy, so I recommend just duking it out wizard-style with fellow, nearby Harry Potter afficionados. I’m dying to see two kids battle on the street, dodging behind trees and yelling “Stupefy!” at each other. I would be happy to be stupefied just to see a moment of this, but unfortunately, the spell casting is probably too frustrating and difficult for most children to handle. Which leaves me to wonder, who will be using this app? I mean, I certainly enjoyed playing with it, but am I really going to duel with other 25 year olds? I like Harry Potter, and I certainly like clever apps such as this one, but there’s a missing demographic afoot here. Then again, it will definitely appeal to those crazed fans who order wands online, visit gossip sites nonstop, and order all sorts of Harry Potter type knick-knacks for their collection. I have to admit… those wands looks pretty cool.